Section Ins 207.04 - Findings and Orders(a) If, pursuant to Ins 203.01(c), the commissioner has appointed a natural person other than the deputy commissioner to preside at a hearing as hearing officer, the following procedures shall apply: (1) The hearing officer shall submit to the commissioner, within 35 days after the termination of a hearing, a proposed decision and order including a proposed decision and order on any dispositive motion. Any such proposed decision and order shall be delivered to all parties;(2) The parties may file exceptions and supporting memoranda of law for review by the commissioner within 20 days from the date the proposed decision and order is delivered pursuant to (a)(1) above. Replies to exceptions and legal memoranda may be filed within 10 days from the date of the filing of the document prompting the reply;(3) Requests for oral argument on exceptions to the proposed order shall be filed with the commissioner within 20 days from the date the proposed decision and order is delivered, and the commissioner shall issue an order granting or denying such request within 10 days;(4) The commissioner shall, based upon the record, determine whether the respective parties have met their burdens of proof set forth in Ins 206.05 and shall accordingly issue a final decision and order accepting, rejecting, or modifying the proposed decision and order. Any such order shall be subject to reconsideration of any final order pursuant to Ins 207.05 and Ins 207.06;(5) If the commissioner issues a final decision and order that rejects or otherwise modifies the proposed decision and order:a. The commissioner's factual determinations in any final order shall be based upon a review of the record;b. The record shall provide a reasonable basis supporting the rejection or modification of the findings and rulings of the hearing officer;c. The final decision shall adequately explain the grounds for the commissioner's decision; andd. The commissioner shall review all evidence in the record and resolve any evidentiary conflicts by applying the commissioner's own expertise and technical judgment; and(6) The final order shall comply with all requirements set forth in (c) of this section.(b) If the commissioner or deputy commissioner has presided over the hearing, the commissioner or deputy commissioner, as appropriate, shall issue a final decision and order consistent with the requirement of (c) of this section.(c) The final decision and order shall: (1) Be issued within 90 days of the termination of the hearing, pursuant to RSA 400-A:23, II;(2) Be made on the basis of the evidence of record presented at the hearing and rationally supportable by such evidence;(3) Be in writing or stated in the record;(4) Include findings of fact and conclusions of law, separately stated; and(5) Be the final action of the department, subject to the reconsideration of any final order pursuant to Ins 207.05 and Ins 207.06.(d) No factual information received or known that is not evidence of record shall be considered in any final decision and order.(e) Request for rehearings and appeals from a final action shall be made in writing and shall be made pursuant to RSA 541.N.H. Admin. Code § Ins 207.04
Derived from Volume XL Number 33, Filed August 13, 2020, Proposed by #13073-A, Effective 7/27/2020.