Neb. Admin. Code § 316-33-007 — Hearing Officer

007.01 The Tax Commissioner has the authority to delegate to a Hearing Officer or hearing officers the functions of conducting a prehearing conference and/or a hearing and submitting a recommended decision to the Tax Commissioner. 007.02 A person who has served as an investigator, prosecutor, or advocate in a contested case or in its prehearing stage may not serve as a Hearing Officer or assist or advise a Hearing Officer in the same proceeding except as provided in subsection 007.04. 007.03 A person who is subject to the authority, direction, or discretion of one who has served as an investigator, prosecutor, or advocate in a contested case or in its prehearing stage may not serve as a Hearing Officer or advise a Hearing Officer in the same proceeding except as provided in subsection 007.04. 007.04 If all parties consent, a person who has served as, or who is subject to the authority, direction, or discretion of one who has served as investigator, prosecutor, or advocate in a contested case or in its prehearing stage may assist a Hearing Officer in the preparation of orders. 007.05 A person who has participated in a determination of probable cause or other equivalent preliminary determination in a contested case may serve as a Hearing Officer or assist or advise a Hearing Officer in the same proceeding. 007.06 A person may continue to serve as a Hearing Officer at successive stages of the same contested case. 007.07 Powers and duties. The Hearing Officer has the duty to conduct full, fair and impartial hearings, to take appropriate action to avoid unnecessary delay in the disposition of the proceeding, and to maintain order. He or she shall have the following powers: 007.07A To administer oaths and affirmations; 007.07B To issue subpoenas as authorized; 007.07C To compel discovery and to impose appropriate sanctions for failure to make discovery; 007.07D To rule upon offers of proof and receive relevant, competent, and probative evidence; 007.07E To regulate the course of the proceedings in the conduct of the parties and their representatives; 007.07F To hold prehearing conferences for simplification of the issues, order of hearing, settlement of the contested case, or any other proper purposes; 007.07G To consider and rule orally or in writing, upon all procedural and other motions appropriate in adjudicative proceedings; 007.07H To fix the time for holding the record open for additional evidence or for submission of briefs; 007.07I To exclude people from the hearing; 007.07J To issue recommended decisions, rulings, and orders, as appropriate; and 007.07K To order any other action consistent with the purpose of the law. 007.08 If the parties agree and the circumstances of the case permit it, the Hearing Officer may order that the hearing be recorded electronically and without a transcriber. (Sections 77-366 and 77-375, R.R.S. 2009, and sections 84-909, 84-909.01, and 84-913 through 84-913.04, R.R.S. 2008. January 30, 2010)