§ 8. Powers of single Commission member or other officer or employee
(a) One Commission member or any officer or employee of the Commission duly appointed by the Chair of the Commission may inquire into and examine any matter within the jurisdiction of the Commission.
(b) A hearing officer may administer oaths in all cases, so far as the exercise of that power is properly incidental to the performance of his or her duty or that of the Commission. A hearing officer may hold any hearing in any matter within the jurisdiction of the Commission to hear.
(c) A hearing officer shall report his or her findings of fact in writing to the Commission in the form of a proposal for decision. A copy shall be served upon the parties pursuant to 3 V.S.A. § 811. However, judgment on such findings shall be rendered only by a majority of the Commission.
(d) At least 12 days prior to a hearing before the Commission or a hearing officer, the Commission shall give written notice of the time and place of the hearing to all parties to the case and shall indicate the name and title of the person designated to conduct the hearing.
(e) Upon written request to the Commission at least five days prior to the hearing by all parties to the case, the Chair shall appoint at least a majority of the Commission to conduct the hearing.
(f) Notwithstanding subsection (c) of this section, the Chair may appoint a hearing officer to hear and finally determine any consumer complaint where the amount in controversy does not exceed $2,000.00. Upon petition of a party, filed within 30 days of issuance of the hearing officer's decision and order, or on its own motion, the Commission may determine that the hearing officer's decision and order should be treated as a proposal for decision and order as provided in subsection (c) of this section. The Commission may grant such request for good cause, including apparent error of fact, or procedural or substantive law, and may conduct additional evidentiary hearings or hear oral argument from the parties. If such request is not timely made, or is not granted by the Commission, the decision and order of the hearing officer shall become the final decision and order of the Commission. (Amended 1959, No. 329 (Adj. Sess.), § 39(b), (c), eff. March 1, 1961; 1971, No. 180 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. March 28, 1972; 1973, No. 96; 1993, No. 21, § 4, eff. May 12, 1993.)
Copyright ©2024 LegalFix. All rights reserved. LegalFix is not a law firm, is not licensed to practice law, and does not provide legal advice, services, or representation. The information on this website is an overview of the legal plans you can purchase—or that may be provided by your employer as an employee benefit or by your credit union or other membership group as a membership benefit.
LegalFix provides its members with easy access to affordable legal services through a network of independent law firms. LegalFix, its corporate entity, and its officers, directors, employees, agents, and contractors do not provide legal advice, services, or representation—directly or indirectly.
The articles and information on the site are not legal advice and should not be relied upon—they are for information purposes only. You should become a LegalFix member to get legal services from one of our network law firms.
You should not disclose confidential or potentially incriminating information to LegalFix—you should only communicate such information to your network law firm.
The benefits and legal services described in the LegalFix legal plans are not always available in all states or with all plans. See the legal plan Benefit Overview and the more comprehensive legal plan contract during checkout for coverage details in your state.
Use of this website, the purchase of legal plans, and access to the LegalFix networks of law firms are subject to the LegalFix Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.