(a) In any contested case, the Agency shall afford reasonable notice of the hearing to all parties. - (i) Reasonable notice, as used in this section, shall be not less than twenty (20) days prior to the hearing date.
- (ii) The time period may be waived by the contestant individually, or by mutual assent of the parties. All waivers of this requirement shall be entered into the record in writing.
- (iii) Notice shall be served personally or by certified mail to the last known address of the party, with a return receipt requested.
- (iv) Where the necessary and indispensable parties are comprised of a large class, notice shall be:
- (A) Served upon a reasonable number of representatives of the class; or
- (B) Published in newspaper(s) of the state in reasonable numbers and times, at a minimum in a paper of general circulation in the county in which the contestant resides, and in at least one (1) newspaper with statewide circulation. In any county in which more than one newspaper is published, notice shall be published in the official paper of the county designated pursuant to W.S. § 18-3-517.
(b) A notice of hearing shall contain the time, place, and nature of the hearing; the legal authority and jurisdiction under which the hearing is being held; the particular sections of the statutes or rules involved; a short and plain statement of the matters asserted; the docket number assigned to the case; the right to be represented by an attorney; and the availability of legal aid. - (i) If the Agency is unable to state the matters in detail at the time notice is served, the initial notice may be limited to a statement of the issues involved, and thereafter, upon request of any party, a more definite and detailed statement shall be furnished within ten (10) days of receipt of that request by the party.
- (ii) Upon written request by one of the parties, or upon his own motion, the hearing officer may reschedule the hearing to a time convenient for the parties. A party must submit such request within ten (10) days of receipt of the notice of hearing. When such request is granted, the hearing officer shall reissue the notice in accordance with these rules except that reasonable notice as used in this subsection shall be five (5) days prior to the hearing date.
- (A) Only one (1) request for rescheduling of a hearing shall be honored unless, in the hearing officer's judgment, additional changes must be allowed to avoid manifest injustice. Notice shall be issued as provided by subsection (ii).
- (B) A hearing shall be held within ninety (90) days of the action which gives rise to the request for a hearing,
- (I) Except for decisions regarding discharge from the Center, which will be held within thirty (30) days of a written request; and
- (II) Except by agreement of the parties.