New Mexico Administrative Code › Title 8 - SOCIAL SERVICES › Chapter 8 - CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES GENERAL PROVISIONS › Part 4 - ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS › Section 8.8.4.9 - PRE-HEARING

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 13, July 16, 2024
A. Within five
				business days of receipt of the request for administrative hearing, the
				division director, or his/her designee, submits a memorandum of information to
				the hearing office, with a copy of the notice of contemplated action, cease and
				desist order, or emergency suspension order and a copy of the notice of appeal
				included. An additional copy of those items will be forwarded to the
				department's office of general counsel.
B. Unless otherwise agreed, the hearing
				officer and all parties will confer within 30 days from the date the memorandum
				of information is received in the hearing office to choose an agreeable date
				for hearing.
C. The hearing shall
				be held within 180 days from the date the memorandum of information is received
				in the hearing office. Extensions may only be granted under extenuating
				circumstances as determined by the hearing officer.
D. Upon receipt of the memorandum of
				information, cease and desist order, or emergency suspension order and copy of
				the notice of appeal, the hearing officer or hearing office administrator
				establishes an official record which will contain all the filed notices,
				pleadings, briefs, recommendations, correspondence, documents or items admitted
				into evidence, recordings of the proceedings, and decisions. The hearing
				officer will make contact with the parties as soon as practicable, but in any
				case, no later than seven days from the date the appeal is filed in the hearing
				office.
E. No person may discuss
				the merits of any pending adjudicatory proceeding with the designated hearing
				officer or the secretary, unless both parties or their representatives are
				present.
F. The hearing officer may
				consolidate or join cases if there is commonality of legal issues or parties
				and if it would expedite final resolution of the cases and would not adversely
				affect the interests of the parties. The hearing officer may join the appeals
				of an appellant who has two or more appeals pending.
G. The hearing officer may permit a person to
				enter into a proceeding as an intervenor only when the intervention is
				necessary to protect some right or interest of that person which may be
				directly affected by the proceedings. The purpose of an intervention is to
				prevent delay and unnecessary duplication. A request may be denied, however, if
				it interferes with the rights of the original parties to conduct their cause on
				their own terms.
H. Upon request of
				a party or upon the hearing officer's own motion, a pre-hearing order may be
				required or a pre-hearing conference may be scheduled by the hearing officer at
				a time and place reasonably convenient to all parties to:
(1) limit and define issues;
(2) discuss possible pre-hearing
				dispositions;
(3) set a discovery
				plan;
(4) consider possible
				admissions of fact or stipulations;
(5) identify and limit the number of
				witnesses; and
(6) discuss such
				other matters as may aid in the simplification of evidence and disposition of
				the proceedings.