state agencies;
administrative procedures; rules
DPA |
Committee on Retirement and Government Operations |
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DPA |
Caucus and COW |
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DPA |
Third Read |
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X |
As Passed the House |
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SB 1339 makes adjustments to state agency administrative procedures, specifically to rule making guidelines, to substantive policy statements and by requiring annual regulatory agendas. The bill also establishes the Regulatory reform and enforcement study committee.
In the 2001 interim, the Arizona Legislature established the Ad Hoc Regulatory Review and Enforcement Study Committee to research, report and make recommendations to improve state agency administrative procedures. Their report, which was due December 15, 2001, identified 6 major problems with administrative procedures and suggested ways to resolve these issues. The issues of concern included problems with rules being effective upon filing but not publicized for a month after that, causing problems of people unintentionally violating rules. Other problems were agencies’ improper use of substantive policy statements and improper assessment of the validity of the studies and scientific papers that spawn the adoption of rules. Also, agencies’ altering of rules is difficult to keep track of and many rule publications are duplicative and repetitive. The study committee made suggestions to resolve each of these concerns and recommended that the Ad Hoc Regulatory Review and Enforcement Study Committee be reestablished for a two-year period.
· Requires preambles to include studies relevant to the rule that the agency reviewed, regardless if the review of the study found or did not find justification for the rule.
· Requires agencies other than self-supporting regulatory boards to prepare and make publicly available their regulatory agendas that they expect to follow during the following calendar year. These agendas are to include notices of docket openings, notices of proposed rule making, reviews of existing rules, notices of final rule making, provisions for terminated rule making for the current year and provisions for privatization options or nontraditional regulatory approaches being considered by the agency.
· Explains that agencies may still take rule-making action that is not on the annual regulatory agenda.
· Strikes all references to concise explanatory statements.
· Prohibits the attorney general from approving exempt rules immediately without following the procedures set forth in this act.
· Establishes a waiting period of 60 days after the filing of a rule in the office of the Secretary of State (SOS) before the rule is effective and specifies that a preamble must be filed with a rule in the office of the SOS.
· Establishes that, in order to make rules effective immediately upon their filing in the office of the SOS, their preambles must demonstrate one of the following needs: (1) to preserve the public peace, health or safety, (2) to avoid violations with laws, (3) to comply with amendment deadlines, (4) to provide benefits to the public or (5) to adopt less stringent rules that do not negatively affect the public.
· Makes the allowance for rules to be made effective later than 60 days after filing if good cause is shown.
· Clarifies that existing rules are not affected until new rules are filed and effective.
· Requires a two-thirds vote from the voting quorum of the governor’s regulatory review council in order to approve a rule with an immediate effective date.
· Mandates that a specific notice be included on the first page of each substantive policy statement to explain that it is advisory only and petitions may be made to the agency if it imposes additional requirements or penalties on a regulated party’s ability to petition.
· Establishes the Regulatory reform and enforcement study committee and identifies its members.
· Requires the committee to conduct hearings and inquire about the use, compliance and effectiveness of administrative procedures specifically regarding state agencies.
· Requires the committee to submit a written report with findings and recommendations by December 15, 2003 and repeals the committee February 1, 2004.
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Clarifies that an ADEQ submission of a revised permit
to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in response to an EPA objection,
counts as a notice of granting or denying an air quality and discharge permit
for licensing time frame purposes.
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States that final action on an air quality permit for
an existing source by June 30, 2002, shall not be considered a performance
measure for ADEQ if the source waves issuance of an air quality permit by that
date or the EPA objects to the final proposed permit.
§ States that the ADEQ program performance objectives are effective March 1, 2002.
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45th Legislature
Second Regular Session 3 April 26, 2002
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