House Study Bill 270 - Introduced HOUSE FILE _____ BY ADMINISTRATIVE RULES REVIEW COMMITTEE A BILL FOR An Act concerning the rulemaking process for executive branch 1 agencies and related matters. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 2523YR (5) 89 je/rn
H.F. _____ Section 1. Section 2B.13, subsection 2, paragraphs b, d, and 1 f, Code 2021, are amended to read as follows: 2 b. Correct references to rules or Code sections , or chapters 3 or subunits thereof, which are cited erroneously or have been 4 repealed, amended, or renumbered. 5 d. Transfer, divide, or combine rules or parts of rules 6 and add or amend catchwords to rules and subrules or parts of 7 rules . 8 f. Update the address, telephone number, facsimile number, 9 or electronic mail address , or internet site address of an 10 agency, officer, or other entity. 11 Sec. 2. Section 2B.17, subsection 5, paragraph a, Code 2021, 12 is amended to read as follows: 13 a. The Iowa Administrative Bulletin shall be cited as the 14 IAB, with references identifying the volume number which may be 15 based on a fiscal year cycle, the issue number, the publication 16 date, and the ARC number assigned to the rulemaking document by 17 the administrative rules coordinator pursuant to section 17A.4 18 or section 17A.5 . Subject to the legislative services agency 19 style manual, the citation may also include the publication’s 20 page number. 21 Sec. 3. Section 17A.2, subsection 1, Code 2021, is amended 22 to read as follows: 23 1. “Agency” means each board, commission, department, 24 officer or other administrative office or unit of the state. 25 “Agency” does not mean the general assembly or any of its 26 components other than the office of ombudsman , the judicial 27 branch or any of its components, the office of consumer 28 advocate, the governor, or a political subdivision of the 29 state or its offices and units. Unless provided otherwise by 30 statute, no less than two-thirds of the members eligible to 31 vote of a multimember agency constitute a quorum authorized to 32 act in the name of the agency. 33 Sec. 4. Section 17A.2, subsection 11, unnumbered paragraph 34 1, Code 2021, is amended to read as follows: 35 -1- LSB 2523YR (5) 89 je/rn 1/ 9
H.F. _____ “Rule” means each agency statement of general applicability 1 that implements, interprets, or prescribes law or policy, 2 or that describes the organization, procedure, or practice 3 requirements of any agency. Notwithstanding any other statute, 4 the term includes an executive order or directive of the 5 governor which creates an agency or establishes a program or 6 which transfers a program between agencies established by 7 statute or rule. The term includes the amendment or repeal of 8 an existing rule, but does not include: 9 Sec. 5. Section 17A.2, subsection 11, paragraph g, Code 10 2021, is amended to read as follows: 11 g. A specification of the prices to be charged for goods or 12 services sold by an agency as distinguished from a license fee, 13 application fee, or other fees as described in section 17A.6C . 14 Sec. 6. Section 17A.4, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 2021, 15 is amended to read as follows: 16 a. Give notice of its intended action by submitting 17 the notice to the administrative rules coordinator and 18 the administrative code editor. The administrative rules 19 coordinator shall assign an ARC number to each rulemaking 20 document. The administrative code editor shall publish each 21 notice meeting the requirements of this chapter in the Iowa 22 administrative bulletin created pursuant to section 2B.5A . 23 The legislative services agency shall also submit a copy of 24 the notice to provide the chairpersons and ranking members of 25 the appropriate standing committees of the general assembly 26 an opportunity to review an electronic copy of the notice 27 for additional study. Any notice of intended action shall 28 be published at least thirty-five days in advance of the 29 action. The notice shall include a statement of either the 30 terms or substance of the intended action or a description of 31 the subjects and issues involved, and the time when, the place 32 where, and the manner in which interested persons may present 33 their views. 34 Sec. 7. Section 17A.4, subsection 8, Code 2021, is amended 35 -2- LSB 2523YR (5) 89 je/rn 2/ 9
H.F. _____ to read as follows: 1 8. Upon the vote of two-thirds of its members, the 2 administrative rules review committee, following notice 3 of intended action as provided in subsection 1 and prior 4 to adoption of a rule pursuant to that notice, may suspend 5 further action relating to the agency from adopting that 6 notice for seventy days. The adoption of a notice of intended 7 action shall only be suspended once pursuant this subsection. 8 Notice that adoption of a notice of intended action was 9 suspended under this provision shall be published in the Iowa 10 administrative code and bulletin. 11 Sec. 8. Section 17A.5, subsection 1, Code 2021, is amended 12 to read as follows: 13 1. Each agency shall file each rule adopted by the agency 14 with the office of the administrative rules coordinator and 15 provide an exact copy to the administrative code editor. The 16 administrative rules coordinator shall assign an ARC number to 17 each rulemaking document. The administrative rules coordinator 18 code editor shall keep a permanent electronic register of the 19 rules open to public inspection. The administrative code 20 editor shall publish each rule adopted in accordance with this 21 chapter in the Iowa administrative code. 22 Sec. 9. Section 17A.6, Code 2021, is amended by adding the 23 following new subsections: 24 NEW SUBSECTION . 1A. For purposes of subsections 2 through 25 5, “publication” does not include the Iowa Code, Iowa Acts, Iowa 26 administrative code, or Iowa court rules. 27 NEW SUBSECTION . 4. An agency which adopts a standard by 28 reference to another publication or a portion thereof shall 29 include as part of the reference a date certain, edition or 30 amendment number, or other information identifying the specific 31 version of the publication or the specific point in time from 32 which the text of the publication can be determined. The 33 adoption of a standard by reference to another publication 34 shall not include adoption of any amendment, edition, or 35 -3- LSB 2523YR (5) 89 je/rn 3/ 9
H.F. _____ version of the publication subsequent to the effective date of 1 the adoption. 2 NEW SUBSECTION . 5. An agency shall include in the preamble 3 to each rule submitted pursuant to section 17A.4 or 17A.5 4 that adopts standards by reference to another publication or 5 portion thereof a brief explanation of the content of the 6 publication or portion and, if the rule updates a reference 7 to a publication previously adopted by reference, a brief 8 explanation of any changes in the content of the publication. 9 Sec. 10. NEW SECTION . 17A.6C Agency fees —— rules. 10 The amount of a license fee, application fee, or other fee 11 established by an agency, including any subsequent increase or 12 decrease in the amount, shall be specified in a rule adopted by 13 the agency. This section does not apply where the amount of a 14 fee is specifically established in the Iowa Code, Iowa Acts, 15 or by federal law. 16 Sec. 11. Section 17A.8, subsection 1, Code 2021, is amended 17 by adding the following new paragraph: 18 NEW PARAGRAPH . c. The administrative rules coordinator 19 shall serve as an ex officio, nonvoting member. 20 Sec. 12. Section 17A.8, subsections 2, 3, and 10, Code 2021, 21 are amended to read as follows: 22 2. A committee member appointed pursuant to subsection 1, 23 paragraph “a” or “b” , shall be appointed as of the convening 24 of a regular session convened in an odd-numbered year. The 25 term of office for a member of the house of representatives 26 shall end upon the convening of the general assembly following 27 the appointment. The term of office for a member of the 28 senate shall end upon the convening of the general assembly 29 after the general assembly following appointment. However, a 30 member shall serve until a successor is appointed. A vacancy 31 on the committee shall be filled by the original appointing 32 authority for the remainder of the term. A vacancy shall exist 33 whenever a committee member appointed pursuant to subsection 1, 34 paragraph “a” or “b” , ceases to be a member of the house from 35 -4- LSB 2523YR (5) 89 je/rn 4/ 9
H.F. _____ which the member was appointed. 1 3. A committee member appointed pursuant to subsection 1, 2 paragraph “a” or “b” , shall be paid the per diem specified in 3 section 2.10, subsection 5 , for each day in attendance and 4 shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses. There 5 is appropriated from money in the general fund not otherwise 6 appropriated an amount sufficient to pay costs incurred under 7 this section . 8 10. a. Upon the vote of two-thirds of its members, the 9 administrative rules review committee may delay the effective 10 date of a rule or portion of a rule seventy days beyond that 11 permitted in section 17A.5 , unless the rule was adopted under 12 section 17A.5, subsection 2 , paragraph “b” . The effective 13 date of a rulemaking document or portion thereof shall only 14 be delayed once under this subsection. If the rule was 15 adopted under section 17A.5, subsection 2 , paragraph “b” , the 16 administrative rules review committee, within thirty-five days 17 of the publication of the rule in the Iowa administrative 18 bulletin and upon the vote of two-thirds of its members, may 19 suspend the applicability of the rule or portion of the rule 20 for seventy days. The applicability of a rulemaking document 21 or portion thereof shall only be suspended once under this 22 subsection. 23 b. Notice of an effective date that was delayed or of 24 applicability that was suspended under this provision shall be 25 published in the Iowa administrative code and bulletin. 26 Sec. 13. Section 17A.8, subsection 9, paragraph a, Code 27 2021, is amended to read as follows: 28 a. Upon a vote of two-thirds of its members, the 29 administrative rules review committee may delay the effective 30 date of a rule or portion of a rule until the adjournment of the 31 next regular session of the general assembly, unless the rule 32 was adopted under section 17A.5, subsection 2 , paragraph “b” . 33 The effective date of a rulemaking document or portion thereof 34 shall only be delayed once under this subsection. If the rule 35 -5- LSB 2523YR (5) 89 je/rn 5/ 9
H.F. _____ was adopted under section 17A.5, subsection 2 , paragraph “b” , 1 the administrative rules review committee, within thirty-five 2 days of the publication of the rule in the Iowa administrative 3 bulletin and upon the vote of two-thirds of its members, may 4 suspend the applicability of the rule or portion of the rule 5 until the adjournment of the next regular session of the 6 general assembly. The applicability of a rulemaking document 7 or portion thereof shall only be suspended once under this 8 subsection. 9 Sec. 14. Section 17A.8, subsection 9, Code 2021, is amended 10 by adding the following new paragraph: 11 NEW PARAGRAPH . c. Notice of an effective date that was 12 delayed or of applicability that was suspended under this 13 provision shall be published in the Iowa administrative code 14 and bulletin. 15 Sec. 15. Section 17A.9A, subsection 4, Code 2021, is amended 16 to read as follows: 17 4. A grant or denial of a waiver petition shall be indexed, 18 filed, and available for public inspection as provided 19 in section 17A.3 . The administrative code editor and the 20 administrative rules coordinator shall devise maintain an 21 internet site to identify rules for which a petition for a 22 waiver has been granted or denied and make this information 23 available to the public. When an agency grants or denies a 24 waiver, the agency shall submit the information required by 25 this subsection on the internet site within sixty days. The 26 internet site shall identify the rules for which a waiver 27 has been granted or denied, the number of times a waiver was 28 granted or denied for each rule, a citation to the statutory 29 provisions implemented by these rules, and a general summary 30 of the reasons justifying the agencies’ actions on the waiver 31 request. To the extent practicable, the agency shall include 32 information detailing the extent to which the granting of a 33 waiver has established a precedent for additional waivers and 34 the extent to which the granting of a waiver has affected the 35 -6- LSB 2523YR (5) 89 je/rn 6/ 9
H.F. _____ general applicability of the rule itself. 1 EXPLANATION 2 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 3 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 4 This bill relates to the administrative rulemaking process 5 for executive branch agencies under Code chapter 17A, the Iowa 6 administrative procedure Act. 7 The bill allows the administrative code editor to update 8 the internet site address of an agency, officer, or other 9 entity when preparing the copy for an edition of the Iowa 10 administrative code or Iowa administrative bulletin. The 11 bill also allows the administrative code editor to correct 12 references to chapters or subunits of rules or Code sections 13 that are cited erroneously or have been repealed, amended, or 14 renumbered, and to add or amend catchwords to parts of rules. 15 The bill provides that a citation to the Iowa administrative 16 bulletin shall include the publication date and the ARC number 17 of an adopted rulemaking document. 18 The bill provides that the exclusion of the legislative 19 branch from the definition of “agency” in Code chapter 17A 20 includes components of the legislative branch, but does not 21 include the office of ombudsman. 22 The bill strikes language providing that an executive 23 order or directive of the governor which creates an agency or 24 establishes a program or which transfers a program between 25 agencies established by statute or rule is included in the 26 definition of “rule” in Code chapter 17A. 27 The bill strikes language requiring that an agency submit 28 a copy of a notice of intended action to the chairpersons 29 and ranking members of the appropriate standing committees 30 of the general assembly. The bill instead requires that the 31 legislative services agency provide the chairpersons and 32 ranking members an opportunity to review an electronic copy of 33 such notices. 34 The bill strikes language allowing the administrative 35 -7- LSB 2523YR (5) 89 je/rn 7/ 9
H.F. _____ rules review committee (ARRC), by a vote of two-thirds of its 1 members, to suspend further action relating to a notice of 2 intended action for 70 days. The bill instead allows the ARRC, 3 by a vote of two-thirds of its members, to suspend the agency 4 from adopting a notice for 70 days. The bill provides that 5 adoption of a notice may only be suspended once. 6 The bill strikes language requiring the administrative rules 7 coordinator to keep a permanent register of rules open to the 8 public. The bill instead requires the administrative code 9 editor to keep a permanent electronic register of rules open 10 to the public. 11 The bill requires an agency which adopts a standard by 12 reference to another publication or a portion thereof to 13 include as part of the reference a date certain, edition or 14 amendment number, or other information identifying the specific 15 version of the publication or the specific point in time from 16 which the text of the publication can be determined. The 17 adoption of a standard by reference to another publication 18 shall not include adoption of any amendment, edition, or 19 version of the publication subsequent to the effective date of 20 the adoption. 21 The bill requires an agency to include in the preamble to 22 each rule submitted for publication that adopts standards by 23 reference to another publication or portion thereof a brief 24 explanation of the content of the publication or portion and, 25 if the rule updates a reference to a publication previously 26 adopted by reference, a brief explanation of any changes in the 27 content of the publication. 28 The bill provides that “publication”, for purposes of 29 requirements of Code chapter 17A relating to adoption by 30 agencies of standards by reference to other publications, does 31 not include the Iowa Code, Iowa Acts, Iowa administrative code, 32 or Iowa court rules. 33 The bill provides that the amount of a license fee, 34 application fee, or other fee established by an agency, 35 -8- LSB 2523YR (5) 89 je/rn 8/ 9
H.F. _____ including any subsequent increase or decrease in the amount, 1 shall be specified in a rule adopted by the agency. The 2 requirement does not apply where the amount of a fee is 3 specifically established in the Iowa Code, Iowa Acts, or by 4 federal law. 5 The bill provides that the administrative rules coordinator 6 shall serve as an ex officio, nonvoting member of the ARRC. 7 The bill provides that the delay of an effective date 8 of a rule for 70 days or until the adjournment of the next 9 regular session of the general assembly, or the suspension of 10 applicability of a rule for 70 days or until the adjournment of 11 the next regular session of the general assembly, by the ARRC 12 may each only occur once per rulemaking document. 13 The bill provides that notice of the delay of an effective 14 date or suspension of applicability of a rule until the 15 adjournment of the next regular session of the general 16 assembly shall be published in the Iowa administrative code and 17 bulletin. 18 The bill modifies terminology relating to the internet site 19 used to identify rules for which a petition for a waiver has 20 been granted or denied. 21 -9- LSB 2523YR (5) 89 je/rn 9/ 9