No later than twenty (20) days after the conclusion of the prehearing conference, the presiding officer shall hold a hearing on any contention that remains in dispute. At the beginning of the hearing, the presiding officer shall enter into the record all agreements reached by the parties before the hearing.

A hearing will be recorded stenographically or by other means, under the supervision of the presiding officer. A transcript will be prepared from the recording that will be the sole official transcript of the hearing. The transcript will be prepared by an official reporter who may be designated by the Commission or may be a regular employee of the Commission. Except as limited by section 181 of the Act or order of the Commission, the transcript will be available for inspection in the agency's public records system. Copies of transcripts are available to the parties and to the public from the official reporter on payment of the charges fixed therefor. If a hearing is recorded on videotape or other video medium, copies of the recording of each daily session of the hearing may be made available to the parties and to the public from the presiding officer upon payment of a charge fixed by the Chief Administrative Judge. Parties may purchase copies of the transcript from the reporter.

Hearings will be open to the public, unless portions of the hearings involving proprietary or other protectable information are closed in accordance with the Commission's regulations.

At the hearing, the presiding officer will not receive oral evidence that is irrelevant, immaterial, unreliable or unduly repetitious. Testimony will be under oath or affirmation.

The presiding officer may question witnesses who testify at the hearing, but the parties may not do so.

Each party may present oral argument and a final statement of position at the close of the hearing. Written post-hearing briefs and proposed findings are not permitted unless ordered by the presiding officer.