Section 220-RICR-50-10-2.15 - Conduct of HearingsA. General. Hearings shall be as informal as may be reasonable and appropriate under the circumstances. All Parties, witnesses and other Persons at a hearing shall conduct themselves in a manner consistent with the standards of decorum commonly observed in any courtroom. Where such decorum is not observed, the Hearing Officer may take appropriate action including ejectment or adjournment, if necessary.B. Duties of Hearing Officer. The Hearing Officer shall conduct the hearing, make all decisions regarding admission or exclusion of evidence or any other procedural matters and either administer oaths to witnesses or instruct the stenographer to do so.C. Order of Proceedings. Except as otherwise required by law, it shall be the usual practice that hearings of the Department shall be open. Where evidence is peculiarly within the knowledge of one Party, or where Contested Cases have been consolidated or where there are multiple Parties, the Hearing Officer may, in his/her discretion, direct who shall open and shall further designate the order of presentation of evidence.D. Rights of Parties. Parties shall have the right to present evidence, cross-examine witnesses, object, make motions, and present arguments. The Hearing Officer may question any Party or any witness for the purpose of clarifying his or her understanding or to clarify the record of the proceedings.E. Record of Proceedings. 1. A complete record of the proceedings shall be recorded on audiotape, digital recorder or similar electronic device or, at the discretion of the Hearing Officer, by stenographic record. In the event the Hearing Officer orders a stenographic record, the Hearing Officer shall order which Party or Parties shall bear the cost thereof. Any Party may on his, her or its own initiative order a stenographic record made of the proceedings. The requesting Party shall incur all costs associated therewith. The Hearing Officer shall be provided an original of the stenographic record at no cost and the Department Counsel shall be provided with a copy at no cost. Any Party may request a copy of the audiotape record of the proceedings. The requesting Party shall bear the cost of reproducing said audiotapes thereof.2. If a Party chooses to appeal a final Departmental decision to Superior Court pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-35-1 et seq. or to appeal a decision as otherwise provided by law and the Superior Court (or another Court) requires a transcript of the hearing and there is only an electronic recording of the hearing, said Party shall be responsible for having the transcript prepared by an independent person or company at his, her or its expense within twenty (20) days of filing the appeal.3. For appeals to the Personnel Appeal Board of decisions rendered pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-4-41, the Appellant shall bear the cost of the transcription as provided by law.F. Public Hearings. Except as provided by law, all hearings are to be open to the public. In general, any Person who is not a Party to a proceeding may on a showing of a relevant interest in the proceeding and in the discretion of the Hearing Officer, be permitted to make oral or submit written statements on any issues relevant to the proceeding. A relevant interest may include such factors as whether the outcome of the hearing may affect a Person or is somehow relevant to the Person.G. Close of Proceedings. At the conclusion of the evidence, the Hearing Officer may, in his/her discretion, permit the Parties to argue orally and/or to submit written briefs. The Hearing Officer may, within his/her discretion, direct that proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law be submitted by the Parties. The record in the proceeding shall close after oral argument, the deadline for the filing of the briefs or upon such date as may be set by the Hearing Officer. No evidence shall be admitted thereafter, unless otherwise ordered by the Hearing Officer. The Hearing Officer may in any case require either Party, with appropriate notice to the other Party, to submit additional evidence in any matter relevant to the hearing.H. Waiver of Hearing. In any proceeding, if the Parties agree to waive the hearing, the Hearing Officer may dispose of the matter upon the pleadings and other submittals of the Parties.I. Dispositions. Unless otherwise precluded by law, disposition may be made of any Contested Case at any time by stipulation, consent agreement, consent settlement, consent order, default or dismissal by the Hearing Officer. A joint request for a stay of the hearing for the purpose of preparing documents relevant to the above shall be forwarded to the Hearing Officer and may be granted within the sound discretion of the Hearing Officer.J. Consent Agreements and Consent Orders. The Department may enter into a consent agreement with a Party(ies) prior to a prehearing conference being held in an administrative proceeding. A consent agreement is valid if signed by a Department representative; it does not have to be approved by the Hearing Officer and/or Director. Subsequent to a prehearing conference being held in an administrative proceeding, the Parties may agree to the terms of a consent order; provided however, such a consent order must be approved by the Hearing Officer and, if necessary the Director to be valid. Both consent agreements and consent orders are considered public records pursuant to the Access to Public Records Act, R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-1 et seq.K. Appeals of either a Rejection to Take a State Civil Service Examination or Examination Results. For appeals filed pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 36-4-40, 36-4-40.1, and 36-4-18 as set forth pursuant to Section 3.035 (Disqualification of Applicants) and to Section 3.06 (Results of Examination) of the Personnel Rules & Regulations, the Appellant or his or her representative, a representative of the Office of Personnel Administration ("OPA"), and a duly designated Hearing Officer may meet informally to resolve the issues and may agree to resolve the issue. If the issues cannot be resolved than the issue may proceed to a hearing. 1. Examination Results: If the Appellant appealing the results of his/her civil service examination results wishes to pursue an appeal after an informal review with OPA and a Hearing Officer, the Hearing Officer will set a briefing schedule allowing the Appellant to present written documentary evidence and arguments why s/he believes that the s/he chose the correct answer(s) on the examination and/or believes the education/experience scoring was incorrect. If possible, Appellant should rely on recognized texts and/or research, training manuals, and/or rules or regulations of the appropriate agency, if applicable, and any other relevant arguments in his or her submission. OPA will be allowed to provide a written response to Appellant's brief. OPA should rely on the appropriate agency's expert and any other relevant arguments. However, in the Hearing Officer's discretion, s/he may set hearing on the issues. Unless the Parties agree the examination was incorrectly scored, upon receipt of the written briefs and after hearing, if one is scheduled, the Hearing Officer shall render a decision. OPA shall take the appropriate steps if it is found by the Hearing Officer that the examination was incorrectly scored.2. Rejection to take a State Civil Service Examination: If Appellant pursues his or her appeal after the informal meeting detailed in § 2.15(K) of this Part, the Hearing Officer shall allow the hearing to proceed either on written submissions or by hearing.220 R.I. Code R. 220-RICR-50-10-2.15