Article 16.  Presiding Officers

62. (Rule 62)  Designation

When evidence is to be taken in a proceeding before the Commission, one or more of the Commissioners, or an Administrative Law Judge, may preside at the hearing.

63. (Rule 63)  Authority

The presiding officer may set hearings and control the course thereof; administer oaths; issue subpoenas; receive evidence; hold appropriate conferences before or during hearings; rule upon all objections or motions which do not involve final determination of proceedings; receive offers of proof; hear argument; and fix the time for the filing of briefs. The presiding officer may take such other action as may be necessary and appropriate to the discharge of his or her duties, consistent with the statutory or other authorities under which the Commission functions and with the rules and policies of the Commission.

63.1. (Rule 63.1)  Petition for Reassignment - Exclusive Means to
Request Reassignment of Administrative Law Judge

The provisions of this article are the exclusive means available to a party to a Commission proceeding to seek reassignment of that proceeding to another Administrative Law Judge.

63.2. (Rule 63.2) Petitions for Automatic Reassignment

(a) A party to a proceeding preliminarily determined to be adjudicatory under Rule 6(a)(1) or 6(d), or determined to be adjudicatory under Rule 6(b)(1) or 6(c)(1), shall be entitled to petition, once only, for automatic reassignment of that proceeding to another Administrative Law Judge in accordance with the provisions of this subsection. The petition shall be filed and served in the proceeding where reassignment is sought, and on the Chief Administrative Law Judge and the President of the Commission. The petition shall be supported by declaration under penalty of perjury (or affidavit by an out-of-state person) in substantially the following form:

______________ , [declares under penalty of perjury:] That [s]he is [a party] [attorney for a party] to the above-captioned adjudicatory proceeding. That [declarant] believes that [s]he cannot have a [fair] [expeditious] hearing before Administrative Law Judge [to whom the proceeding is assigned]. That declarant [or the party declarant represents] has not filed, pursuant to Rule 63.2, any prior petition for automatic reassignment in the proceeding.

Dated ________________, at ___________________, California.

__________________

[Signature]

Except as provided in Rules 63.3 and 63.4, no party in an adjudicatory proceeding will be permitted to make more than one petition for reassignment in the proceeding. In an adjudicatory proceeding where there is more than one complainant or similar party, or more than one defendant or similar party, only one petition for automatic reassignment for each side may be made.

Where the party seeking automatic reassignment is one of several parties aligned on the same side in the proceeding, the declaration shall include a showing that either (1) no previous petition for automatic reassignment has been filed in the proceeding, or (2) the interests of the petitioner are substantially adverse to those of any prior petitioner for automatic reassignment in the proceeding.

(b) A party to a proceeding preliminarily determined to be ratesetting under Rule 6(a)(1), 6(c)(2), or 6(d), or determined to be ratesetting under Rule 6(b)(1) or 6(c)(1), or a person or entity declaring the intention in good faith to become a party to such proceeding, shall be entitled to petition, once only, for automatic reassignment of that proceeding to another Administrative Law Judge in accordance with the provisions of this subsection; however, no more than two reassignments pursuant to this subsection shall be permitted in the same proceeding. The petition shall be filed and served as provided in subsection (a) of this rule, and shall be supported by a declaration similar in form and substance to that set forth in subsection (a) of this rule.

Whenever a timely petition for automatic reassignment of a ratesetting proceeding is filed, the Chief Administrative Law Judge, promptly at the end of the 10-day period specified in subsection (c) of this rule, shall issue a ruling reassigning the proceeding. A party to the proceeding, or a person or entity declaring the intention in good faith to become a party to the proceeding, may petition for another automatic reassignment no later than 10 days following the date of such ruling. The petition shall be filed and served as provided in subsection (a) of this rule, and shall be supported by a declaration similar in form and substance to that set forth in subsection (a). The second automatic reassignment of the proceeding shall not be subject to further petitions pursuant to this subsection.

(c) Any petition and supporting declaration filed pursuant to subsections (a) or (b) of this rule shall be filed no later than 10 days after the date of the notice of the assignment or reassignment, except that a second petition for automatic reassignment of a ratesetting proceeding shall be filed no later than 10 days following the date of the ruling on the first petition for automatic reassignment filed pursuant to subsection (b).

(d) Upon the filing of a petition for automatic reassignment, the Chief Administrative Law Judge, subject only to the restrictions in this rule on the number and timeliness of petitions in a given proceeding, shall issue a ruling reassigning the proceeding to another Administrative Law Judge. The Chief Administrative Law Judge, in consultation with the President of the Commission, shall issue a ruling explaining the basis for denial whenever a petition for automatic reassignment is denied.

Note: Authority cited: Section 1701, Public Utilities Code. Reference: Section 1701.2, Public Utilities Code.

63.3. (Rule 63.3) Petitions for Reassignment - Unlimited Peremptory

(a) Irrespective of the limits in Rule 63.2 on number of petitions for automatic reassignment, any party is entitled to file a petition for reassignment in any adjudicatory proceeding or ratesetting proceeding in which the then-assigned Administrative Law Judge (1) has served within the previous 12 months in any capacity in an advocacy position at the Commission or has been employed by a regulated public utility, (2) has served in a representative capacity in the proceeding, or (3) has been a party to the proceeding. A petition under this subsection shall be supported by declaration under penalty of perjury (or affidavit by an out-of-state person) setting forth the factual basis for the petition, and shall be filed and served as provided in Rule 63.2(a).

(b) Any petition and supporting declaration filed pursuant to this rule shall be filed no later than 10 days after the date of the notice of the assignment or reassignment. The Chief Administrative Law Judge, in consultation with the President of the Commission, shall issue a ruling explaining the basis for denial whenever a petition for reassignment made pursuant to this rule is denied.

Note: Authority cited: Section 1701, Public Utilities Code. Reference: Section 1701.2, Public Utilities Code.

63.4. (Rule 63.4) Petitions for Reassignment - Cause

(a) Any party is entitled to file a petition for reassignment in any adjudicatory, ratesetting, or quasi-legislative proceeding where:

(1) The Administrative Law Judge has a financial interest in the subject matter in a proceeding or in a party to the proceeding.  An Administrative Law Judge shall be deemed to have a financial interest if:

(A) A spouse or minor child living in the Administrative Law Judge's household has a financial interest; or

(B) The Administrative Law Judge or his or her spouse is a fiduciary who has a financial interest.

An Administrative Law Judge has a  duty to make reasonable efforts to be  informed about his or her personal and fiduciary interests and those of his or her spouse and the personal  financial interests of the children living in the household.

(2) The Administrative Law Judge has bias, prejudice, or interest in the proceeding.

(b) A petition filed pursuant to this rule shall be supported by a declaration under penalty of perjury (or affidavit by an out-of-state person) setting forth the factual basis for the petition, and shall be filed and served as provided in Rule 63.2(a).

(c) A petition and supporting declaration filed pursuant to this rule shall be filed at the earliest practicable opportunity and in any event no later than 10 days after the date the petitioner discovered or should have discovered facts set forth in the declaration filed pursuant to this rule. The Chief Administrative Law Judge, in consultation with the President of the Commission, and after considering any response from the assigned Administrative Law Judge, shall issue a ruling addressing a petition for reassignment filed pursuant to this rule.

(d) A party may file no more than one petition for reassignment of an Administrative Law Judge pursuant to this rule unless facts suggesting new grounds for reassignment are first learned of or arise after the petition was filed. Repetitive petitions for reassignment not alleging facts suggesting new grounds for reassignment shall be denied by either the Chief Administrative Law Judge or by the Administrative Law Judge against whom they are filed.

Note: Authority cited: Section 1701, Public Utilities Code. Reference: Section 1701.2, Public Utilities Code.

63.5 (Rule 63.5) Circumstances Not Constituting Grounds for Reassignment for Cause

It shall not be grounds for reassignment for cause that the Administrative Law Judge:

(a) Is or is not a member of a racial, ethnic, religious, sexual or similar group and the proceeding involves the rights of such a group.

(b) Has experience, technical competence, or specialized knowledge of or has in any capacity expressed a view on a legal, factual or policy issue presented in the proceeding, except as provided in  Rule 63.3.

(c) Has, as a representative or public official participated in the drafting of laws or regulations or in the effort to pass or defeat laws or regulations, the meaning, effect, or application of which is in issue in the proceeding unless the Administrative Law Judge believes that the prior involvement was such as to prevent the Administrative Law Judge from exercising unbiased and impartial judgment in the proceeding.

Note: Authority cited: Section 1701, Public Utilities Code. Reference: Section 1701.2, Public Utilities Code.

63.6 (Rule 63.6) Administrative Law Judge's Ability to Request
Reassignment

The Administrative Law Judge shall request reassignment and withdraw from a proceeding in which there are grounds for reassignment for cause unless the parties waive the reassignment pursuant to Rule 63.7.

Note: Authority cited: Section 1701, Public Utilities Code. Reference: Section 1701.2, Public Utilities Code.

63.7. (Rule 63.7)  Waiver

An Administrative Law Judge, after determining that there is basis for his or her reassignment for cause, shall disclose the basis on the record, and may ask the parties whether they wish to waive the reassignment. A waiver of reassignment shall recite the basis for reassignment and shall be effective only when signed by all parties and included in the record. The Administrative Law Judge shall not seek to induce a waiver and shall avoid any effort to discover which representatives or parties favored or opposed a waiver of reassignment.

Note: Authority cited: Section 1701, Public Utilities Code. Reference: Section 1701.2, Public Utilities Code.

63.8. (Rule 63.8) Prior Rulings

If an Administrative Law Judge is reassigned, the rulings he or she has made up to that time shall not be set aside in the absence of good cause.

Note: Authority cited: Section 1701, Public Utilities Code. Reference: Section 1701.2, Public Utilities Code.

63.9. (Rule 63.9)  Ban on Ex Parte Communications

Ex parte communications regarding the assignment or reassignment of particular Administrative Law Judges are prohibited. Any written response by the assigned Administrative Law Judge to a petition for reassignment for cause shall be filed and served in the proceeding where the reassignment was requested.

Note: Authority cited: Section 1701, Public Utilities Code. Reference: Section 1701.2, Public Utilities Code.

63.10. (Rule 63.10)  Definitions

For the purposes of Rules 63.1 to 63.9 inclusive, the following definitions apply:

(a) "Financial interest" means ownership of  more than a 1 percent legal or equitable  interest in a party, or a legal or  equitable interest in a party of a fair  market value in excess of one thousand  five hundred dollars ($1,500), or a  relationship as director, advisor or other active participant in the affairs of a  party, except as follows:

(1) Ownership in a mutual or common investment fund that holds securities is not a "financial interest" in those securities held by the organization unless the Administrative Law Judge participates in the management of the fund.

(2) An office in an educational, religious, charitable, fraternal, or civic organization is not a "financial interest" in securities held by the organization.

(3) The proprietary interest of a  policyholder in a mutual insurance company, or a depositor in a mutual savings association, or a similar  proprietary interest, is a "financial  interest" in the organization only if  the outcome of the proceeding could substantially affect the value of the interest.

(b) "Representative" includes any person authorized to represent a party to a proceeding, whether or not the person is licensed to practice law, or an expert witness or consultant for the party.

(c) "Fiduciary" includes any executor,  trustee, guardian, or administrator.

(d) "Ex parte communication" includes all communications defined as ex parte communications elsewhere in these rules and, in addition, a communication between an Administrative Law Judge and other decisionmakers about a petition for reassignment of a proceeding to which the Administrative Law Judge is currently assigned.

Note: Authority cited: Section 1701, Public Utilities Code. Reference: Section 1701.1(4), Public Utilities Code.