The presiding officer, on his or her own motion or on the motion of one of the parties, may direct the parties to appear at a specified time and place for a prehearing conference to consider:

(1) Identifying and simplifying the issues; and

(2) Amending pleadings, if necessary; and

(3) Obtaining stipulations of facts and of documents; and

(4) Limiting the number of witnesses; and

(5) Setting discovery deadlines or resolving discovery disputes; and

(6) Scheduling a settlement conference before an administrative law judge; and

(7) Scheduling the hearing date; and

(8) Resolving any other matter that may aid in the outcome of the proceeding.