In reaching a decision, official notice may be taken either before or after submission of the case for decision of any fact which may or must be judicially noticed by the courts of this state. All parties shall be informed of the matters to be noticed, and those matters shall be noted in the record, referred to therein, or appended thereto. Any such party shall be given a reasonable opportunity on request to refute the officially noticed matters by evidence or by written or oral presentation of authority, the manner of such refutation to be determined by the hearing officer or commission, as the case may be. (Prior code § 34.14.1416)