Rule 515-2-1-.06 - Parties of Record(1) At the hearing on all applications, petitions and complaints, the Chairman of the Commission shall call for and enter the names of all parties desiring to become a party of record, either for or against the docketed case being heard. In the discretion of the Commission, parties having made written intervention prior to the hearing may be entered as a party of record.(2) The Commission may, in its discretion and for good cause shown, authorize the late filing, or entering, of a notice of intervention.(3) The Commission may condition any order permitting intervention so as to assure the orderly conduct of the proceeding. If an intervenor has demonstrated a lack of familiarity with the Commission's hearing processes or the rules of evidence in Commission proceedings, the Commission may place reasonable restrictions on the intervenor designed to avoid delay or disruption of the proceeding and that are not related to the viewpoint of the intervenor, including but not limited to, placing a time limit on the intervenor's cross-examination of witnesses.(4)(a) A person who is not a party to a proceeding may make a limited appearance by making an oral or written statement of his or her position on the issues, provided that the Commission maintains the discretion to disallow a person from making or continuing to make an oral or written statement if such disallowance is consistent with principles of fairness and necessary to maintain decorum, based on factors, including but not limited to: (1) whether the oral or written statement is limited to and rationally related to the issues noticed for consideration at the hearing;(2) whether the oral statement is redundant to the oral statements made by other persons so as to unduly delay the hearing;(3) whether the person making the oral or written statement is speaking on behalf of a party to the proceeding; and(4) whether the person making the oral or written statement is conducting him or herself in a disruptive, offensive, or defamatory manner. (b) Nothing in this rule limits the Commission's ability to impose procedural requirements on the presentation of written and oral comments in order to effectively manage the proceeding. No procedural requirement will be based on the viewpoint of the speaker.Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 515-2-1-.06
O.C.G.A. §§ 46-2-20, 46-2-30, 46-2-51, 50-13-15.
Original Rule entitled "Parties of Record" adopted. F. Dec. 29, 1975; eff. Jan. 1, 1976, as specified by Ga. L. 1975, p. 411.Amended: F. May 23, 2018; eff. June 12, 2018.