September 8, 1995
Second Quarterly Meeting for 1995-1996
Minutes prepared by Kathy Hanlon, Research Analyst,
Organizational staffing by Thane Johnson, Senior Research Analyst
Call to Order. Committee Chairperson Mr. Don Meisner called the second meeting of the 1995-1996 Iowa Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (IACIR) to order at 10:10 a.m., Friday, September 8, 1995, in Committee Room 22 of the Statehouse in Des Moines, Iowa.
Introduction of New Members. Chairperson Meisner welcomed the Commission members to the quarterly meeting and introduced two new members, Senator Lyle E. Zieman and Representative Richard E. Myers.
Approval of June 9, 1995, Minutes. Representative Bob Renken moved that the minutes of the Commission meeting of June 9, 1994, be approved as submitted. The motion was seconded by Chairperson Meisner and unanimously adopted.
Adjournment. Upon a motion by Mr. Louis Galetich, the meeting adjourned at noon. However, members returned after a lunch break and divided into two workgroups to study education and transportation mandates in the Iowa Code.
Presentation. Representative Janet Metcalf, Co-Chairperson for the Iowa Administrative Rules Review Committee, Mr. Joe Royce, Legal Counsel for the Iowa Administrative Rules Review Committee, Ms. Paula Dierenfeld, Iowa Administrative Rules Coordinator, and Senator Sheldon Rittmer spoke to the Commission about the history and need for the Iowa Administrative Rules Review process. Representative Metcalf described for members the bipartisan nature of the Committee and noted that decisions are based upon the intent of the General Assembly that passed the law necessitating or permitting the rule as the intent is understood or interpreted by the Committee. She explained that rules have the force of law and provide the details that may have been too numerous or temporary to place in statute. The process therefore helps to insure that statutes are not miscontrued by administrators.
Administrative Rules Review Committee. Ms. Dierenfeld walked members through the actual process, as mapped out in a document Mr. Royce distributed to members entitled, Rulemaking in Iowa. The document is on file in the Legislative Service Bureau. Each agency is required to submit proposed rules to the Committee twice, giving the Committee and the public two opportunities for input. The process permits the legislators, as members of the Committee, some oversight of executive branch agencies and allows legislators to ensure that the bills they sponsored are implemented as intended. Mr. Royce writes a monthly publication focusing upon rules of interest for the members to permit them to concentrate on the most consequential of the proposed rules.
Committee Powers. The Committee may delay the effective date of a rule for 70 days, or to allow legislators more time to perfect the law on which a rule is based, or until the adjournment of the next regular session of the General Assembly. The Committee, Governor, or Attorney General, according to Mr. Royce and Ms. Dierenfeld, may object to all or some portion of a rule. The agency then has the burden of proving that the rule is not unreasonable, arbitrary, capricious, or otherwise beyond its authority. Often the threat of an objection is enough to bring about the result intended by the Committee. However, discussion revealed that because of the high cost of litigation, once an objectionable rule has been adopted it may stay on the books any number of years until it is challenged in court.
Public Input. Mr. Royce noted that while Iowans do not have a constitutional right to participate in agency decisionmaking, they have a right to know what the rules and laws of the state are. The system the state developed in the 1980s to give the public easy access to the rules and laws of Iowa is contained in Chapter 17A. The chapter sets out requirements for public notice, response time, public hearings, legislative review and control of process, and a publication process. The chapter distinguishes between agency statements. An agency rule is an agency statement, but not all agency statements are rules. For example, statements affecting the public are placed into rule, but statements that affect only internal policies do not go through the rulemaking process.
Iowa Administrative Code. Each municipal building and courthouse is also provided with a 24-to-26 volume set of the Iowa Administrative Code. The last volume of each set contains an index. The rules appear in the index in alphabetical order. Another search tool is the Table of Statutes Implementing Rules. A person may also find a rule by looking through the contents of the agency's section of the Iowa Administrative Code. There are 120 administrative agencies in Iowa.
Iowa Administative Bulletin. The Administrative Bulletin is also distributed to municipal buildings and courthouses. The bulletin contains information on rules going through the process of being adopted. In addition to the text of proposed and adopted rules, it lists the agencies, their submission deadlines, and the dates on which public hearings on rules are scheduled. It also identifies when the rule will be adopted, where it is in the process, who the Committee members are, and how they can be reached.
Governor's Powers. Ms. Dierenfeld noted that the Governor can rescind an adopted rule within 70 days. The Governor also has informal authority through the Iowa Administrative Rules Coordinator. The coordinator oversees the process, works with agencies informally on rule development, and advises agencies about controversial rules. The coordinator also keeps the Governor apprised about rules going through the process. The coordinator is an ex officio member of the Committee and is able to explain the agency's rationale for submitting a rule. The Governor, or any other citizen, may petition an agency requesting the promulgation, amendment, or repeal of a rule and the agency petitioned must respond by either denying, and explaining the reason for the denial, or by issuing the proposed rule.
Emergency Rules. When an agency for good cause finds that notice and public participation would be unnecessary, impracticable, or contrary to the public interest, it may bypass some or all of the review process. Some or all of the process may also be bypassed when an agency is given emergency rulemaking authority in statute by the General Assembly. However, the practice, according to Ms. Dierenfeld, is infrequent. Senator Rittmer expressed his belief that the Rules Review Committee's oversight function is impaired when rules are adopted under the emergency rulemaking process.
Committee Schedule. The Committee meets on the second Tuesday and Wednesday of each month. Representative Metcalf and Senator Rittmer provided members with anecdotes about Committee work that benefited the public.
Discussion. Senator Rittmer attended the meeting as a member of the Iowa Administrative Rules Review Committee. He outlined the reasons often given when agencies file emergency rules. He mentioned that public hearings on rules should be held around the state, not just in Des Moines, to enable citizens from across the state to have input. As a service to citizens across the state, Representative Metcalf suggested that the Administrative Bulletin may be published on the Internet soon. Chairperson Meisner observed that he would like schools, cities, and counties to be informed about proposed rules earlier in the process.
In response to a question, Representative Metcalf stated that the Committee may request that an agency publish in the Iowa Administrative Bulletin an estimate of the economic impact of a proposed rule upon all persons affected by it and upon the agency itself.
Chairperson Meisner suggested that the Committee may wish to work with the Governor's Office and the affected agencies to determine which rules are the result of federal mandates and whether states have any discretion in interpreting those mandates when developing rules. Because her office does not often have the resources to contact other states about their rules, if people are aware of mandates that permit a variety of interpretations between the states, Ms. Dierenfeld asked that her office be notified.
Chairperson Meisner noted that the Commission's work groups are compiling what they see as the most troublesome rules, which they will submit to Ms. Dierenfeld.
Mr. Thane Johnson, Senior Research Analyst for the Legislative Service Bureau, distributed information on federal funds and compensatory education, as well as an article on the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations that appeared in Governing magazine.
Iowa State Association of Counties. Mr. David Vestal, Legal Counsel, acknowledged that the process is good and said he appreciates the opportunity for public input it allows. However, he confessed that the task of following all of the rules is huge and items of importance are sometimes missed. He suggested that all local government organizations would appreciate a greater opportunity and an earlier opportunity to work out bugs in the rules with agencies.
Iowa League of Cities. According to Ms. Joanne Strack, the league has divided the many agencies and their rules into topical areas to respond to communication with the Committee. The league would like to see more interaction between the league and the agencies before rules are published.
Iowa Association of School Boards. Mr. Jason Bridie observed that his association has a good relationship with the one agency they deal with, the Department of Education. The department provides a good example for other agencies, he said, because they bring advocacy groups in early in the process. He characterized the process as user friendly.
The Commission accepted without objection Chairperson Meisner's motion that the Commission review Chapter 28C, the chapter which created the IACIR, and place the topic of recommending the reenactment of Chapter 28C on the December meeting agenda.
OTHER INFORMATION FOR THIS COMMITTEE:
| Charge | Members | Staff | Final Report |
Back to top of Interim Information
Iowa General Assembly
Index
Comments? webmaster@legis.iowa.gov
Last update: Sun Dec 24 22:52:03 CST 1995
URL: /DOCS/GA/76GA/Interim/1995/comminfo/acir/mn950908.htm
sw