R305-7-107. Proceeding Conducted by Teleconference or Other Electronic Means; Records of Hearings

  (1) All parties shall be present in person, or through an authorized representative (see R305-7-106), at an evidentiary hearing, if applicable.

  (2) A party may participate in oral argument on a dispositive motion or oral argument on the merits of a special adjudicative proceeding by teleconference or other electronic means if:

  (a) all other parties stipulate to participation by teleconference or other electronic means; and

  (b) the ALJ approves the stipulation.

  (3) A party may participate in any other hearing or conference on a dispositive motion or a hearing on the merits of a permit review adjudicative proceeding by teleconference or other electronic means if all other parties stipulate to participation by teleconference or other electronic means.

  (4)(a) Hearings in all adjudicative proceedings that are subject to review by the Executive Director shall be recorded in order to preserve the record.

  (b) Hearings that are not subject to review by the Executive Director, such as status and scheduling conferences, need not be recorded. In such cases, the notice of hearing will indicate that the hearing is not scheduled to be of record. If a party objects, a record of the hearing will be made in accordance with subpart (c).

  (c) The Director is responsible for recording hearings of record, using audio recording equipment. Audio files of such hearings will become part of the adjudicative record.

  (d) Any party may request that a court reporter be employed for the hearing, which request shall be granted by the ALJ. Unless otherwise stipulated by the parties, the requesting party shall bear the cost associated with the use of a court reporter. Any such requests shall be submitted to the ALJ at least 10 business days before the scheduled hearing. In the event that a court reporter is employed, the transcript of proceedings will become a public record and part of the adjudicative record of the proceeding. As a result, the court reporter shall not be allowed to claim any copyright on the transcript. The party engaging the court reporter will be responsible for obtaining a full release of the transcript.