25-4710. Hearing procedure; official notice.
25-4710
25-4710. Hearing procedure; officialnotice.(a) To the extent necessary for full disclosure of allrelevant facts andissues, thehearing officer shall afford all parties the opportunity to respond, presentevidence and argument,and shall not be bound by the technical rules of evidence; provided, thehearing officer mayplace reasonable limits on the length of the hearing.
(b) The hearing officer may at such hearing officer's discretion give anynonparty anopportunity to present oral or written statements.
(c) All testimony of each party and witness shall be made under oath oraffirmation andthe hearing officer shall have the power to administer an oath or affirmationfor that purpose.
(d) Any part of the evidence may be received in written form if doing sowill expeditethe hearing without substantial prejudice to the interests of any party.
(e) Official notice may be taken of:
(1) Any matter that could be judicially noticed in the courts of this state;
(2) the record of other proceedings before the secretary of state;
(3) any technical matter within the secretary of state's specializedknowledge; and
(4) any code of standards that have been adopted by:
(A) An agency of the United States;
(B) an agency of this state or of another state; or
(C) a nationally recognized organization or association.
(f) The hearing officer may conduct all or part of the hearing by telephoneor otherelectronic means, if each participant in the hearing has an opportunity toparticipate in the entireproceeding.
(g) The hearing shall be recorded at the secretary ofstate's expense. The secretary ofstate is not required to prepare a transcript at its expense. Any party mayrequest, at the party'sexpense, that the secretary of state prepare a transcript from the record, orcause additionalrecordings to be made during the hearing. If a transcript is produced, thesecretary of state shall include a copy in the official record.
(h) Except for any part of the hearing that the hearing officer rules tobe closed pursuantto a provision of law expressly authorizing such closure, the hearing shall beopen to the public.
History: L. 2004, ch. 25, § 26; July 1.