Washington Administrative Code › Title 363 - Pilotage Commissioners, Board of › Chapter 363-11 - Practice and procedure - Board of pilotage commissioners › Section 363-11-410 - Adjudicative hearings - Testimony

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1) Testimony in hearings brought pursuant to
			 WAC 363-116-083 and
			 363-116-084. The board and the
			 exam committee shall be required to produce no more than a total of three fact
			 witnesses (two board/committee members, one test developer), and no more than
			 one expert witness, for any hearing requested pursuant to WAC
			 363-116-083 and
			 363-116-084, unless the board's
			 chair, in his/her sole discretion, determines that additional witnesses are
			 necessary. If the petitioner asserts that there is a necessity for additional
			 witnesses, he/she must demonstrate to the presiding officer that "exceptional
			 circumstances" exist and that such information cannot be obtained through other
			 means in order to increase the number of witnesses.
The scope of the hearing shall be limited to those issues set
				forth in WAC
				363-116-083(5)
				 and 363-116-084(5)
				 and shall not include inquiry into the mental processes of a board or committee
				member concerning their decision making processes once a decision has been made
				and a written explanation has been provided. A written explanation may be in
				the form of a written recommendation, board or committee meeting minutes,
				performance evaluations, correspondence to the petitioner, and/or other
				documents submitted to the board as a part of the decision making
				process.
(2) Testimony in
			 hearings brought pursuant to WAC
			 363-116-086.
(a) Board/TEC witnesses - The board and the
			 trainee evaluation committee (TEC) shall be required to produce no more than a
			 total of two fact witnesses (one board witness, one TEC witness) and no more
			 than one expert witness in support of its decisions made pursuant to WAC
			 363-116-080, unless the chair, in
			 his/her sole discretion, determines that additional witnesses are necessary. If
			 the petitioner asserts that there is a necessity for additional witnesses,
			 he/she must demonstrate to the presiding officer that "exceptional
			 circumstances" exist and that such information cannot be obtained through other
			 means in order to increase the number of witnesses. The scope of the testimony
			 for the hearing will be limited as set forth in WAC
			 363-116-086(3)(b) and
			 (c)  and shall not include inquiry into the
			 mental processes of a board or committee member concerning their decision
			 making processes once a decision has been made and a written explanation has
			 been provided. A written explanation may be in the form of a written
			 recommendation, board or committee meeting minutes, training trip reports,
			 training trip report summary spreadsheets, correspondence to the petitioner,
			 and/or other documents submitted to the board as a part of the decision making
			 process.
(b) Training and
			 supervising pilots - The board has determined that requiring or permitting the
			 testimony of training and supervising pilots in connection with a hearing
			 pursuant to WAC
			 363-116-086 would jeopardize the
			 integrity of the training program and would stifle candid and honest
			 assessments of a trainee's performance in the training program. The training
			 and supervising pilots prepare written training trip reports for each training
			 trip. Those reports shall speak for themselves. Notwithstanding any other
			 provision in these regulations, no training or supervising pilot shall be
			 called as a witness in connection with a hearing brought pursuant to WAC
			 363-116-086. To the extent a
			 particular training trip report is considered by a party to be vague and/or
			 ambiguous, a party may seek, by way of motion, a declaration from a training or
			 supervising pilot, seeking clarification of specific issues which the party
			 believes, for good cause shown, should be clarified. The burden to demonstrate
			 that there is a necessity for such a declaration shall be on the petitioner,
			 who must demonstrate to the presiding officer that "exceptional circumstances"
			 exist and that such information cannot be obtained through other means. Such
			 declaration may then become a part of the record of proceedings, upon a motion
			 duly made by a party to the proceedings.