§ 58-3-225 — Conduct of hearings; absence of commissioner; ejection of disruptive party; contempt; withdrawal of petition.

(A) Hearings conducted before the commission must be conducted under dignified and orderly procedures designed to protect the rights of all parties. If a commissioner is absent from or leaves the hearing for fifteen consecutive minutes or longer, the commission must recess the hearing until the commissioner is present, or the commissioner may not participate in the deliberations or vote on the matter. If a commissioner is absent from or leaves the hearing for less than fifteen consecutive minutes, the commission shall cause the record of the proceeding to reflect the absence and the duration of the absence. (B) All persons appearing in a representative capacity before the commission in its proceedings should conform to the standards of ethical conduct required of attorneys practicing before the courts of this State. (C) Any person, firm, or corporation who disregards commission orders after due notice or who engages in conduct calculated to bring the due and orderly course of commission proceedings into disrespect or disregard, or to interfere with or prejudice parties or their witnesses during the proceedings may, by order of the commission or its presiding officer, be ejected for the remainder of that day from the proceedings. If that person, firm, or corporation engages in further conduct resulting in ejection for a second day or portion thereof in the same proceeding, he must also be declared in contempt and cited to any circuit judge, who may punish by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars or imprisonment not to exceed thirty days, or both. The proscribed conduct includes, but is not limited to, any person, firm, or corporation intentionally delaying the proceedings by the injection of matters determined not to be relevant after a proper warning that the matters shall not be pursued. (D) The provisions of this section must not be construed as limiting any powers of the commission under existing law. (E) A party may withdraw its petition, application, complaint, counterclaim, cross-claim, or third-party claim from any commission docket one time as a matter of right, and without prejudice, provided that it does so prior to the later of the date that responsive pleadings are filed or the date that the withdrawing party's direct testimony addressing such petition, application, complaint, counterclaim, cross-claim, or third-party claim is due to be filed with the commission. A party may thereafter withdraw its petition, application, complaint, counterclaim, cross-claim, or third-party claim from any commission docket only upon order of the commission and upon such terms and conditions as the commission considers proper.

Legislative History

HISTORY: 1980 Act No. 440, SECTION 2, eff May 26, 1980; 2004 Act No. 175, SECTION 4, eff July 1, 2004. Editor's Note 1980 Act No. 440, SECTION 1, provides as follows: "Section 1. The General Assembly finds that the Public Service Commission (Commission) was created by the General Assembly to regulate common carriers and utilities serving the public as, and to the extent, required by the public interest. The regulation of such carriers and utilities is one of the Commission's most important functions and one that fundamentally affects the daily lives of the citizens of this State and in light of the importance of the Commission's functions, all proceedings before the Commission should be conducted in the most equitable, efficient and dignified manner. It further finds that many proceedings before the Commission have become increasingly lengthy, with a substantial number of different parties representing different interests. It is the purpose of this act to improve the Commission's effectiveness and efficiency and to allow the Commission to have an equitable and dignified forum in which to conduct such proceedings."