New Mexico Administrative Code › Title 13 - INSURANCE › Chapter 1 - INSURANCE GENERAL PROVISIONS › Part 5 - FORMAL ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS › Section 13.1.5.20 - CLOSED OR PUBLIC HEARING, SEALED RECORDS, AND DELIBERATIVE NOTES OF HEARING OFFICER

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 13, July 16, 2024
A.
Closed
				hearings.
Unless otherwise provided by law, ordered by the hearing
				officer for good cause, or required to prevent disclosure of confidential
				information, all hearings and the record are open to the public. Any party to a
				proceeding may submit a written request to close the hearing and the record to
				the public, which shall be granted if authorized by statute, regulation, or
				rules recognized by law to preserve confidentiality or to protect a party from
				harassment or reprisal. Any proceedings and records that involve an
				individual's medical issues shall be closed to the public.
B.
Open hearings.
If the hearing
				is open to the public, members of the public and the media may attend the
				hearing so long as they do not interrupt, interfere with or impede the orderly,
				fair, and efficient hearing process. With prior consent of the hearing officer,
				media members may record the proceeding from a fixed location in the hearing
				room. The hearing officer may direct any member of the public, including media
				members, to leave the proceeding if they engage in any conduct that interferes
				with the hearing officer's ability to maintain order, develop the record, and
				provide a fair and efficient hearing process. The proceedings shall be made
				available telephonically to members of the public, including the media, upon
				prior request.
C.
Sealed
				records.
Upon request of any party, and upon a showing of good cause,
				the hearing officer shall seal a particular exhibit, document, or portions of a
				witness's testimony from public disclosure if such items contain
				statutorily-protected confidential information, privileged information, or
				otherwise contain private identification information of a party or third party
				that is immaterial to a substantive issue in the proceeding or if its
				materiality is substantially outweighed by the prejudice of public release of
				the information. Upon issuance of an order sealing such documents or exhibits,
				these records shall remain under seal throughout the proceeding and shall be
				returned to the submitting party at the conclusion of the appeal period or the
				appeal. The opposing party shall be entitled to promptly review these documents
				in preparing for the hearing, and may rely on those documents during the
				hearing as necessary to ensure a fair hearing process; however, the opposing
				party shall not maintain its own copy of the sealed document after conclusion
				of the hearing nor reveal, discuss, or disclose the contents of these sealed
				documents to any other party outside of the hearing process.
D.
Notes of deliberation.
The
				hearing officer's notes taken during the course of the hearing, notes generated
				during the decision-making process, and any draft orders or draft decisions are
				confidential as part of the deliberative process and are not subject to public
				disclosure.