Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 661 - Public Safety Department › Chapter 401 - Peace Officers' Retirement, Accident, and Disability System-administrative Procedures › Rule 661-401.311 - Ex Parte Communication

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 3, July 24, 2024
(1)
			 Prohibited communications. Unless required for the disposition of ex parte
			 matters specifically authorized by statute, following issuance of the notice of
			 hearing, there shall be no communication, directly or indirectly, between the
			 presiding officer and any party or representative of any party or any other
			 person with a direct or indirect interest in such case in connection with any
			 issue of fact or law in the case except upon notice and opportunity for all
			 parties to participate. Nothing in this rule is intended to preclude board
			 members from communicating with other board members or members of the board
			 staff, including the secretary, other than those with a personal interest in,
			 or those engaged in personally investigating, prosecuting, or advocating in,
			 either the case under consideration or a pending factually related case
			 involving the same parties, as long as those persons do not directly or
			 indirectly communicate to the presiding officer any ex parte communications
			 they have received of a type that the presiding officer would be prohibited
			 from receiving or that furnish, augment, diminish, or modify the evidence in
			 the record.
(2) Prohibitions on ex
			 parte communications commence with the issuance of the notice of hearing in a
			 contested case and continue for as long as the case is pending before the
			 board.
(3) Written, oral or other
			 forms of communication are "ex parte" if made without notice and opportunity
			 for all parties to participate.
(4)
			 To avoid prohibited ex parte communications, notice must be given in a manner
			 reasonably calculated to give all parties a fair opportunity to participate.
			 Notice of written communications shall be provided and may be supplemented by
			 telephone, facsimile, electronic mail or other means of notification. Where
			 permitted, oral communications may be initiated through conference telephone
			 call including all parties or their representatives.
(5) Persons who jointly act as presiding
			 officer in a pending contested case may communicate with each other without
			 notice or opportunity for parties to participate.
(6) The secretary may be present in
			 deliberations or otherwise advise the presiding officer without notice or
			 opportunity for parties to participate as long as the secretary is not
			 disqualified from participating.
(7) Communications with the presiding officer
			 involving uncontested scheduling or procedural matters do not require notice or
			 opportunity for parties to participate. Parties should notify other parties
			 prior to initiating such contact with the presiding officer when feasible, and
			 shall notify other parties when seeking to continue hearings or other
			 deadlines.
(8) Disclosure of
			 prohibited communications. A presiding officer who receives a prohibited ex
			 parte communication during the pendency of a contested case must initially
			 determine if the effect of the communication is so prejudicial that the
			 presiding officer should be disqualified.
a.
			 If the presiding officer determines that disqualification is warranted, a copy
			 of any prohibited written communication, all written responses to the
			 communication, a written summary stating the substance of any prohibited oral
			 or other communication not available in written form for disclosure, all
			 responses made, and the identity of each person from whom the presiding officer
			 received a prohibited ex parte communication shall be submitted for inclusion
			 in the record under seal by protective order; or
b. If the presiding officer determines that
			 disqualification is not warranted, such documents shall be submitted for
			 inclusion in the record and served on all parties. Any party desiring to rebut
			 the prohibited communication must be allowed the opportunity to do so upon
			 written request filed within ten days after notice of the
			 communication.