[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 16, Volume 2]
[Revised as of January 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 16CFR1025.58]

[Page 93-94]
 
                     TITLE 16--COMMERCIAL PRACTICES
 
             CHAPTER II--CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION
 
PART 1025--RULES OF PRACTICE FOR ADJUDICATIVE PROCEEDINGS--Table of Contents
 
                           Subpart F--Decision
 
Sec.  1025.58  Reopening of proceedings.

    (a) General. Any proceedings may be reopened by the Commission at 
any time, either on its own initiative or upon petition of any party to 
the proceedings.
    (b) Exception. Proceedings arising under the Flammable Fabrics Act 
shall not be reopened while pending in a United States court of appeals 
on a petition for review after the transcript of the record has been 
filed, or while pending in the Supreme Court of the United States.
    (c) Commission-originated reopening--(1) Before effective date of 
order. At any time before the effective date of a Commission order, the 
Commission may, upon its own initiative and without prior notice to the 
parties, reopen any proceedings and enter a new decision or order to 
modify or set aside, in whole or in part, the decision or order 
previously issued.
    (2) After effective date of order. Whenever the Commission is of the 
opinion that changed conditions of fact or law or the public interest 
may require that a Commission decision or order be altered, modified, or 
set aside in whole or in part, the Commission shall serve upon all 
parties to the original proceedings an order to show cause, stating the 
changes the Commission proposes to make in the decision or order and the 
reasons such changes are deemed necessary. Within thirty (30) days after 
service of an order to show cause, any party to the original 
proceedings, may file a response. Any party not responding to the order 
to show cause within the time allowed shall be considered to have 
consented to the proposed changes.
    (d) Petition for reopening. Whenever any person subject to a final 
order is of the opinion that changed conditions of fact or law require 
that the decision or order be altered, modified, or set aside, or that 
the public interest so requires, that person may petition the Commission 
to reopen the proceedings. The petition shall state the changes desired 
and the reasons those changes should be made, and shall include such 
supporting evidence and argument as will, in the absence of any 
opposition, provide the basis for a Commission decision on the petition. 
The petition shall be served upon all parties to the original 
proceedings. Within thirty (30) days after service of the petition, 
Complaint Counsel shall file a response. Any other party to the original 
proceedings also may file a response within that period.
    (e) Hearings--(1) Unopposed. Where an order to show cause or 
petition to reopen is not opposed, or is opposed but the pleadings do 
not raise issues of fact to be resolved, the Commission, in its 
discretion, may decide the matter on the order to show cause or petition 
and responses, or it may serve upon the parties a notice of hearing 
containing the date when the matter will be heard. The proceedings 
normally will be limited to the filing of briefs but may include oral 
argument when deemed necessary by the Commission.
    (2) Factual issues. When the pleadings raise substantial factual 
issues, the Commission may direct such hearings as it deems appropriate. 
Upon conclusion of the hearings, and after opportunity for the parties 
to file post-hearing briefs containing proposed findings of fact and 
conclusions of law, as well as a proposed order, the Presiding Officer 
shall issue a Recommended Decision, including proposed findings and 
conclusions, and the reasons, as well as a proposed Commission order. If 
the Presiding Officer recommends that the Commission's original order be 
reopened, the proposed order shall include appropriate provisions for 
the alteration, modification or setting aside

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of the original order. The record and the Presiding Officer's 
Recommended Decision shall be certified to the Commission for final 
disposition of the matter.
    (f) Commission disposition. Where the Commission has ordered a 
hearing, upon receipt of the Presiding Officer's Recommended Decision, 
the Commission shall make a decision and issue an order based on the 
hearing record as a whole. If the Commission determines that changed 
conditions of fact or law or the public interest requires, it shall 
reopen the order previously issued; alter, modify, or set aside the 
order's provisions in whole or in part; and issue an amended order 
reflecting the alterations, modifications, or deletions. If the 
Commission determines that the original order should not be reopened, it 
shall issue an order affirming the original order. A decision stating 
the reasons for the Commission's order shall accompany the order.