Virginia Administrative Code › Title 1 - ADMINISTRATION › Agency 50 - COMMISSION ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT › Chapter 20 - ORGANIZATION AND REGULATIONS OF PROCEDURE › Part III - Mandatory Commission Reviews › Section 1VAC50-20-390 - General provisions applicable to mandatory commission reviews

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
A. Any local
				  government or other party appearing before the commission relative to any
				  mandatory review may be represented by counsel.
B. The commission shall generally schedule
				  for consideration issues in the order in which received; however, the
				  commission reserves the right to consider issues in other sequence where it
				  deems appropriate. Where notices are received of related or competitive actions
				  affecting the same localities, the commission may, where appropriate, consider
				  the issues and render the reports or a consolidated report
				  concurrently.
C. Subsequent to its
				  receipt of an issue for a mandatory review the commission shall meet, or
				  otherwise converse, with representatives of the principally affected parties
				  for purposes of establishing a schedule for its review of the issue. The
				  schedule shall include dates (i) for the submission of responsive materials
				  from affected jurisdictions, (ii) for tours of affected areas and oral
				  presentations if any are desired by the commission, (iii) for a public hearing,
				  and (iv) for the issuance of the commission's report, as well as other dates
				  the commission deems appropriate.
D. The commission may continue or defer its
				  proceedings with respect to an issue at any time it deems appropriate; however,
				  no continuance or deferral shall result in an extension of the commission's
				  reporting deadline beyond any time limit imposed by law, except by agreement of
				  the parties or in accordance with other statutory procedures. The commission
				  shall also accept requests for continuances or deferrals from any party at any
				  time during its proceedings but shall not grant or deny any such requests until
				  all parties have had an opportunity to comment on the requests. In any instance
				  where the commission grants a continuance or a deferral, the continuance or
				  deferral may be conditioned upon an appropriate extension of the commission's
				  reporting deadline with respect to the issue under review.
E. The commission may confront the necessity
				  of continuing or deferring its proceedings as a result of statutory requirement
				  or court order. In such instances, the commission shall reschedule its
				  proceedings, upon consultation with the parties, in a manner that permits an
				  expeditious conclusion of its review. The parties should anticipate, however,
				  that the duration of the continuance or stay shall result in a commensurate
				  delay in the issuance of the commission's report.
F. In addition to any meeting, presentation,
				  public hearing, or other gathering of the parties specified by this chapter,
				  the commission may, where it deems necessary for an analysis of material or for
				  a discussion or clarification of the issues before it, schedule other meetings
				  of appropriate parties.
G. No party
				  to a proceeding before the commission for mandatory review shall communicate in
				  any manner with any member of the commission with respect to the merits of the
				  issue under review except as is authorized by this chapter, or as may be
				  otherwise authorized by the commission or its chair.
H. In addition to the submissions authorized
				  by
				  1VAC50-20-180
				  through
				  1VAC50-20-384,
				  the commission may allow supplemental submissions deemed necessary or
				  appropriate by the commission for the provision of current and complete data.
				  Where supplemental submissions are authorized pursuant to this subsection,
				  copies of all submissions shall be provided by the submitting party to all
				  principal parties. The commission shall endeavor to establish dates for the
				  filing of all supplemental submissions which will allow an opportunity for
				  their review and critical analysis by other affected parties. However, the
				  commission may accept supplemental submissions filed after any established
				  dates if, in the commission's judgment, the submissions assist the commission
				  in the discharge of its statutory responsibilities.
I. Any material submitted to the commission
				  by the parties in conjunction with or relative to any notice filed pursuant to
				  any mandatory review covered by
				  1VAC50-20-180
				  through
				  1VAC50-20-384,
				  except materials presented in the context of negotiations or mediation of a
				  confidential nature as authorized by law, shall be considered public documents
				  and made available by the submitting party for review by any other interested
				  party or by the public. Any interested party or member of the public may
				  request copies of any such material which shall be provided promptly by the
				  party submitting the material to the commission at a price sufficient to cover
				  the expense incurred.
J. Each
				  document, exhibit, or other material submitted to the commission shall bear a
				  title, the date of preparation, a detailed citation of the sources from which
				  all data are obtained, and the name of the entity which submitted the document,
				  exhibit, or other material. All material submitted to the commission by a local
				  government shall be, as nearly as practicable, in the same form as the material
				  would subsequently be submitted to the courts. The commission may refuse to
				  accept for review and consideration any exhibit, document, or other material
				  unless the person preparing it, or a representative of the entity responsible
				  for its submission, shall be willing to appear before the commission for
				  purposes of answering questions concerning the material.
K. Unless otherwise requested, wherever the
				  regulations of the commission call for the projection of data, the projections
				  should be made for a 10-year period. In each instance where projections are
				  given, the method and bases of the projections should be indicated.
L. All data, exhibits, documents, or other
				  material submitted to the commission on the initiative of a party or pursuant
				  to a request from the commission shall be certified by the submitting party (i)
				  as to source and (ii) as to the fact that the material is correct within the
				  knowledge of the submitting party.
M. Any party filing notice or making
				  submissions to the commission shall provide at least eight copies of all
				  submissions, unless the commission agrees that a lesser number would be
				  sufficient for its review and analysis. The commission may make provisions for
				  the electronic filing of submissions, including facsimile.
N. At any time during the course of the
				  commission's review of any issue, the commission's staff may solicit additional
				  data, documents, records, or other materials from the parties as is deemed
				  necessary for proper analysis of any issue. Where such materials are solicited
				  from a party, the commission's staff, where practicable, shall make the request
				  in writing, with copies of the request being provided to other principal
				  parties. Copies of all materials submitted to the commission pursuant to this
				  chapter shall concurrently be provided to each principal party or shall be made
				  available to the parties in a manner acceptable to the commission. The
				  commission shall be given written notification by the submitting party of each
				  principal party provided a copy of the material or of arrangements proposed for
				  making the material available to the principal parties.
O. The commission shall not be limited in its
				  analysis of any issue to the materials submitted by the parties but shall
				  undertake independent research as it deems appropriate in order to assure a
				  full and complete investigation of each issue.
P. The commission shall request all parties
				  to cooperate fully in the development and timely sharing of data relative to
				  the issue under review. The commission considers the cooperation among parties
				  vital to the discharge of its responsibilities.
Q. The commission may allow the parties to
				  correct the data, exhibits, documents, or other material submitted to the
				  commission prior to the date established for the closing of the record pursuant
				  to
				  1VAC50-20-640
				  B. Where corrections are authorized pursuant to this chapter, copies of all
				  corrections shall be provided by the submitting party to all principal parties.
				  If, in the commission's judgment, the corrections are of a substantive nature
				  as to significantly alter the scope or character of the issue under review, the
				  commission may delay its proceedings for an appropriate amount of time to
				  provide an opportunity for other parties to respond to the corrected data,
				  exhibits, documents, or other material.
R. Following the receipt of a notice, the
				  commission may request the party initiating the proposed action to prepare and
				  file testimony in support of the proposed action. The testimony of the party
				  initiating the proposed action may refer to all data, exhibits, documents, or
				  other material previously submitted to the commission or filed with the
				  testimony. In all proceedings in which the initiating party files testimony,
				  the affected party shall be permitted and may be requested by the commission to
				  file, on or before a date established by the commission, testimony in response
				  to the proposed action. The testimony of the affected party may refer to all
				  data, exhibits, documents, or other material previously submitted to the
				  commission or filed with the testimony. Any affected party who chooses not to
				  file testimony by the date established by the commission may not thereafter
				  present testimony except by permission of the commission, but may otherwise
				  fully participate in the proceeding and engage only in cross-examination of the
				  testimony of other parties. Failure to comply with the directions of the
				  commission, without good cause shown, may result in rejection of the testimony
				  by the commission. The commission may permit the parties to correct or
				  supplement any prepared testimony before or during the oral presentations as
				  called for in
				  1VAC50-20-620.
				  Eight copies of prepared testimony shall be filed unless otherwise specified by
				  the commission.
Statutory Authority: §
												15.2-2903
						of the Code of Virginia.