CHAPTER 145
HB 1351 – FINAL VERSION
07Mar2006… 0995h
2006 SESSION
10/09
HOUSE BILL 1351
AN ACT relative to the rulemaking process.
SPONSORS: Rep. Patten, Carr 4; Rep. Stohl, Coos 1; Rep. Millham, Belk 5; Rep. N. Allan, Hills 26; Sen. Clegg, Dist 14; Sen. Morse, Dist 22
COMMITTEE: Executive Departments and Administration
This bill:
I. Requires proposed legislation which contains rulemaking to include an explanation of intent for rules.
II. Allows standing policy committees of the house and senate to review preliminary objections to proposed rules.
III. Makes technical changes to the filing, review, and adoption of rules under the administrative procedures act.
IV. Establishes a study committee on the rules process.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
07Mar2006… 0995h
06-2409
10/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Six
AN ACT relative to the rulemaking process.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
145:1 New Section; Drafting of Bills; Rulemaking Authority. Amend RSA 14 by inserting after section 39 the following new section:
14:39-a Legislation Granting Rulemaking Authority. Any member of the house of representatives or senate proposing legislation which includes provisions granting rulemaking authority to any agency as defined in RSA 541-A:1, II, shall include an explanation of the intent for the proposal relative to the parameters under which rulemaking authority under RSA 541-A may be used. Rulemaking provisions in proposed legislation shall not grant broad authority for the adoption of rules, including general authority to implement a program, but shall specify the issues to be addressed by rules.
145:2 New Paragraph; Definition; Standing Policy Committee. Amend RSA 541-A:1 by inserting after paragraph XV the following new paragraph:
XVI. “Standing policy committee” means a committee listed in rules of the house of representatives or the senate to which legislation including rulemaking authority was originally referred for hearing and report.
145:3 Identification of Law; Reference Table. Amend RSA 541-A:3-a, II to read as follows:
II. If the specific section or sections of state statute or federal statute or regulation required by paragraph I are not identified in the rule itself, the agency shall file the information in a separate cross-reference table with each filing of the proposed or adopted rule other than an emergency rule. The agency shall make the table available to the public with a proposed or adopted rule whenever the rule is made available to or requested by the public. Unless otherwise specified by the drafting and procedure manual, the table shall be filed as an appendix to the rule and, when the rule is published pursuant to RSA 541-A:15, shall be published as an appendix to the rule chapter containing the rule. The table shall not be required to be filed on a separate page.
145:4 Notice of Proceedings; Electronic. Amend RSA 541-A:6, III to read as follows:
III. The agency shall send notice to the director of legislative services, to all persons regulated by the proposed rules who hold occupational licenses issued by the agency, and to all persons who have made timely request for advance notice of rulemaking proceedings. Upon request the agency shall send notice to the president of the senate, to the speaker of the house of representatives, to the chairperson of the fiscal committee, and to the chairpersons of the legislative committees having jurisdiction over the subject matter. Notice shall be made not less than 20 days before the first agency public hearing required by RSA 541-A:11. Notice to occupational licensees shall be by U.S. Mail, electronically, agency bulletin or newsletter, public notice advertisement in a publication of daily statewide circulation, or in such other manner deemed sufficient by the committee.
145:5 Style of Rules. Amend RSA 541-A:7 to read as follows:
541-A:7 Style of Rules. Rules shall be written in a clear and coherent manner using words with common and everyday meanings[, consistent with the text of the rule, except when] for those persons who engage in the activities that are regulated by the rules, which may include technical language [is] as necessary.
145:6 Review of Rules; Objection by Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules; Standing Policy Committees. Amend RSA 541-A:13, V(b) to read as follows:
(b) If the committee objects to the final proposal as filed or as amended pursuant to paragraph II, the committee shall send the agency a preliminary written objection stating the basis for the objection. A preliminary objection or conditional approval shall require the assent of a majority of the votes cast, a quorum being present. If a preliminary objection is made to a rule proposed to implement a new or newly amended state statute, the committee may send a copy of the preliminary objection to the appropriate standing policy committees and, if so, shall give notice to the agency. Within 30 days of the date the preliminary objection was entered, the standing policy committee may review the proposed rules and the preliminary objection and may advise the committee relative to the basis for the preliminary objection.
145:7 Final Objection; Joint Resolution. Amend RSA 541-A:13, VII(c) and (d) to read as follows:
(c) If the committee votes to sponsor a joint resolution pursuant to subparagraph VII(b), the joint resolution shall be introduced in the house of representatives or senate within 10 business days of such vote when the general court is in session and 10 business days of the start of the following legislative session if such vote occurs when the general court is not in session. If a joint resolution is not introduced within this time frame, the agency may adopt the rule. If a joint resolution is introduced within this time frame, the agency shall be prevented from adopting and filing such rule until final legislative action is taken on the resolution or the passage of 90 consecutive calendar days during which the general court shall have been in session, whichever occurs first. The 90 calendar day period shall commence on the date such joint resolution has been introduced. If the session of the general court adjourns prior to the sixtieth calendar day after such joint resolution has been introduced, then the agency shall be prevented from adopting and filing such rule until 90 calendar days, beginning with the next session of the general court, have passed.
(d) The provisions of this paragraph shall apply to only the specific portion of the agency’s rule identified in the joint resolution. The provisions of this paragraph shall not prevent an agency from adopting and filing the remainder of the rules in the final proposal under RSA 541-A while the committee pursues legislative action under this paragraph, nor shall it prevent the committee from also voting to enter a final objection pursuant to paragraph V.
145:8 Interim Rules. Amend RSA 541-A:19, II to read as follows:
II. An agency may adopt an interim rule under subparagraphs I(a), (b), or (c) without meeting the requirements of RSA 541-A:6 and RSA 541-A:9 through RSA 541-A:14 [except, however, the agency shall meet the requirements of RSA 541-A:7 and 541-A:8] and an agency may adopt an interim rule under subparagraph I(d) or (e) without meeting the requirements of RSA 541-A:5 through RSA 541-A:14 provided the agency:
(a) Publishes notice of a proposed interim rule in a newspaper of daily statewide circulation and files the proposed interim rule, with the cover sheet as provided in paragraph IV, with [the legislative budget assistant and] the director of legislative services no later than the date of publication of the notice; or
(b) Files the proposed interim rule with the cover sheet as provided in paragraph IV, and the notice of the proposed interim rule with the [legislative budget assistant and the] director of legislative services, and has published notice in the rulemaking register.
145:9 Interim Rules; Notice. Amend RSA 541-A:19, III(i) to read as follows:
(i) The date the proposed interim rule will be filed with the [legislative budget assistant and] director of legislative services.
145:10 Study Committee on Rules Process Established. There is established a committee to study how to improve the processes of the joint legislative committee on administrative rules.
I. The members of the committee shall be as follows:
(a) Five members of the house of representatives, 2 of whom shall serve as alternates, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, including at least one member of the legislative administration committee, one member of the executive departments and administration committee, and one member of the joint legislative committee on administrative rules.
(b) Five members of the senate, 2 of whom shall serve as alternates, appointed by the president of the senate.
II. Members of the committee shall receive mileage at the legislative rate when attending to the duties of the committee.
III. The committee shall solicit input on and consider:
(a) The development of a process to record a clear statement of legislative intent on every bill sent out of a house or senate committee with a favorable report; such process may involve requiring a purpose clause to be included in every bill in the form of either chapter law or statute, requiring a statement of intent to be included in every bill filed, requiring a statement of intent to be included in each house committee report, or requiring all house hearings and executive sessions to be recorded.
(b) The development of a formal process for ensuring that the joint legislative committee on administrative rules receives input from the appropriate policy committees on proposed rules; such process may involve the establishment of a rules review subcommittee within each policy committee of the house and senate and/or participation by a policy committee member prior to the agency public comment period.
(c) Adopting methods to provide for an expedited rulemaking process to adopt rule changes with minimal impact, including the adoption or revision of forms used by agencies.
(d) Expanding the membership of the joint legislative committee on administrative rules and establishing subcommittees of the committee.
(e) Developing an RSA 541-A training program for members newly appointed to the joint legislative committee on administrative rules and an educational program on rules for all house members.
(f) Methods for ensuring uniformity in granting rulemaking authority and avoiding overbroad rulemaking authority provisions. Such methods may involve the development of guidelines for policy committees or bill drafters to follow.
(g) Revising RSA 541-A relative to fiscal impact statement requirements.
(h) The processes for rulemaking employed by the agencies that are exempt from the provisions of RSA 541-A, and the effectiveness of this approach towards rulemaking.
(i) Revisions to the drafting and procedure manual.
(j) Revising RSA 541-A to permit the electronic filing of documents at various stages of the rulemaking process.
(k) Such other related issues as the committee deems appropriate.
IV. The committee may solicit information and testimony from the rules staff of the office of legislative services, the rulemaking administrators at the department of administrative services, agency rulemaking coordinators, and any other source that the committee deems appropriate.
V. The members of the study committee shall elect a chairperson from among the members. The first meeting of the committee shall be called by the first-named house member. The first meeting of the committee shall be held within 45 days of the effective date of this section. Four members of the committee shall constitute a quorum.
VI. The committee shall report its findings, any recommendations for proposed legislation, and any specific recommendations for implementing procedures designed to improve rulemaking that do not require statutory changes. Such report shall be submitted to the speaker of the house of representatives, the senate president, the house clerk, the senate clerk, the governor, and the state library on or before November 1, 2006.
145:11 Repeal. RSA 541-A:16, I(b)(1), relative to rules on agency forms and instructions, is repealed.
145:12 Effective Date.
I. Section 10 of this act shall take effect upon its passage.
II. The remainder of this act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
Approved: May 22, 2006
Effective: I. Section 10 shall take effect May 22, 2006
II. Remainder shall take effect July 21, 2006