SECTION 265:3-5-17. Unauthorized ex parte communications

(a)   Unauthorized ex parte communications are defined as private communications, other than those permitted elsewhere in the rules of this Chapter, with employees of the Office of the State Fire Marshal or counsel for the State Fire Marshal, as to the merits of a proceeding, i.e., findings of fact or conclusions of law, with a view towards influencing the outcome of the case, except that the following classes of ex parte communications shall not be prohibited:

(1)   Those which relate to matters which the Office of the State Fire Marshal is authorized to dispose of on an ex parte basis.

(2)   Request for information with respect to the status of a proceeding.

(3)   Those which all parties to the proceedings agree, or which the State Fire Marshal has formally ruled, may be made on an ex parte basis.

(b)   No public employee, employee organization, public employer, or any other person or organization, whether or not a party to a proceeding before the State Fire Marshal, shall make any unauthorized ex parte communication about the proceeding to any employee of the Office of the State Fire Marshal or to counsel for the State Fire Marshal.