(a) Upon the issuance of a Notice of Hearing in a contested
case and continuing until the Securities Commissioner's decision or
order becomes final as described in §105.16 of this title (relating
to Decisions; When Final), the Commissioner (or other person assigned
to render a decision in a contested case) and members of the Board
may not communicate directly or indirectly with any party or a representative
of a party in a contested case in connection with any issue of fact
or law in the proceeding except on notice and opportunity for all
parties to participate. Prohibited ex parte communications shall not
include any written communication if the communicator contemporaneously
serves copies of the communication on all parties to the proceeding.
(b) The Commissioner (or other person assigned to render
a decision in a contested case) and members of the Board, individually,
may communicate ex parte with employees of the Agency who have not
participated in a hearing in the case in order to utilize special
skills or knowledge of the Agency's employees in evaluating the evidence
in the case.
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