Montana Administrative Code

38.2.311 IDENTIFICATION OF COMMUNICATIONS Communications should contain the name and address of the communicator and an appropriate reference to commission files, if any there be, pertaining to the subject of the communication. Authorizing statute(s): 69-3-103, 69-2-101, 69-12-20…

38.2.312 EXTENSIONS OF TIME In the discretion of the commissioners or a hearing examiner, for good cause shown, any time limit prescribed by commission ruling or by these rules may be extended. All requests for extensions shall be made before the expiration of the period original…

38.2.313 COMPUTATION OF TIME Unless specifically dictated by the Montana Code Annotated: The time within which an act is to be done as provided in any rule or order promulgated by the commission, when expressed in days, shall be computed by excluding the first day and including t…

38.2.314 PRACTICE BEFORE THE COMMISSION Any practice before the commission which constitutes the practice of law must be done in accordance with Montana laws governing the practice of law. Inquiries and applications for admission to practice law in Montana, which includes practic…

38.2.315 REJECTION OF DOCUMENTS Documents which are not in substantial compliance with commission rules, commission orders, or applicable statutes may be rejected, even if previously assigned a docket number. If rejected, such papers will be returned with an indication of the def…

38.2.316 TRANSCRIPTS Transcripts may be requested by any party, or their preparation may be directed by the commission. Any party, other than the commission or its staff, who requests and receives transcripts shall pay the specified costs therefor. An applicant may request that a…

38.2.318 ELECTRONIC COPY OF FILINGS (REPEALED) Authorizing statute(s): 69-1-110, 69-2-101, 69-3-103, MCA Implementing statute(s): 69-1-110, 69-2-101, 69-3-103, MCA History: NEW, 2002 MAR p. 398, Eff. 8/5/02; REP, 2009 MAR p. 1417, Eff. 8/14/09.

38.2.3301 INVESTIGATION AND DISCOVERY Data requests and the additional issues process are the primary, though not exclusive, methods of pre-hearing investigation in commission proceedings. Data requests are a discovery tool, which may contain and combine elements of interrogatori…

38.2.3302 SUBPOENAS FOR WITNESSES AND DOCUMENTS Any party requiring the attendance of a witness from any place in the state to any designated place of hearing for the purpose of taking testimony of such witness in a proceeding before the commission, and any party requiring the pr…

38.2.3303 WHO MAY ISSUE Subpoenas shall be signed and issued by the hearing examiner, a commissioner or the commission secretary. The name and address of the witness shall be inserted in the original subpoena and a copy of the return shall be filed with the secretary of the commi…

38.2.3304 ENFORCEMENT The commission by its counsel or the party seeking the subpoena may seek enforcement of the same by applying to a judge of any district court of the state of Montana, for an order upon any witness who shall fail to obey a subpoena to show cause why such subp…

38.2.3305 ATTENDANCE OF WITNESSES -- FEE All subpoenas shall extend to all parts of the state, and may be served by any person authorized to serve process of courts of record or by any person of full age designated for that purpose by the commission. The person executing any such…

38.2.3601 DESIGNATION When evidence is to be taken in a proceeding before the commission, any commissioner or any examiner designated by the commission, may preside at the hearing. Authorizing statute(s): 69-3-103, 69-2-101, 69-12-201(2) and 69-1-110(3), MCA Implementing statute(…

38.2.3602 POWERS AND DUTIES OF PRESIDING OFFICER A presiding officer shall have the duty to conduct full, fair and impartial hearings; to take appropriate action to avoid unnecessary delay in the disposition of proceedings, and to maintain order; and he shall possess all powers n…

38.2.3603 DISQUALIFICATION OF EXAMINERS An examiner designated by the commission to preside at a hearing may, upon written request and approval of the commission, disqualify themself from presiding therein. Whenever any party shall deem the hearing examiner for any reason to be d…

38.2.3901 GENERAL PROVISIONS The time and place of holding hearings will be set by the commission and notice thereof served upon all parties not less than 20 days in advance of the hearing date, unless the commission finds that an emergency exists requiring the hearing to be held…

38.2.3902 RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF PARTIES At any hearing, all parties shall be entitled to enter an appearance, introduce evidence, examine and cross-examine witnesses, make arguments, and generally participate in the conduct of the proceeding. All parties shall also compl…

38.2.3903 APPEARANCES Parties shall enter their appearances at the beginning of the hearing by giving their names and addresses in writing to the reporter who will include the same in the record of hearing. The presiding officer conducting the hearing may, in addition, require ap…

38.2.3904 TERMINATION OF PARTY STATUS Notwithstanding any other provision of these rules pertaining to party status, and unless specifically authorized by order of the commission for good cause shown, no person shall be a party to any proceeding in which such person has failed to…

38.2.3905 CONTACT BETWEEN PARTIES AND COMMISSION The commission declares its policy to be that after the giving of notice on a complaint, petition or application in a contested formal proceeding, or after notice of a tariff filing has been given and prior to the issuance of a fin…

38.2.3906 NOTICE (REPEALED) Authorizing statute(s): 69-1-110(3), 69-2-101, 69-3-103, 69-12-201(2), MCA Implementing statute(s): 69-2-101, MCA History: NEW, 1977 MAR p. 1200, Eff. 12/24/77; REP, 2021 MAR p. 937, Eff. 7/24/21.

38.2.3907 CONTINUANCE Any party who desires a continuance shall, immediately upon receipt of notice of the hearing, or as soon thereafter as facts requiring such continuance come to his knowledge, notify the commission of said desire, stating in detail the reasons why such contin…

38.2.3908 FAILURE TO APPEAR At the time and place set for hearing, if an applicant, petitioner, or complainant fails to appear without having obtained a continuance in the manner specified above, the commission may dismiss the petition, application, or complaint with or without p…

38.2.3909 TRANSCRIPTS Except as provided in (3) , a full and complete record of all proceedings before the commission or hearing examiner in any hearing and all testimony shall be taken down by a reporter appointed by the commission. Suggested corrections to the transcript of rec…

38.2.3910 CONDUCT AT HEARINGS All parties to hearings, their counsel, and spectators shall conduct themselves in a respectful manner. Demonstrations of any kind at hearings shall not be permitted. Any disregard by parties, attorneys, or other persons of the rulings of the presidi…

38.2.3911 CONSOLIDATED HEARINGS The commission, upon its own motion, or upon motion by any party, may order two or more proceedings involving similar questions of law or fact to be consolidated for hearing where rights of the parties or the public interest will not be prejudiced …

38.2.4201 GENERAL In the conduct of its hearings, the commission is bound to follow the common law and statutory rules of evidence, 2-4-612 (2) , MCA. The Montana rules of evidence, as adopted by the Montana supreme court, shall be applied in all contested cases. Authorizing stat…

38.2.4202 TESTIMONY UNDER OATH All testimony to be considered by the commission in its hearings, except matters officially noticed or entered by stipulation, shall be taken under oath or affirmation. Authorizing statute(s): 69-3-103, 69-2-101, 69-12-201(2) and 69-1-110(3), MCA Im…

38.2.4203 STIPULATION AS TO FACTS The parties to any proceeding or investigation before the commission may, by stipulation in writing filed with the commission or entered in the record, agree upon the facts or any portion thereof involved in the controversy, which stipulation sha…

38.2.4204 SUPPORTING EVIDENCE Parties commencing an action should file prepared testimony or a fact sheet to establish the facts necessary for the commission to grant the requested relief. If no prepared testimony is filed with an initial pleading, the commission may set a deadli…

38.2.4205 EXHIBITS Size of exhibits. Whenever possible, exhibits offered as evidence shall be, when folded, 8-1/2 inches by 11 inches. Marking exhibits. All exhibits shall be marked as ordered by the presiding officer. Parties shall arrange in advance with the court reporter the …

38.2.4206 ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE At the hearing, the presiding officer may require the production of further evidence upon any issue. Upon agreement of the parties, he may authorize the filing of specific documentary evidence as a part of the record within a fixed time after submiss…

38.2.4207 OBJECTIONS Any evidence offered in whatever form shall be subject to appropriate and timely objection. When objection is made to the admissibility of evidence, such evidence may be received subject to later ruling by the commission. The commission, in its discretion, ei…

38.2.4208 OFFERS OF PROOF An offer of proof for the record shall consist of a statement of the substance of the evidence to which objection has been sustained. The offer shall become a part of the record, but only for purpose of judicial review. Authorizing statute(s): 69-3-103, …

38.2.4501 PROPOSED FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS OF PARTIES Notice. The presiding officer may require all parties of record to file proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law at the close of testimony in the proceeding. The presiding officer shall immediately fix the time in whi…

38.2.4502 BRIEFS AND ORAL ARGUMENT: RIGHT TO FILE OR ARGUE A party shall have the right to file a brief or present oral argument in any hearing before the commission. The presiding officer may require the filing of briefs or the presentation of oral argument or both by the partie…

38.2.4503 TIME Briefs. Unless otherwise ordered by the presiding officer, when briefs are to be filed in any proceeding, the applicant or complainant shall have 20 days after close of hearing, or 20 days after the date the complete transcript of the hearings is filed with the com…

38.2.4504 FILING AND SERVICE OF BRIEFS (REPEALED) Authorizing statute(s): 69-1-110(3), 69-2-101, 69-3-103, 69-12-201(2), MCA Implementing statute(s): 69-2-101, MCA History: NEW, 1977 MAR p. 1200, Eff. 12/24/77; REP, 2021 MAR p. 937, Eff. 7/24/21.

38.2.4505 BRIEFS, CONTENTS Briefs shall be concise, and shall, when a transcript is prepared, include transcript citations for each statement of fact. Briefs exceeding 20 pages excluding appendices shall contain a subject index with page references and a list of authorities if an…

38.2.4801 COMMISSION DECISIONS AND ORDERS An order or decision in writing by the commission will issue in every proceeding. The order or decision shall contain separately stated findings of fact and conclusions of law. One copy of the order shall be served on each party. Authoriz…

38.2.4802 ISSUANCE OF PRESIDING OFFICER OR EXAMINER PROPOSED DECISION A presiding officer or hearing examiner may issue a proposed decision. The decision shall be served on all parties to the proceeding. The proposed order shall contain separately stated findings of fact and conc…

38.2.4803 EXCEPTIONS TO PROPOSED ORDERS Briefs on exceptions may be filed by any party within 20 days after the proposed order is filed. Response briefs opposing exceptions may be filed within ten days thereafter. Enlargement of time may be granted for good cause shown with leave…

38.2.4804 ORAL ARGUMENT TO COMMISSION AFTER PROPOSED DECISION Any party may petition the commission for oral argument after the issuance of a proposed decision. Such request may be included in a brief on exceptions or response, but must be filed no later than the last day to file…

38.2.4805 REHEARINGS Before issuance of a commission decision, or after the issuance of a proposed decision, a party to a proceeding may file with the commission an application to set aside submission and reopen the proceeding for the taking of additional evidence. Such applicati…

38.2.4806 RECONSIDERATION Within ten days after an order or decision has been made by the commission, any party may apply for a reconsideration in respect to any matter determined therein. Such motion shall set forth specifically the ground or grounds on which the movant consider…

38.2.4807 APPEALS Appeals of a commission decision are as provided by law. Authorizing statute(s): 69-3-103, 69-2-101, 69-12-201(2) and 69-1-110(3), MCA Implementing statute(s): 69-2-101, MCA History: NEW, 1977 MAR p. 1200, Eff. 12/24/77.

38.2.5001 DEFINITIONS Terminology used in these rules has the following meanings, except where the context clearly indicates otherwise: "Confidential information" means information that the commission may lawfully withhold from public disclosure by issuing a protective order in a…

38.2.5002 PROTECTIVE ORDERS AND RULES--RELATIONSHIP, WAIVER, SPECIAL PROVISIONS, INAPPLICABILITY If conflict exists between these rules and a protective order, the protective order controls. Requests for waiver of one or more of these rules will not be routinely granted, but may …

38.2.5003 PROTECTION OF INFORMATION--"90-DAY RULE" (IS HEREBY REPEALED) Authorizing statute(s): 69-3-103, MCA Implementing statute(s): 69-3-105, MCA History: NEW, 2000 MAR p. 2037, Eff. 7/28/00; REP, 2004 MAR p. 2592, Eff. 10/22/04.

38.2.5004 TERM PROTECTIVE ORDERS On the motion of a provider, the commission may issue a "term protective order," which is a protective order applicable to specific confidential information expected to be required periodically by the commission. An example of such information wou…