New Mexico Administrative Code › Title 13 - INSURANCE › Chapter 21 - PATIENT'S COMPENSATION FUND › Part 4 - ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS › Section 13.21.4.20 - 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, 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 may 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 will 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.