1. (a) Standards of Conduct.

   1. (1) Every person appearing in any proceeding must comport himself or herself with dignity, courtesy, and respect for the commission, the presiding officer, and all other persons participating in the proceeding. Professional representatives must observe and practice the standard of ethical and professional conduct prescribed for their professions.
   2. (2) Upon a finding of a violation of paragraph (1) of this subsection, any party, witness, attorney, or other representative may be excluded by the presiding officer from any proceeding for such period and upon such conditions as are just, or may be subject to other just, reasonable, and lawful disciplinary action as the commission may prescribe.

2. (b) Ex parte communications. Ex parte communications are governed by § 2001.061 of the APA.

   1. (1) Unless required for the disposition of an ex parte matter authorized by law, members of the commission or administrative law judges assigned to render a decision or to make findings of fact and conclusions of law in a contested case may not communicate, directly or indirectly, in connection with any issue of law or fact with any agency, person, party, or their representatives, except on notice and opportunity for all parties to participate.
   2. (2) Members of the commission or administrative law judges assigned to render a decision or to make findings of fact or conclusions of law in a contested case may communicate ex parte with employees of the commission who have not participated in the case for the purpose of utilizing the special skills or knowledge of the commission and its staff in evaluating the evidence.
   3. (3) Number running procedures do not constitute impermissible ex parte communications if memoranda memorializing such procedures are preserved and made available to all parties of record in the proceeding to which the number running procedures relate.
3. (c) Communications. Communications by public utilities, their affiliates or representatives, or any person with the commission or any employee of the commission are governed by §14.153 of PURA. Records will be kept of all such communications and will be available to the public on a monthly basis.
4. (d) Standards for Recusal or Disqualification of Administrative Law Judges. An administrative law judge must disqualify himself or herself or must recuse himself or herself on the same grounds and under the same circumstances as specified in Rule 18b of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.

5. (e) Motions for Disqualification or Recusal of an Administrative Law Judge.

   1. (1) Any party may move for disqualification or recusal of an administrative law judge stating with particularity the grounds why the administrative law judge should not sit. The motion must:

      1. (A) be made on personal knowledge;
      2. (B) set forth such facts as would be admissible in evidence; and
      3. (C) be verified by affidavit.
   2. (2) The motion must be filed within ten working days after the facts that are the basis of the motion become known to the party, or within 15 working days of the commencement of the proceeding, whichever is later. The motion must be served on all parties in accordance with §22.74 of this title (relating to Service of Pleadings and Documents).
   3. (3) A party's response to a motion for disqualification or recusal must be in writing and filed within three working days after the filing of the motion. The administrative law judge may require that responses be made orally at a prehearing conference or hearing.

   4. (4) The administrative law judge must rule on the motion for disqualification or recusal within ten working days of the filing of the motion. No hearing will be held on a motion for disqualification or recusal unless ordered by the presiding officer.

      1. (A) If the administrative law judge who is the subject of the motion disqualifies or recuses himself or herself, the director of docket management must assign a different administrative law judge to the case.

      2. (B) If the administrative law judge who is the subject of the motion declines to disqualify or recuse himself or herself, the director of docket management must assign another administrative law judge to consider and rule on the motion.

         1. (i) At the discretion of the assigned administrative law judge, a hearing may be held on the motion.
         2. (ii) If the assigned judge finds that the presiding administrative law judge is disqualified or should be recused, the director of docket management must assign a different presiding administrative law judge to the case.
   5. (5) The administrative law judge must not rule on any other issues in the proceeding while a motion for disqualification or recusal is pending. In a case that has been referred to SOAH, SOAH must appoint another administrative law judge to preside on all matters that are the subject of the motion for recusal until the issue of disqualification is resolved.
   6. (6) The parties to a proceeding may waive any ground for recusal or disqualification after it is fully disclosed on the record, either expressly or by their failure to take action on a timely basis.
   7. (7) If the administrative law judge determines that a motion for disqualification or recusal was frivolous or capricious, or filed for purposes of delaying the proceeding, the movant may be sanctioned in accordance with §22.161 of this title (relating to Sanctions).
   8. (8) Disqualification or recusal of an administrative law judge, in and of itself, has no effect upon the validity of rulings made or orders issued prior to the time the motion for recusal or disqualification was filed.

6. (f) Standards for Recusal of Commissioners. A commissioner must recuse himself or herself from sitting in a proceeding, or from deciding one or more issues in a proceeding, in which any one or more of the following circumstances exist:

   1. (1) the commissioner in fact lacks impartiality or the commissioner's impartiality has been reasonably questioned;
   2. (2) the commissioner, or any relative of the commissioner, is a party or has a financial interest in the subject matter of the issue or in one of the parties, or the commissioner has any other interest that could be substantially affected by the determination of the issue; or
   3. (3) the commissioner or a relative of the commissioner has participated as counsel, advisor, or witness in the proceeding or matter in controversy.

7. (g) Motion for Recusal of a Commissioner.

   1. (1) Any party may move for recusal of a commissioner stating with particularity grounds why the commissioner should not sit. Such a motion must be filed prior to the date the commission is scheduled to consider the matter unless the information upon which the motion is based was not known or discoverable with reasonable effort prior to that time. The motion must:

      1. (A) be made on personal knowledge,
      2. (B) set forth such facts as would be admissible in evidence, and
      3. (C) be verified by affidavit.
   2. (2) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (1) of this subsection the motion must be filed within ten working days after the facts that are the basis of the motion become known to the party or within 15 days of the commencement of the proceeding, whichever is later. The motion must be served on all parties and the commissioner for whom recusal is sought in accordance with §22.74 of this title.
   3. (3) Parties may file written responses to the motion within seven working days from the date of filing the motion. The commission may require that responses be made orally at an open meeting.
   4. (4) The commissioner sought to be recused must issue a decision as to whether he or she agrees that recusal is appropriate or required before the commission is scheduled to act on the matter for which recusal is sought, or within 15 days after filing of the motion, whichever occurs first.
   5. (5) The parties to a proceeding may waive any ground for recusal after it is fully disclosed on the record, either expressly or by their failure to take action on a timely basis.
   6. (6) Recusal of a commissioner, in and of itself, has no effect upon the validity of rulings made or orders issued prior to the time the motion for recusal was filed.

Source Note:The provisions of this §22.3 adopted to be effective November 1, 1993, 18 TexReg 6641; amended to be effective September 8, 1995, 20 TexReg 6627; amended to be effective June 4, 1998, 23 TexReg 5660; amended to be effective February 25, 2026, 51 TexReg 1052.