1. (a) On the motion of any party, or on his or her own motion, the hearing officer may direct the parties and their representatives to appear at a specified time and place for a conference before the hearing, for the purpose of:

   1. (1) formulating issues;
   2. (2) simplifying issues;
   3. (3) discussing matters to be officially noticed;
   4. (4) discussing the possibility of making admissions of fact or stipulations concerning the use by any party of matters of public record, such as the official records of the commission, for the purpose of avoiding the unnecessary introduction of proof;
   5. (5) ruling on previously filed motions;
   6. (6) discussing the procedure to be followed at the hearing;
   7. (7) discussing the limitation, where possible, of the number of witnesses; and
   8. (8) discussing any other matters that may assist in the simplification of the proceedings and the disposition of the case, including settlement of issues in dispute.
2. (b) Action taken at the conference shall be recorded in any appropriate order or written communication to the parties by the hearing officer.

Source Note:The provisions of this §148.11 adopted to be effective December 4, 1995, 20 TexReg 9706.