Washington Administrative Code › Title 308 - Licensing, Department of (See also Titles 36, 98 and 196) › Chapter 308-08 - Practice and procedure › Section 308-08-380 - Official notice - Material facts

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
In the absence of controverting evidence, the department and
				its presiding officers, upon request made before or during a hearing, may
				officially notice:
(1)
Department proceedings.
The pendency of, the issues and position
			 of the parties therein, and the disposition of any proceeding then pending
			 before or theretofore concluded by the department.
(2)
Business customs.
General
			 customs and practices followed in the transaction of business;
(3)
Notorious facts.
Facts so
			 generally and widely known to all well-informed persons as not to be subject to
			 reasonable dispute, or specific facts which are capable of immediate and
			 accurate demonstration by resort to accessible sources of generally accepted
			 authority, including but not exclusively, facts stated in any publication
			 authorized or permitted by law to be made by any federal or state officer,
			 department, or agency;
(4)
Technical knowledge.
Matters within the technical knowledge of the
			 agency involved as a body of experts, within the scope or pertaining to the
			 subject matter of its statutory duties, responsibilities or
			 jurisdiction;
(5)
Request or
			 suggestion.
Any party may request, or the presiding officer or the
			 department may suggest, that official notice be taken of a material fact, which
			 shall be clearly and precisely stated, orally on the record, at any prehearing
			 conference or oral hearing or argument, or may make such request or suggestion
			 by written notice, any pleading, motion, memorandum, or brief served upon all
			 parties, at any time prior to a final decision;
(6)
Statement.
Where an initial
			 or final decision of the department rests in whole or in part upon official
			 notice of a material fact, such fact shall be clearly and precisely stated in
			 such decision. In determining whether to take official notice of material
			 facts, the presiding officer may consult any source of pertinent information,
			 whether or not furnished as it may be, by any party and whether or not
			 admissible under the rules of evidence:
(7)
Controversion.
Any party may
			 controvert a request or a suggestion that official notice of a material fact be
			 taken at the time the same is made if it be made orally, or by a pleading,
			 reply or brief in response to the pleading or brief or notice in which the same
			 is made or suggested. If any decision is stated to rest in whole or in part
			 upon official notice of a material fact which the parties have not had a prior
			 opportunity to controvert, any party may controvert such fact by appropriate
			 exceptions if such notice be taken in an initial or intermediate decision or by
			 a petition for reconsideration if notice of such fact be taken in a final
			 report. Such controversion shall concisely and clearly set forth the sources,
			 authority and other data relied upon to show the existence or nonexistence of
			 the material fact assumed or denied in the decision:
(8)
Evaluation of evidence.
Nothing herein shall be construed to preclude the department or its authorized
			 agents from utilizing their experience, technical competence, and specialized
			 knowledge in the evaluation of the evidence presented to them.
Statutory Authority:
				  RCW
				  34.05.220(1)(a). 90-21-086,
				  § 308-08-380, filed 10/17/90, effective 11/17/90; Regulation .08.380,
				  effective 3/23/60.