A hearing officer, designated by the Director, shall preside over the hearings. The functions of the hearing officer shall commence upon his/her designation and terminate upon the certification of the record to the Director. The presiding officer shall have the duty to conduct a fair hearing, to take all necessary action to avoid delay, and to maintain order. He/She shall have all powers necessary to these ends, including, but not limited to:
- (1) Arrange and change the date, time and place of hearings and prehearing conferences and issue notice thereof.
- (2) Hold conferences to settle, simplify or determine the issues in a hearing, or to consider other matters that may aid in the expeditious disposition of the hearing.
- (3) Require parties to state their position in writing with respect to the various issues in the hearing and to exchange such statements with all other parties.
- (4) Examine witnesses and direct witnesses to testify.
- (5) Receive, rule on, exclude or limit evidence.
- (6) Rule on procedural items pending before him/her.
Amended at 12 Ok Reg 2833, eff 7-15-95