Miscellaneous Provisions Applicable to All Adjudicatory Proceedings

(1) Citation. 310 CMR 1.00 may be cited as 310 CMR 1.00: Adjudicatory Proceedings. (2) Availability of 310 CMR 1.00. Copies of 310 CMR shall be available upon request to any person from the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth and the Agency. Fees for copies shall be the cost of public records as determined by the Executive Office for Administration and Finance. (3) Severability. If any rule contained in 310 CMR 1.00 is found to be unconstitutional or invalid by a Court of competent jurisdiction, the validity of the remaining rules will not be so affected. (4) Exemptions. 310 CMR 1.00 shall not apply to any Agency within the executive offices for which M.G.L. c. 30A is not applicable. Any other Agency within each of the executive offices shall submit in whole or in part its rules for the conduct of Adjudicatory Proceedings to the Commissioner of Administration who shall approve or disapprove the filing of these proposed substitute rules. Such substitute rules shall be promulgated pursuant to the rulemaking procedures of M.G.L. c. 30A and shall be filed with the Secretary of the Commonwealth within 60 days of the publication of 310 CMR 1.00 and shall take effect at the same time as the standard rules. Thereafter, substitute rules shall be filed subject to the approval of the Commissioner of Administration and in accordance with section six. Any substitute rules shall follow the headings and to the extent possible the subheadings as set forth in 310 CMR 1.00. (5) Non-english Speaking Parties. (a) Communications. All communications which may result in the commencement of an Adjudicatory Proceeding shall contain a notice printed in English, Spanish, Portugese, Italian, Greek, French and Chinese that informs the reader that the document is important and should be translated immediately. (b) Interpreters. If any Party to a proceeding cannot communicate effectively in English, the Agency, or Presiding Officer shall stay the proceeding until someone can be found who can communicate effectively in both English and the language of the non-English speaking Party. (6) Withdrawal and Disqualification of Presiding Officer. A Presiding Officer may at any time withdraw himself/herself from an Adjudicatory Proceeding, in which case another Presiding Officer shall be appointed. If a Party files a timely and sufficient motion and supporting affidavit of bias or other ground for disqualification of a Presiding Officer, and the Presiding Officer does not disqualify himself/herself pursuant to such motion, such motion and all material submitted in support of and opposition to such motion shall be made part of the record, and the Agency may rule on the motion as part of the Decision in the Adjudicatory Proceeding, or at such earlier time as justice may require. (7) Ex-Parte Communications. No Party or other Person directly or indirectly involved in an adjudicatory appeal shall submit to the Presiding Officer or any Agency employee involved in the Decision-making process, any evidence, argument, analysis or advice, whether written or oral, regarding any matter at issue in an adjudicatory appeal, unless such submission is part of the record or made in the presence of all Parties. This provision does not apply to consultation among Agency members concerning the Agency's internal administrative functions or procedures. (8) Docket/Decision Index. (a) Docket. Unless otherwise prescribed by law, each Agency shall maintain on a current basis, a docket of all proceedings which shall list separately in chronological order all Papers filed and actions taken in each Adjudicatory Proceeding. (b) Decision Index. Unless otherwise prescribed by law, each Agency shall maintain on a current basis, a decision index and compilation of decisions. Said index shall contain an alphabetical listing by name and subject matter of all adjudicatory decisions rendered and shall contain a further crossreference as to the page number in the compilation where the subject Decision may be found. All names and addresses of Parties shall when appropriate be deleted from the Decisions in the compilation in order to protect confidentiality. (c) Public Inspection. Unless proscribed by law, the docket, Decision index, and compilation of Decisions shall be available for inspection and copying by the public during the office hours of the Agency. The rate for copying shall be rates as set by the Executive Office for Administration and Finance.