<br />24-4-105. Hearings and determinations. (1) In order to
<br />assure that all parties to any agency adjudicatory
<br />proceeding are accorded due process oflaw, the
<br />provisions of this section shall be applicable.
<br />(2) (a) In any such proceeding in which an
<br />opportunity for agency adjudicatory hearing is required
<br />under the state constitution or by this or any other
<br />statute, the parties are entitled to a hearing and decision
<br />in conformity with this section. Any person entitled to
<br />notice of a hearing shall be given timely notice of the
<br />time, place, and nature thereof, the legal authority and
<br />jurisdiction under which it is to be held, and the matters
<br />of fact and law asserted. Unless otherwise provided by
<br />law, such notice shall be served personally or by
<br />mailing by frrst-class mail to the last address furnished
<br />the agency by the person to be notified at least thirty
<br />days prior to the hearing. In fixing the time and place
<br />for a hearing, due regard shall be had for the
<br />convenience and necessity of the parties and their
<br />representatives.
<br />(b) Any person given such notice shall file a
<br />written answer thirty days after the service or mailing of
<br />such notice. If such person fails to answer, any agency,
<br />administrative law judge, or hearing officer, upon
<br />motion, may enter a default. For good cause shown, the
<br />entry of default may be set aside within ten days after
<br />the date of such entry.
<br />(c) A person who may be affected or
<br />aggrieved by agency action shall be admitted as a party
<br />to the proceeding upon his filing with the agency a
<br />written request therefor, setting forth a brief and plain
<br />statement of the facts which entitle him to be admitted
<br />and the matters which he claims should be decided.
<br />Nothing in this subsection (2) shall prevent an agency
<br />from admitting any person or agency as a party to any
<br />agency proceeding for limited purposes.
<br />(3) At a hearing only one of the following may
<br />preside: The agency, an administrative law judge from
<br />the division of administrative hearings, or, if otherwise
<br />authorized by law, a hearing officer who if authorized
<br />by law may be a member of the body which comprises
<br />the agency. Upon the filing in good faith by a party of a
<br />timely and sufficient affidavit of personal bias of an
<br />administrative law judge or a hearing officer or a
<br />member of the agency or the agency, the administrative
<br />law judge, hearing officer, or agency shall forthwith rule
<br />upon the allegations in such affidavit as part of the
<br />record in the case. An administrative law judge or a
<br />hearing officer may at any time withdraw if he deems
<br />himself disqualified or for any other good reason in
<br />which case another administrative law judge or hearing
<br />officer may be assigned to continue the case, and he
<br />shall do so in such manner that no substantial prejudice
<br />to any party results therefrom. An agency or a member
<br />of an agency may withdraw for any like reason and in
<br />like manner, unless his withdrawal makes it impossible
<br />for the agency to render a decision.
<br />(4) Any agency conducting a hearing, any
<br />administrative law judge, and any hearing officer shan
<br />have authority to: Administer oaths and affmnations;
<br />
<br />sign and issue subpoenas; rule upon offers of proof and
<br />receive evidence; dispose of motions relating to the
<br />discovery and production of relevant documents and
<br />things for inspection, copying, or photographing;
<br />regulate the course of the hearing, set the time and place
<br />for continued hearings, and fix the time for the filing of
<br />briefs and other documents; direct the parties to appear
<br />and confer to consider the simplification of the issues,
<br />admissions of fact or of documents to avoid unnecessary
<br />proof, and limitation of the number of expert witnesses;
<br />issue appropriate orders which shall control the
<br />subsequent course of the proceedings; dispose of
<br />motions to dismiss for lack of agency jurisdiction over
<br />the subject matter or parties or for any other ground;
<br />dispose of motions to amend or to dismiss without
<br />prejudice applications and other pleadings; dispose of
<br />motions to intervene, procedural requests, or similar
<br />matters; reprimand or exclude from the hearing any
<br />person for any improper or indecorous conduct in his
<br />presence; award attorney fees for abuses of discovery
<br />procedures or as otherwise provided under the Colorado
<br />rules of civil procedure; and take any other action
<br />authorized by agency rule consistent with this article or
<br />in accordance, to the extent practicable, with the
<br />procedure in the district courts. All parties to the
<br />proceeding shall also have the right to cross-examine
<br />witnesses who testify at the proceeding. In the event
<br />more than one person engages in the conduct of a
<br />hearing, such persons shall designate one of their
<br />number to perform such of the above functions as can
<br />best be performed by one person only, and thereafter
<br />such person only shall perform those functions which
<br />are assigned to him by the several persons conducting
<br />such hearing.
<br />(5) Subpoenas shall be issued without
<br />discrimination between public and private parties by
<br />any agency or any member, the secretary, or chief
<br />administrative officer thereof or, with respect to any
<br />hearing for which an administrative law judge or a
<br />hearing officer has been appointed, the administrative
<br />law judge or the hearing officer. A subpoena shall be
<br />served in the same manner as a subpoena issued by a
<br />district court. Upon failure of any witness to comply
<br />with such subpoena, the agency may petition any
<br />district court, setting forth that due notice has been
<br />given of the time and place of attendance of the witness
<br />and the service of the subpoena; in which event, the
<br />district court, after hearing evidence in support of or
<br />contrary to the petition, may enter an order as in other
<br />civil actions compelling the witness to attend and testify
<br />or produce books, records, or other evidence, under
<br />penalty of punishment for contempt in case of
<br />contumacious failure to comply with the order of the
<br />court and may award attorney fees under the Colorado
<br />rules of civil procedure. A witness shall be entitled to
<br />the fees and mileage provided for a witness in a court of
<br />record.
<br />(6) No person engaged in conducting a hearing
<br />or participating in a decision or an initial decision shall
<br />be responsible to or subject to the supervision or
<br />
<br />14
<br />
|