Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 199 - Utilities Division › Chapter 7 - Practice and Procedure › Rule 199-7.23 - Hearings

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 3, July 24, 2024
(1)
Commission or presiding officer.
The commission or presiding
			 officer presides at the hearing and may rule on motions and issue such orders
			 and rulings as will ensure the orderly conduct of the proceedings. The
			 commission or presiding officer shall maintain the decorum of the hearing and
			 may refuse to admit, may set limits on, or may expel from the hearing anyone
			 whose conduct is disorderly.
(2)
Witnesses.
Each witness shall be sworn or affirmed by the
			 commission, presiding officer, or the court reporter and be subject to
			 examination and cross-examination. The commission or presiding officer may
			 limit questioning in a manner consistent with law. In appropriate
			 circumstances, the commission or presiding officer may order that witnesses
			 testify as members of a witness panel.
(3)
Order of presenting
			 evidence.
The commission or presiding officer shall determine the
			 order of the presentation of evidence based on applicable law and the interests
			 of efficiency and justice, taking into account the preferences of the parties.
			 Normally, the petitioner shall open the presentation of evidence. In cases
			 where testimony has been prefiled, each witness shall be available for
			 cross-examination on all testimony prefiled by or on behalf of that witness
			 when the witness takes the stand, either alone or as a member of a witness
			 panel.
(4)
Evidence.
a. Subject to
			 terms and conditions prescribed by the commission or presiding officer, parties
			 have the right to introduce evidence, cross-examine witnesses, and present
			 evidence in rebuttal. Ordinarily, prefiled testimony is used in hearings
			 pursuant to rule 199-7.10 (17A,476). Nonsubstantive corrections to prefiled
			 testimony may be made at the beginning of the testimony. However, if more than
			 three corrections need to be made, the sponsoring party shall file corrected
			 prefiled testimony prior to the hearing. The sponsoring party must provide one
			 copy of prefiled testimony and included exhibits to the court
			 reporter.
b. The commission or
			 presiding officer shall rule on admissibility of evidence and may, where
			 appropriate, take official notice of facts in accordance with law.
c. Stipulation of facts is encouraged. The
			 commission or presiding officer may make a decision based on stipulated
			 facts.
d. Unless the exhibit was
			 previously included with prefiled testimony, the party seeking admission of an
			 exhibit at a hearing must provide opposing parties with an opportunity to
			 examine the exhibit prior to the ruling on its admissibility. All exhibits
			 admitted into evidence shall be marked in accordance with the commission's
			 approved naming convention and made part of the evidentiary record. If an
			 exhibit is admitted, unless it was previously included with prefiled testimony,
			 the sponsoring party must provide at least one copy of the exhibit to each
			 opposing party, one copy for each commission member or presiding officer, one
			 copy for the witness (if any), one copy for the court reporter, and two copies
			 for commission staff, unless otherwise ordered. The sponsoring party shall file
			 the hearing exhibit in the docket in the commission's electronic filing system
			 within three days of the close of the hearing.
e. Whenever evidence is ruled inadmissible,
			 the party offering that evidence may submit an offer of proof on the record.
			 The party making the offer of proof for excluded oral testimony shall briefly
			 summarize the testimony or, with the permission of the commission or presiding
			 officer, present the testimony. The commission or presiding officer may require
			 the offering party to file a written statement of the excluded oral testimony.
			 If the excluded evidence consists of a document or exhibit, it shall be marked
			 as part of an offer of proof and inserted in the record. Unless previously
			 included with prefiled testimony, the sponsoring party must provide at least
			 one copy of the document or exhibit to each opposing party, one copy for each
			 commission member or presiding officer, one copy for the witness (if any), one
			 copy for the court reporter, and two copies for commission staff, unless
			 otherwise ordered.