Ohio Administrative Code|Rule 1513-3-02 | Internal regulations.

(A) This chapter governs the practices
and procedures before the reclamation commission.

(B) Quorum.

(1) Four members
constitute a quorum, and no action of the commission shall be valid unless it
has the concurrence of at least four members.

(2) An inability to reach
a concurrence of four members shall be deemed to have occurred when a majority
of the participating members conclude that a concurrence of four members cannot
be reached.

(3) In rendering a
decision, if the members of the commission who attended a hearing fail to reach
a concurrence of at least four commission members, the existing record of
proceedings shall be submitted to all members who did not attend any portion of
the hearing, which members shall inform the commission of their decision to
participate in the appeal. If any such member decides to participate, that
member shall review the record of the proceedings before the commission, and
then shall participate in the rendering of a decision in the matter under
consideration.

(4) In the event that a
concurrence of four members cannot be reached, a decision shall be issued
reflecting that four members of the commission could not reach agreement
regarding whether the chief's action under appeal was, or was not,
arbitrary, capricious or otherwise inconsistent with law. In such case, the
commission's decision shall include the necessary order, affirming the
chief's action under appeal pursuant to division (B) of section 1513.13 of
the Revised Code.

(C) If a commission member has attended a
hearing, but was absent from a portion of that hearing, the absent commission
member shall review that portion of the record from which he was absent before
participating in the rendering of a decision in the matter under
consideration.

(D) Pursuant to section 1513.05 of the
Revised Code, the reclamation commission shall elect a secretary, who shall
perform such duties as the commission prescribes, including:

(1) Promptly recording
minutes of all meetings of the commission which shall be open to public
inspection during regular business hours at the office of the
commission.

(2) Serving as custodian
of the records and papers of the commission and preserving copies of briefs and
other filings.

(3) Assembling,
transmitting and certifying the complete record of proceedings before the
commission out of which appeals made pursuant to section 1513.14 or section
1514.09 of the Revised Code arise.

(4) Providing notice of
all public meetings of the commission in accordance with the
following:

(a) Any person may ascertain the time and place of
regularly-scheduled public meetings by contacting the office of commission
during regular business hours;

(b) Upon request, any person may obtain advance notice of all
regularly-scheduled public meetings by supplying the office of the commission
with stamped, self-addressed envelopes. The office will mail to such person a
notice of the time and place of meetings at least four calendar days before the
scheduled meeting;

(5) Establishing and
maintaining records for the funds held in a penalty fund mandated by division
(E)(3) of section 1513.02 of the Revised Code.

(6) Remitting, in
appropriate amounts, funds from a penalty fund as mandated in division (E)(3)
of section 1513.02 of the Revised Code.

(7) The secretary of the
commission shall have the authority to delegate to any staff member of the
commission, those duties assigned to the secretary pursuant to this
rule.

(E) Documents and files of the
commission, or parts thereof, shall not be removed from the custody of the
commission without the consent of the commission.

(F) The documents and files of the
commission shall be available for inspection and examination at the office of
the commission during regular business hours, as defined by paragraph (T) of
rule 1513-3-01 of the Administrative Code.

(G) All hearings before the commission
shall be recorded by audio-electronic devices, which recording shall constitute
the official record of the hearing. However, the commission may allow other
means for the creation of the official record of the hearing at the
commission's discretion or upon motion of a party, or joint motion of
parties, and if such motion is granted, the requesting party or parties shall
bear the expense of the creation of such record, which record shall then be
filed with the commission.

(H) Any transcript of a proceeding before
the commission, if filed with the commission shall be made available for
reproduction upon application to the commission and payment of reproduction
costs.

(I) Issuance of subpoenas.

(1) Upon request of a
party, or at the initiative of the commission, the commission shall issue
subpoenas ad testificandum or duces tecum.

(2) The party requesting
a subpoena shall comply with all requirements of rule 45 of the Ohio Rules of
Civil Procedure.

(3) Except for good cause shown, a
request for issuance of a subpoena shall be made at least ten days before a
scheduled hearing.

(4) Subpoenas shall be served in
compliance with rule 45 of the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure.

(5) A subpoena ordering the appearance of
an employee of the Columbus office of the division of mineral resources
management may be personally served by the commission.

(6) The commission may issue a subpoena
signed by the commission, but otherwise in blank, to a party or counsel
requesting a subpoena, which party or counsel shall complete the subpoena form
before service in compliance with rule 45 of the Ohio Rules of Civil
Procedure.

(7) If the witness being
subpoenaed resides outside the county in which a hearing will be held, the fees
for one day's attendance and mileage shall be tendered to the witness
without demand. The attendance fee and mileage reimbursement shall be as set
forth in section 119.094 of the Revised Code. The responsibility to tender such
fees to the witness being subpoenaed shall be borne by the party requesting the
issuance of the subpoena.

(8) The cost of serving a subpoena shall
be borne by the party requesting the issuance of the subpoena.

(J) Notice of public hearing to adopt,
amend, or rescind rules.

(1) Public notice of
hearings on the adoption, amendment, or rescission of rules, to be conducted by
the commission, shall be advertised one time in five newspapers published in
different counties and of general circulation in the state.

(2) The public notice
shall be given at least thirty days, but not more than fifty days, prior to the
hearing.

(3) The notice
shall:

(a) State the commission's intention to consider adopting,
amending, or rescinding rules;

(b) Include a synopsis or full text of the proposed rules,
amendments, or rules to be rescinded, or a general statement of the subject
matter to which such proposed rules relate;

(d) Enumerate the date, time and place of the hearing on the
proposed actions, which shall not be earlier than thirty days after the
proposed rules, amendments, or rescissions are filed; and

(e) State the place from which copies of the proposed rules,
amendments, or rules to be rescinded may be obtained.

(4) The office of the
commission shall provide the public notice to anyone who requests it and pays a
reasonable fee, not to exceed the cost of copying and mailing.

(K) In the event that the rules of the
commission are amended, all proceedings in actions brought after the amendment
and also all further proceedings in actions then pending shall be governed by
the amended rules.

(L) The commission may appoint hearing
officers to conduct hearings on issues of fact and law arising in an appeal or
to perform any other duties as directed by the commission or its secretary. The
hearing officer shall have the same powers and authority in conducting hearings
as granted to the reclamation commission.

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