R35-1-2. Procedures for Appeal Hearings

  (1) The meeting shall be called to order by the Committee Chair.

  (2) Testimony shall be presented by the petitioner and the governmental entity. Each party shall be allowed twenty minutes to present testimony and evidence, to call witnesses, and to respond to questions from Committee members.

  (3) Witnesses providing testimony shall be sworn in by the Committee Chair.

  (4) Questioning of the witnesses and parties by Committee members is permitted.

  (5) The governmental entity must bring the disputed records to the hearing to allow the Committee to view records in camera if it deems an in camera inspection necessary. If the records withheld are voluminous or the governmental entity contends they have not been identified with reasonable specificity, the governmental entity shall notify the Committee and the adverse party at least two days before the hearing and obtain approval from the Committee Chair to bring a representative sample of the potentially responsive records to the hearing, if it is possible to do so.

  (6) Third party presentations may be permitted. Prior to the hearing, the third party shall notify the Executive Secretary of intent to present. Third party presentations shall be limited to five minutes.

  (7) Closing arguments may be presented by the petitioner and the governmental entity. Each party shall be allowed five minutes to present a closing argument and make rebuttal statements.

  (8) After presentation of the evidence, the Committee shall commence deliberations. A Committee Member shall make a motion to grant or to deny the petitioner's request in whole or in part. Following discussion of the motion, the Committee Chair shall call for the question. The motion shall serve as the basis for the Committee Decision and Order. The Committee shall vote and make public the decision of the Committee during the hearing.

  (9) The Committee may adjourn, reschedule, continue, or reopen a hearing on the motion of a member.

  (10) Except as expressly authorized by law, there shall be no communication between the parties and the members of the Committee concerning the subject matter of the appeal before the hearing or prior to the issuance of a final Decision And Order. Any other oral or written communication from the parties to the members of the Committee, or from the members of the Committee to the parties, shall be directed to the Executive Secretary for transmittal.

  (11) The following provisions govern any meeting at which one or more members of the Committee or a party appears telephonically or electronically, pursuant to Utah Code Section 52-4-207.

  (a) The anchor location is the physical location from which the electronic meeting originates or from which the participants are connected. The anchor location, unless otherwise designated in the notice, shall be at the offices of the Division of State Archives, Salt Lake City, Utah.

  (b) If one or more Committee members or parties may be participating electronically or telephonically, public notices of the meeting shall so indicate. In addition, the notice shall specify the anchor location where the members of the Committee not participating electronically or telephonically will be meeting and where interested persons and the public may attend and monitor the open portions of the meeting.

  (c) When notice is given of the possibility of a member of the Committee appearing electronically or telephonically, any member of the Committee may do so and shall be counted as present for purposes of a quorum and may fully participate and vote on any matter coming before the Committee. At the commencement of the meeting, or at such time as any member of the Committee initially appears electronically or telephonically, the Committee Chair shall identify for the record all those who are appearing telephonically or electronically. Votes by members of the Committee who are not at the physical location of the meeting shall be confirmed by the Committee Chair.

  (12)(a) If the petitioner wishes to postpone the hearing or withdraw the appeal, the petitioner shall notify the Executive Secretary of the Committee and the governmental entity in writing no later than two days prior to the scheduled hearing date.

  (b) The Committee Chair has the discretion to grant or deny a petitioner's request to postpone a hearing based upon: (i) the reasons given by the petitioner in his or her request, (ii) the timeliness of the request, (iii) whether petitioner has previously requested and received a postponement, (iv) any other factor determined to protect the equitable interests of the parties.

  (c) The Committee will ordinarily deny a governmental entity's request to postpone the hearing, unless the governmental entity has obtained the petitioner's prior consent to reschedule the hearing date.