§ 11. Pleadings; rules of practice; hearings; findings of fact
(a)(1) The forms, pleadings, and rules of practice and procedure before the Commission shall
be prescribed by it. The Commission shall adopt rules that include, among other things,
provisions that:
(2) With regard to the general procedural rules codified in Commission Rule 2.000, notwithstanding
the rulemaking provisions of the Vermont Administrative Procedure Act, the Commission
is empowered to prescribe and amend from time to time general rules with respect to
pleadings, practice, evidence, procedure, and forms for all Commission proceedings.
(3) The rules prescribed or amended shall not abridge, enlarge, or modify any substantive
rights of any person provided by law.
(4) The rules, when initially prescribed or any amendments to them, including any repeal,
modification, or addition, shall take effect on the date provided by the Commission
in its order of promulgation unless objected to by the Legislative Committee on Judicial
Rules as provided in 12 V.S.A. chapter 1. If an objection is made by the Legislative Committee on Judicial Rules, the initially
prescribed rules in question shall not take effect until they have been reported to
the General Assembly by the Chair of the Commission at any regular, adjourned, or
special session thereof, and until after the expiration of 45 legislative days following
that session, including the date of the filing of the report.
(5) The General Assembly may repeal, revise, or modify any rule or amendment, and its
action shall not be abridged, enlarged, or modified by subsequent rule.
(6) The Commission shall adopt rules that include, among other things, provisions that:
(A) A utility whose rates are suspended under the provisions of section 226 of this title shall, within 30 days from the date of the suspension order, file with the Commission
all exhibits it intends to use in the hearing thereon together with the names of witnesses
it intends to produce in its direct case and a short statement of the purposes of
the testimony of each witness. Except in the discretion of the Commission, a utility
shall not be permitted to introduce into evidence in its direct case exhibits that
are not filed in accordance with this rule.
(B) A scheduling conference shall be ordered in every contested rate case. At such conference
the Commission may require the State or any person opposing such rate increase to
specify what items shown by the filed exhibits are conceded. Further proof of conceded
items shall not be required.
(b) The Commission shall allow all members of the public to attend each of its hearings
unless the hearing is for the sole purpose of considering information to be treated
as confidential pursuant to a protective order duly adopted by the Commission.
(1) The Commission shall make all reasonable efforts to ensure that the location of each
hearing is sufficient to accommodate all members of the public seeking to attend.
(2) The Commission shall ensure that the public may safely attend the hearing, including
obtaining such resources as may be necessary to fulfill this obligation.
(c) The Commission shall hear all matters within its jurisdiction and make its findings
of fact. It shall state its rulings of law when they are excepted to. Upon appeal
to the Supreme Court, its findings of fact shall be accepted unless clearly erroneous. (Amended 1959, No. 329 (Adj. Sess.), § 39(b), eff. March 1, 1961; 1971, No. 185 (Adj. Sess.), § 211, eff. March 29, 1972; 2013, No. 91 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 2015, No. 23, § 134; 2017, No. 53, § 13a; 2019, No. 31, § 21; 2023, No. 33, § 6, eff. July 1, 2023; 2023, No. 85 (Adj. Sess.), § 338, eff. July 1, 2024.)