17A.7  Petition for adoption of rules and request for review of rules.
  1.  An interested person may petition an agency requesting the adoption, amendment, or repeal of a rule. Each agency shall prescribe by rule the form for petitions and the procedure for their submission, consideration, and disposition. Within sixty days after submission of a petition, the agency either shall deny the petition in writing on the merits, stating its reasons for the denial, or initiate rulemaking proceedings in accordance with section 17A.4, or issue a rule if it is not required to be issued according to the procedures of section 17A.4, subsection 1.
  2.  a.  Any interested person, association, agency, or political subdivision may submit a written request to the administrative rules coordinator for an agency to conduct a formal review of a specified rule of that agency to determine whether the rule should be repealed or amended or a new rule adopted instead. The administrative rules coordinator shall determine whether the request is reasonable and does not place an unreasonable burden upon the agency.
  b.  If the agency has not conducted such a review of the specified rule within a period of five years prior to the filing of the written request, and upon a determination by the administrative rules coordinator that the request is reasonable and does not place an unreasonable burden upon the agency, the agency shall prepare within a reasonable time a written report with respect to the rule summarizing the agency’s findings, its supporting reasons, and any proposed course of action. The report must include, for the specified rule, a concise statement of all of the following:
  (1)  The rule’s effectiveness in achieving its objectives, including a summary of any available data supporting the conclusions reached.
  (2)  Written criticisms of the rule received during the previous five years, including a summary of any petitions for waiver of the rule tendered to the agency or granted by the agency.
  (3)  Alternative solutions regarding the subject matter of the criticisms and the reasons they were rejected or the changes made in the rule in response to those criticisms and the reasons for the changes.
  c.  A copy of the report shall be sent to the administrative rules review committee and the administrative rules coordinator and shall be made available for public inspection.
[C75, 77, 79, 81, §17A.7]
98 Acts, ch 1202, §11, 46; 2008 Acts, ch 1032, §136