Virginia Law

A. Any local government or other party appearing before the commission relative to any mandatory review may be represented by counsel.

B. The commission shall generally schedule for consideration issues in the order in which received; however, the commission reserves the right to consider issues in other sequence where it deems appropriate. Where notices are received of related or competitive actions affecting the same localities, the commission may, where appropriate, consider the issues and render the reports or a consolidated report concurrently.

C. Subsequent to its receipt of an issue for a mandatory review the commission shall meet, or otherwise converse, with representatives of the principally affected parties for purposes of establishing a schedule for its review of the issue. The schedule shall include dates (i) for the submission of responsive materials from affected jurisdictions, (ii) for tours of affected areas and oral presentations if any are desired by the commission, (iii) for a public hearing, and (iv) for the issuance of the commission's report, as well as other dates the commission deems appropriate.

D. The commission may continue or defer its proceedings with respect to an issue at any time it deems appropriate; however, no continuance or deferral shall result in an extension of the commission's reporting deadline beyond any time limit imposed by law, except by agreement of the parties or in accordance with other statutory procedures. The commission shall also accept requests for continuances or deferrals from any party at any time during its proceedings but shall not grant or deny any such requests until all parties have had an opportunity to comment on the requests. In any instance where the commission grants a continuance or a deferral, the continuance or deferral may be conditioned upon an appropriate extension of the commission's reporting deadline with respect to the issue under review.

E. The commission may confront the necessity of continuing or deferring its proceedings as a result of statutory requirement or court order. In such instances, the commission shall reschedule its proceedings, upon consultation with the parties, in a manner that permits an expeditious conclusion of its review. The parties should anticipate, however, that the duration of the continuance or stay shall result in a commensurate delay in the issuance of the commission's report.

F. In addition to any meeting, presentation, public hearing, or other gathering of the parties specified by this chapter, the commission may, where it deems necessary for an analysis of material or for a discussion or clarification of the issues before it, schedule other meetings of appropriate parties.

G. No party to a proceeding before the commission for mandatory review shall communicate in any manner with any member of the commission with respect to the merits of the issue under review except as is authorized by this chapter, or as may be otherwise authorized by the commission or its chair.

H. In addition to the submissions authorized by 1VAC50-20-180 through 1VAC50-20-384, the commission may allow supplemental submissions deemed necessary or appropriate by the commission for the provision of current and complete data. Where supplemental submissions are authorized pursuant to this subsection, copies of all submissions shall be provided by the submitting party to all principal parties. The commission shall endeavor to establish dates for the filing of all supplemental submissions which will allow an opportunity for their review and critical analysis by other affected parties. However, the commission may accept supplemental submissions filed after any established dates if, in the commission's judgment, the submissions assist the commission in the discharge of its statutory responsibilities.

I. Any material submitted to the commission by the parties in conjunction with or relative to any notice filed pursuant to any mandatory review covered by 1VAC50-20-180 through 1VAC50-20-384, except materials presented in the context of negotiations or mediation of a confidential nature as authorized by law, shall be considered public documents and made available by the submitting party for review by any other interested party or by the public. Any interested party or member of the public may request copies of any such material which shall be provided promptly by the party submitting the material to the commission at a price sufficient to cover the expense incurred.

J. Each document, exhibit, or other material submitted to the commission shall bear a title, the date of preparation, a detailed citation of the sources from which all data are obtained, and the name of the entity which submitted the document, exhibit, or other material. All material submitted to the commission by a local government shall be, as nearly as practicable, in the same form as the material would subsequently be submitted to the courts. The commission may refuse to accept for review and consideration any exhibit, document, or other material unless the person preparing it, or a representative of the entity responsible for its submission, shall be willing to appear before the commission for purposes of answering questions concerning the material.

K. Unless otherwise requested, wherever the regulations of the commission call for the projection of data, the projections should be made for a 10-year period. In each instance where projections are given, the method and bases of the projections should be indicated.

L. All data, exhibits, documents, or other material submitted to the commission on the initiative of a party or pursuant to a request from the commission shall be certified by the submitting party (i) as to source and (ii) as to the fact that the material is correct within the knowledge of the submitting party.

M. Any party filing notice or making submissions to the commission shall provide at least eight copies of all submissions, unless the commission agrees that a lesser number would be sufficient for its review and analysis. The commission may make provisions for the electronic filing of submissions, including facsimile.

N. At any time during the course of the commission's review of any issue, the commission's staff may solicit additional data, documents, records, or other materials from the parties as is deemed necessary for proper analysis of any issue. Where such materials are solicited from a party, the commission's staff, where practicable, shall make the request in writing, with copies of the request being provided to other principal parties. Copies of all materials submitted to the commission pursuant to this chapter shall concurrently be provided to each principal party or shall be made available to the parties in a manner acceptable to the commission. The commission shall be given written notification by the submitting party of each principal party provided a copy of the material or of arrangements proposed for making the material available to the principal parties.

O. The commission shall not be limited in its analysis of any issue to the materials submitted by the parties but shall undertake independent research as it deems appropriate in order to assure a full and complete investigation of each issue.

P. The commission shall request all parties to cooperate fully in the development and timely sharing of data relative to the issue under review. The commission considers the cooperation among parties vital to the discharge of its responsibilities.

Q. The commission may allow the parties to correct the data, exhibits, documents, or other material submitted to the commission prior to the date established for the closing of the record pursuant to 1VAC50-20-640 B. Where corrections are authorized pursuant to this chapter, copies of all corrections shall be provided by the submitting party to all principal parties. If, in the commission's judgment, the corrections are of a substantive nature as to significantly alter the scope or character of the issue under review, the commission may delay its proceedings for an appropriate amount of time to provide an opportunity for other parties to respond to the corrected data, exhibits, documents, or other material.

R. Following the receipt of a notice, the commission may request the party initiating the proposed action to prepare and file testimony in support of the proposed action. The testimony of the party initiating the proposed action may refer to all data, exhibits, documents, or other material previously submitted to the commission or filed with the testimony. In all proceedings in which the initiating party files testimony, the affected party shall be permitted and may be requested by the commission to file, on or before a date established by the commission, testimony in response to the proposed action. The testimony of the affected party may refer to all data, exhibits, documents, or other material previously submitted to the commission or filed with the testimony. Any affected party who chooses not to file testimony by the date established by the commission may not thereafter present testimony except by permission of the commission, but may otherwise fully participate in the proceeding and engage only in cross-examination of the testimony of other parties. Failure to comply with the directions of the commission, without good cause shown, may result in rejection of the testimony by the commission. The commission may permit the parties to correct or supplement any prepared testimony before or during the oral presentations as called for in 1VAC50-20-620. Eight copies of prepared testimony shall be filed unless otherwise specified by the commission.