Conduct of Hearing

(1) All hearings shall be conducted in the presence of a majority of the Board. (2) The Chairman, under the directionof the Board, shall have authority to permit the examination of witnesses, to rule upon the admissibility of evidence, to allow and deny motions, to limit testimony to oral or written presentation as appropriate and to adjourn or relocate a hearing. 1.06: continued (3) The Chairman, or a person designated by him or her, shall have the power to administer oaths and affirmations. (4) The Board may issue subpoenas authorized by law and shall issue such at the request of interested parties. (5) The Board may in its discretion before or during a hearing direct the interested parties to prefile direct testimony and evidence. All prefiled testimony shall be considered to be admitted into evidence and shall be part of the record of the hearing. (6) The Board may in its discretion before or during a hearing direct the interested parties to appear before it for a conference to consider: (a) a simplification of issues; (b) the necessity or desirability of amendments to any notice or petition served or to be served; (c) the possibilityofobtaining admissions of fact and of documents which will avoid unnecessary proof; (d) a limitation on the number of expert witnesses; and (e) such other matters as may aid in the disposition of the proceeding before the Board. (7) The petitioning party shall have the burden ofgoing forward, and all persons appearing in favor of said petition or a modification thereof shall present their cases prior to the presentation of opposing evidence. (8) All persons wishing to become parties shall enter appearances. Said appearancesmay be entered through counsel, and shall be filed with the Chairman or Executive Secretarywithinthree weeks after publication of the hearing notice. However, appearances may be filed at any stage of the hearing by permission of the Board for good cause shown. (9) A person desirous of making a statement of position shall be allowed to do so and shall not be subject to the requirement of the taking of an oath or affirmation, be deemed aninterested partyor be subject to examination or cross-examination. Statements of position may be presented orally or in writing, as deemed appropriate by the Board. Such statements shall be considered part of the record but shall not be accorded full evidentiary value. (10) The Board shall not be bound by formal rules of evidence. Statistical and published reports of State and Federal governmental agencies shall be admitted without certification. (11) Subject to the provisions of 955 CMR 1.06(5), any party to a hearing shall have the right to present his or her case by oral or documentary evidence, as deemed appropriate by the Board, to submit rebuttal evidence and conduct such cross-examination as may be required for a clear and true disclosure of the facts. (12) Immaterial, irrelevant or unduly repetitious evidence shall be excluded, whether offered on direct examination or cross-examination of witnesses. (13) Objections to the admission or exclusion of evidence shall state the grounds of objection relied upon, and no argument thereon shall be permitted except with the permission of the Board. (14) Rulings on objections and all other matters shall be part of the record, and failure to object timely to the admission or exclusion of evidence or to any ruling shall be considered a waiver of such objection. (15) The Board may take notice of any fact which may be judicially noticed by the courts, and in addition may take notice of general, technical and scientific facts within its specialized knowledge. Interested parties shall be notified of the material so noticed and shall be afforded an opportunity to contest the facts so noticed. The Board may utilize its experience, technical competence, and specialized knowledge in the evaluation of the evidence presented to it.