(a) All documents to be considered in a commission meeting or by judges in contested cases shall be filed with the chief clerk. Hearing requests and responses shall also be filed with the chief clerk.     
      (b) If a docket number has been assigned, it should appear on the first page of all filed documents.     
      (c) Documents shall be filed by United States mail, facsimile, hand delivery, or, when appropriate, the chief clerk's designated electronic filing system. If a person files a document by facsimile, he or she must file with the chief clerk the appropriate number of copies by mail or hand delivery within three days. The provision for electronic filing in this rule is intended to supplement other procedural rules of the commission that specify methods for filing but which do not include electronic filing as described herein.     
      (d) The original or one copy of a document shall be filed, except for documents to be considered at a commission meeting. For documents, other than documents filed using the chief clerk's designated electronic filing system, to be considered at a commission meeting, seven copies or fewer, as prescribed by the chief clerk or general counsel, shall be filed. In addition to any other applicable requirements, persons using the chief clerk's designated electronic filing system shall comply with instructions as set forth by the chief clerk on the commission's website for electronically filed documents regarding number of copies.     
      (e) For documents other than documents filed using the chief clerk's designated electronic filing system, the time of filing is upon receipt by the chief clerk as evidenced by the date stamp affixed to the document by the chief clerk, or as evidenced by the date stamp affixed to the document or envelope by the commission mail room, whichever is earlier. For documents filed using the chief clerk's designated electronic filing system, the time of filing is upon receipt by the electronic filing system, as evidenced by the system's confirmation email or the commission's integrated database.     
      (f) The chief clerk shall accept all documents presented for filing. The chief clerk's acceptance is not a determination that a document meets filing deadlines or other requirements.     
      (g) If the requirements of this section are not followed, the commission, or a judge in a State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) proceeding, may choose not to consider the documents. In the absence of a waiver under subsection (h) of this section, the commission may choose not to consider documents filed within two days of a commission meeting.     
      (h) The judge may waive one or more of the requirements of this section, or impose additional filing requirements in SOAH proceedings. The commission or general counsel may waive one or more of the requirements of this section, or impose additional filing requirements for commission meetings.     
      (i) This section does not apply to offers of evidence during a hearing.     
     Source Note:        The provisions of this §1.10 adopted to be effective June 6, 1996, 21 TexReg 4689; amended to be effective May 15, 1997, 22 TexReg 3990; amended to be effective November 13, 2008, 33 TexReg 9081; amended to be effective November 11, 2010, 35 TexReg 9904