(1)  Except as provided in Subsections 63G-4-201(3)(d)(i) and (ii), in all formal adjudicative proceedings, a hearing shall be conducted as follows:

Terms Used In Utah Code 63G-4-206

  • Adjudicative proceeding: means an agency action or proceeding described in Section 63G-4-102. See Utah Code 63G-4-103
  • Agency: means a board, commission, department, division, officer, council, office, committee, bureau, or other administrative unit of this state, including the agency head, agency employees, or other persons acting on behalf of or under the authority of the agency head, but does not mean the Legislature, the courts, the governor, any political subdivision of the state, or any administrative unit of a political subdivision of the state. See Utah Code 63G-4-103
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Hearsay: Statements by a witness who did not see or hear the incident in question but heard about it from someone else. Hearsay is usually not admissible as evidence in court.
  • Party: means the agency or other person commencing an adjudicative proceeding, all respondents, all persons permitted by the presiding officer to intervene in the proceeding, and all persons authorized by statute or agency rule to participate as parties in an adjudicative proceeding. See Utah Code 63G-4-103
  • Person: means an individual, group of individuals, partnership, corporation, association, political subdivision or its units, governmental subdivision or its units, public or private organization or entity of any character, or another agency. See Utah Code 63G-4-103
  • Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
  • Presiding officer: means an agency head, or an individual or body of individuals designated by the agency head, by the agency's rules, or by statute to conduct an adjudicative proceeding. See Utah Code 63G-4-103
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
  • Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
  • Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
(a)  The presiding officer shall regulate the course of the hearing to obtain full disclosure of relevant facts and to afford all the parties reasonable opportunity to present their positions.

(b)  On the presiding officer‘s own motion or upon objection by a party, the presiding officer:

(i)  may exclude evidence that is irrelevant, immaterial, or unduly repetitious;

(ii)  shall exclude evidence privileged in the courts of Utah;

(iii)  may receive documentary evidence in the form of a copy or excerpt if the copy or excerpt contains all pertinent portions of the original document; and

(iv)  may take official notice of any facts that could be judicially noticed under the Utah Rules of Evidence, of the record of other proceedings before the agency, and of technical or scientific facts within the agency’s specialized knowledge.

(c)  The presiding officer may not exclude evidence solely because it is hearsay.

(d)  The presiding officer shall afford to all parties the opportunity to present evidence, argue, respond, conduct cross-examination, and submit rebuttal evidence.

(e)  The presiding officer may give persons not a party to the adjudicative proceeding the opportunity to present oral or written statements at the hearing.

(f)  All testimony presented at the hearing, if offered as evidence to be considered in reaching a decision on the merits, shall be given under oath.

(g)  The hearing shall be recorded at the agency’s expense.

(h)  Any party, at the party’s own expense, may have a person approved by the agency prepare a transcript of the hearing, subject to any restrictions that the agency is permitted by statute to impose to protect confidential information disclosed at the hearing.

(i)  All hearings shall be open to all parties.

(2)  This section does not preclude the presiding officer from taking appropriate measures necessary to preserve the integrity of the hearing.

Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 382, 2008 General Session