Section 1.02 - Miscellaneous Provisions Applicable to All Adjudicatory Proceedings(1)General. 930 CMR 1.02 shall be applicable to all proceedings held under 930 CMR 1.01.(2)Availability of 930 CMR 1.00. Copies of 930 CMR 1.00 shall be posted on the Commission's website, www.mass.gov/ethics, and available from the Commission upon request by any person.(3)Severability. If any rule contained in 930 CMR 1.00 is found to be unconstitutional or invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the validity of the remaining rules will not be so affected.(4)Non-English Speaking Parties and Witnesses. If any Party in an Adjudicatory Proceeding has a concern about the ability of a Party or a witness to communicate effectively in English, the concern should be raised with the Presiding Officer at the earliest convenient time so that arrangements for an interpreter may be made.(5)Conflicts. No Presiding Officer who has a direct or indirect interest, personal involvement, or bias in an Adjudicatory Proceeding, shall conduct a hearing in said matter, nor shall he or she participate in the decision-making process with respect to such matter.(6)Ex-parteCommunications by Parties Prohibited. No Party or Authorized Representative of a Party to an Adjudicatory Proceeding shall make any written or oral submission to the Presiding Officer and his or her Legal Advisor unless such submission is copied to, or made in the presence of, all Parties. An oral request for information on scheduling or the availability of a ruling does not violate 930 CMR 1.02(6).(7)Docket/Decision Index.(a)Docket. Unless otherwise proscribed by law, the Commission shall maintain on a current basis, a docket of all proceedings which shall list separately in chronological order all Papers filed and actions taken in each Adjudicatory Proceeding.(b)Decision Index. Unless otherwise proscribed by law, the Commission shall maintain on a current basis, a Final Decision index and compilation of Final Decisions. Said index shall contain an alphabetical listing by name and subject matter of all Final Decisions rendered and shall contain a further cross-reference as to the page number in the compilation where the subject Final Decision may be found.(c)Public Inspection. Except to the extent proscribed by law, the docket, Final Decision index, and compilation of Final Decisions shall be available for inspection and copying by the public during the office hours of the Commission. The rate for copying shall be rates as set by the Executive Office for Administration and Finance.(8)Statute of Limitations.(a) Effective September 29, 2009, the statute of limitations governing Commission enforcement proceedings is five years from the date the Commission learns of the alleged violation, but not more than six years from the date of the last conduct relating to the alleged violation, as set forth in M.G.L. c. 268B, § 4(c).(b) The statute of limitations set forth in M.G.L. c. 268B, § 4(c) applies to the following: 1. all Commission enforcement proceedings involving conduct that occurred on or after September 29, 2009; and2. all Commission enforcement proceedings pending on September 29, 2009, in which, as of that date, an Order to Show Cause had not yet been filed.(c) Commission enforcement proceedings pending on September 29, 2009 in which an Order to Show Cause had been filed as of that date are subject to the statute of limitations set forth in the former 930 CMR 1.02(10), which is available on the Commission's website, www.mass.gov/ethics.(d) The statute of limitations set forth in M.G.L. c. 268B, § 4(c) does not revive any cause of action that was time-barred under the former 930 CMR 1.02(10) as of September 29, 2009.(e) For purposes of M.G.L. c. 268B, § 4(c), the Commission "learns of the alleged violation" only when the Commission's Executive Director, Enforcement Division Chief or Deputy Chief, or an attorney or investigator of the Enforcement Division, has actual knowledge that an alleged violation has occurred, or a complaint alleging a violation of M.G.L. c. 268A or c. 268B has been received at the Commission's office, subject to the following exception. The Commission does not "learn of the violation" when its Executive Director, General Counsel, and/or Legal Division attorneys and staff obtain information in the context of giving advice on behalf of the Commission concerning M.G.L. c. 268A or c. 268B.(f) The last sentence of M.G.L. c. 268B, § 4(c) provides: "The commission shall initiate such an adjudicatory proceeding within 5 years from the date the commission learns of the alleged violation, but not more than 6 years from the date of the last conduct relating to the alleged violation." The Commission interprets the last clause of that sentence as follows:1. The Commission may initiate an adjudicatory proceeding when some conduct relating to an alleged violation occurred more than six years prior to the filing of the order to show cause, as long as some conduct relating to the same alleged violation occurred less than six years prior to the filing of the order to show cause. In such circumstances, the conduct occurring more than six years prior to the filing of the order to show cause, and the conduct occurring less than six years prior to the filing of the order to show cause, may be treated as a single violation.2. The Commission may also initiate an adjudicatory proceeding with respect to a pattern or course of continuing conduct amounting to multiple violations, when all the conduct relating to all but the last alleged violation occurred more than six years prior to the filing of the order to show cause, as long as some conduct relating to the last alleged violation that is part of the pattern or course of continuing conduct occurred less than six years prior to the filing of the order to show cause. In such circumstances, each related violation that occurred more than six years prior to the filing of the order to show cause, and the violation that occurred partly more than six years before the filing of the order to show cause and partly less than six years prior to the filing of the order to show cause, may each be treated as a separate actionable violation, for which a separate penalty may be imposed.