§ 1274 Ex Parte Communication Ban

• •Board members and staff must stay silent about pilotage tariffs, rates, or related petitions during the review period.
• •The silent period starts when the executive director requests an administrative law judge and ends after any related board hearing is over.
• •Only the special exception in Section 1273 lets them talk privately; otherwise, no ex‑parte communications are allowed.

A board member sends a text to a shipping company asking why they want higher pilot fees while a petition about those fees is being considered.

Because the executive director has asked for an administrative law judge, the board member is not allowed to talk privately about the fees until the hearing on the petition is finished, so the text would break the rule.