Recording and Transcription of Hearings and Other Proceedings

(1) At the request of any party or in the discretion of the Board, the Board may order that a hearing or other proceedings in an appeal be recorded by a stenographer present at the hearing and that a transcript of the hearing or other proceedings be produced. Written notice of the request for a stenographer in a form approved by the Clerk shall be given to the Clerk at least five days before the hearing or other proceedings is scheduled to commence, but the Board in its discretion may permit later notice. (2) Subject to availability of appropriate recording devices, the Board will digitally record hearings or other proceedings. As an alternative to Rule 29(1), any party may request the digital file of the Board's recording of the hearing or other proceedings within 14 days of the completion of the hearing or other proceedings. The party requesting the digital file is responsible for facilitating transcription of the audio recording by a transcriber listed on the Board's website at https://www.mass.gov/orgs/appellate-tax-board. (3) The Board in its discretion may deny a party's request for a recording and/or transcript for certain proceedings including, for example, status conferences. (4) The cost of a transcript shall be borne by the party requesting the transcript. If the opposing party also wishes to receive a copy of the transcript, the parties will share equally in the cost imposed for producing the transcript. In the case of a digital recording, the Board shall provide the requesting party with a digital copy of the audio of the hearing or other proceedings. The party shall be responsible for facilitating transcription of the audio recording by a transcriber prescribed in Rule 29(2). In every hearing or other proceedings for which a transcript is produced, the cost of producing the transcript shall include one copy of the transcript to be submitted to the Board without cost to the Board. (6) With the exception of the digital file of a hearing or other proceedings, if no party requests that a hearing or other proceedings be officially recorded in accordance with this Rule, stenographic notes, transcripts, or recordings of such hearing or other proceedings that may be created by the Board shall be for the information of the Board only, and will not be open to inspection or available for the use of the parties, unless otherwise ordered in the discretion of the Board. (7) The Board may issue standing orders from time to time as needed to clarify and implement Rule 29.