Hearing before Senate select committee; notice.

The Senate shall afford each suspended official a hearing before a select committee or special magistrate, and shall notify such suspended official of the time and place of the hearing sufficiently in advance thereof to afford such official an opportunity fully and adequately to prepare such defenses as the official may be advised are necessary and proper, and all such defenses may be presented by the official or by the official’s attorney. In the furtherance of this provision the Senate shall adopt sufficient procedural rules to afford due process both to the Governor in the presentation of his or her evidence and to the suspended official, but in the absence of such adoption, this section shall afford a full and complete hearing, public in nature, as required by the State Constitution. However, nothing in this part shall prevent either the select committee or the Senate from conducting portions of the hearing in executive session if the Senate rules so provide.