Authority: IC 8-1-1-3; IC 8-1-2-47

Affected: IC 8-1-1-5; IC 8-1-1.1-5.1

Sec. 21. (a) The presiding officer has necessary authority to control the receipt and admissibility of evidence, including, but not limited to, the following:

1. (1) Ruling on the:

   1. (A) admissibility of evidence; or
   2. (B) qualifications of witnesses;
2. or both.

3. (2) Confining the evidence to the issues in the proceeding and imposing, where appropriate, the following:

   1. (A) Limitations on the number of witnesses to be heard.
   2. (B) Limitations of time and scope for direct and cross-examinations.
   3. (C) Limitations on the presentation of further cumulative or repetitious evidence.
   4. (D) Other necessary limitations.
4. (3) Taking other appropriate action necessary for the expeditious conduct of the hearing. The presiding officer shall actively employ these powers to direct and focus the proceedings consistent with due process.

(b) Except as otherwise provided in this rule, when writings, recordings, or photographs are offered in evidence, copies shall be furnished to the presiding officer and to the parties present at the hearing unless the presiding officer otherwise directs. The presiding officer may require a party to furnish additional copies of exhibits.

(c) Verified petitions, complaints, and answers thereto, and similar verified documents upon which hearings are held, may, without further action, be admitted into evidence:

1. (1) by agreement of parties; or
2. (2) provided the affiant is made available for cross-examination.

(d) A party may move for the admission of evidence into the record upon presentation of the sponsoring witness, after authentication, or pursuant to stipulation or agreement.

(e) An offer to prove may be requested when a ruling has been made holding that the witness was not competent to testify or that the evidence to be offered was inadmissible. An offer to prove may also be made when the presiding officer has sustained an objection to the admission of tangible evidence. If the proffered evidence is tangible, the commission shall mark it for identification purposes and that constitutes the offer to prove. If the proffered evidence is oral testimony, the offer to prove must consist of a summary of the evidence that the counsel contends would be adduced by the testimony. The presiding officer may, when requested, permit an offer to prove to be made orally or by the written prefiled testimony of a witness. The presiding officer may also request a statement of the basis for admissibility of the evidence.

(Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission; 170 IAC 1-1.1-21; filed Oct 30, 2000, 2:10 p.m.: 24 IR 663; readopted filed Apr 6, 2006, 11:00 a.m.: 29 IR 2670; filed May 21, 2008, 9:29 a.m.: 20080618-IR-170070514FRA; readopted filed Jun 14, 2012, 3:04 p.m.: 20120711-IR- 170120199RFA; readopted filed Apr 12, 2018, 11:21 a.m.: 20180509-IR-170180113RFA; filed Jun 10, 2020, 7:38 a.m.: 20200708-IR-170190378FRA)