Section 11425.20 - Hearings open to public; closed hearings or protective orders; hearings by electronic means(a) A hearing shall be open to public observation. This subdivision shall not limit the authority of the presiding officer to order closure of a hearing or make other protective orders to the extent necessary or proper for any of the following purposes: (1) To satisfy the United States Constitution, the California Constitution, federal or state statute, or other law, including, but not limited to, laws protecting privileged, confidential, or other protected information.(2) To ensure a fair hearing in the circumstances of the particular case.(3) To conduct the hearing, including the manner of examining witnesses, in a way that is appropriate to protect a minor witness or a witness with a developmental disability, as defined in Section 4512 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, from intimidation or other harm, taking into account the rights of all persons.(b) To the extent a hearing is conducted by telephone, television, or other electronic means, and is not closed as otherwise required by law, the requirement that the meeting is open to public observation pursuant to subdivision (a) is satisfied if members of the public have an opportunity to do both of the following: (1) At reasonable times, hear or inspect the agency's record, and inspect any transcript obtained by the agency.(2) Be physically or virtually present at the place where the presiding officer is conducting the hearing. For purposes of this section, the term "present" can be satisfied either by providing a designated location from which members of the public can observe the meeting via a live audio or a video feed of the hearing made available to the public on the internet or by teleconference.(c) This section does not apply to a prehearing conference, settlement conference, or proceedings for alternative dispute resolution other than binding arbitration.Amended by Stats 2021 ch 401 (AB 1578),s 11, eff. 1/1/2022.Added by Stats. 1995, Ch. 938, Sec. 21. Effective January 1, 1996. Operative July 1, 1997, by Sec. 98 of Ch. 938 and Section 11400.10.