1616 Place and Conduct of Fair Hearings

Fair hearings for applicants or recipients shall be held in the Office of Administrative Hearings or the KDHE District Office. At least 10-days prior to the hearing, advance written notice shall be mailed to all parties involved to permit adequate preparation of the case.

The hearing officer may conduct the fair hearing or any pre-hearing by telephone or other electronic means if each participant in the hearing or prehearing has an opportunity to participate in the entire proceeding while the proceeding is taking place. A party may be granted a face to face hearing or prehearing if good cause can be shown that a fair and impartial hearing or pre-hearing could not be conducted by telephone or other electronic means.

At a hearing, the hearing officer shall regulate the course of the proceedings. To the extent necessary for full disclosure of all relevant facts and issues, the hearing officer shall provide all parties the opportunity to respond, present evidence and argument, conduct cross-examination and submit rebuttal evidence, except as restricted by a limited grant of intervention or by a pre-hearing order.

The hearing officer may, and when required by statute shall, give non-parties an opportunity to present oral or written statements. If the hearing officer proposes to consider a statement by a nonparty, the hearing officer shall give all parties an opportunity to challenge or rebut it and, on motion of any party, the hearing officer shall require the statement to be given under oath or affirmation.

A hearing officer need not be bound by technical rules of evidence, but shall give the parties reasonable opportunity to be heard and to present evidence. Evidence need not be excluded solely because it is hearsay.

All testimony of parties and witnesses shall be made under oath or affirmation. Statements of non-parties may be received as evidence.

Any part of the evidence may be received in written form if doing so will expedite the hearing without substantial prejudice to the interests of any party. Documentary evidence may be received in the form of a copy or excerpt. Upon request, parties shall be given an opportunity to compare the copy with the original if available.

The hearing officer may not communicate, directly or indirectly, regarding any issue in the proceeding while the proceeding is pending, with any party or participant, with any person who has a direct or indirect interest in the outcome of the proceeding or with any person who presided at a previous stage of the proceeding, without notice and opportunity for all parties to participate in the communication.