N.M. Admin. Code § 22.600.3.11

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 23, December 10, 2024

Section 22.600.3.11 - VIDEO-CONFERENCE HEARINGS, TELEPHONIC HEARINGS, AND TELEPHONIC TESTIMONY

A. Scheduling hearings and other preliminary, preconference, motions, or prehearing motions hearings may be conducted via telephone, or videoconference or equivalent electronic method without consent or waiver of either party.

B. If both TRD and the taxpayer agree, they may petition the assigned hearing officer at least seven days before the scheduled merits hearing to conduct the merits hearing via secure videoconference pursuant to Subsection H of Section 7-1B-8 NMSA 1978. The hearing officer may grant or deny the request after considering whether a complete and accurate record can be made and a fair hearing can be conducted in the matter via secure videoconference. Even if the initial request is granted, the hearing officer always retains the discretion at any point in the proceeding to order the personal appearance of the parties and witnesses if in the hearing officer's determination resolution of the disputed facts, evidence, credibility of a witness, question of law, or development of a complete and accurate record requires it.

C.The administrative hearings office may also schedule a merits hearing as a videoconference hearing with consent of the parties, which shall be deemed to have been granted absent either party filing a written objection within 14 days of notice a videoconference merits hearing.

D. If a hearing is scheduled to be conducted via videoconference:

(1) all parties, witnesses, and the hearing officer will appear via videoconference service specified by the administrative hearings office. The administrative hearings office shall take reasonable precautions to ensure that the videoconference is secure and confidential. However, by requesting or consenting to a videoconference hearing, the parties shall be deemed to understand that the administrative hearings office may contract, license or utilize a third-party service provider to facilitate videoconferencing and that all electronic communications are vulnerable to security breaches beyond the reasonable control or knowledge of the administrative hearings office. If such electronic security breaches were to occur, they constitute unintentional, inadvertent disclosures and do not amount to a breach of statutory confidentiality requirements under relevant law by any party or the hearing officer appearing via videoconference. The parties shall also waive any claims against the administrative hearings office, its employees, agents or contractors, arising from any disclosure and shall be deemed to have assumed risk of disclosure by requesting or agreeing to appear via videoconference;

(2) the parties shall ensure that they have exchanged all exhibits with each other and provided the assigned hearing officer with an exhibit binder before commencement of the approved videoconference hearing;

(3) the parties also shall provide contact phone numbers where they will be available at the time of the hearing in case there are technical errors or other issues with conducting the videoconference;

(4)in the event that technical or other computer problems prevent the videoconference hearing from occurring or interfere with maintaining or developing a complete record at the hearing, the parties agree and consent upon their submission of a request to conduct the matter via videoconference that the assigned hearing officer at their discretion may continue the matter to a different time without regard to any other statutory deadline, may order the parties to appear for an in-person hearing, or may conduct the hearing via telephone;

(5) in the event of a videoconference hearing, the hearing record will only be the audio recording or transcription of the proceeding and will not include the video portion of the proceeding.

E. Telephonic appearances by the parties, (or their representatives) at a merits hearing are not generally permitted and will only be considered in the event of a genuine medical emergency/hardship, in cases where there is no genuine dispute of fact and parties intend to simply make legal argument, or when a technical problem prevents the conduct of a scheduled videoconference hearing.

F. Telephonic testimony from third-party witnesses may only be permitted in the event that in person or videoconference testimony would create an undue hardship or expense to the third-party witness. In addition to potential undue hardship, the assigned hearing officer in deciding whether to permit the telephonic testimony will consider the nature and purpose of the purported testimony, potential credibility issues regarding the testimony, the potential weight of the testimony as it relates to the particular issues at protest, and whether the testimony is being offered in rebuttal.

N.M. Admin. Code § 22.600.3.11

Adopted by New Mexico Register, Volume XXIX, Issue 02, January 30, 2018, eff. 2/1/2018, Adopted by New Mexico Register, Volume XXXI, Issue 16, August 25, 2020, eff. 8/25/2020