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No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Substituted by A7458
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.258
- Reported and committed to finance
- Referred to commerce, economic development and small business
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Permits an agency to extend the last date for submission of comments on a proposed rule by publishing notice of extension in state register
Vetoed · Sponsor Michael Gianaris
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the state administrative procedure act, in relation to notice of proposed rule making
Purpose or general idea of bill
To allow state agencies to extend the period for public comments on a proposed regulation.
Summary of specific provisions
Section one of the bill would authorize a state agency to extend the period for public comment on a proposed regulation. Any citizen would be allowed to request an extension. When certain public officials request an extension, the agency would be required to either grant the request, or explain why the request was denied.
Effects of present law which this bill would alter
The State Administrative Procedure Act (SAPA) § 202 1(a) requires that an agency's initial publication of the proposed rule must indicate the last day for submission of public comments on the proposed rule. An agency must assess timely filed public comments when the agency adopts a rule. SAPA §202 5(b). Currently, there is no explicit authority for an agency to extend the date for filing public comments. This bill would authorize such extensions. Agencies would then be compelled to assess public comments filed during the extended comment period.
Justification
The State Administrative Procedure Act (SAPA) §202 1(a) establishes that in a rule making proceeding, the agency's initial publication of the proposed rule must indicate the last day for submission of public comments on the proposed rule. The minimum period for public comment is forty-five days. When a public comment is timely filed, an agency must assess the comment before it adopts the rule. SAPA §202 5(b) Sometimes members of the public may not learn of a proposed rule until shortly before the comment period deadline, and may not be able to file their comments in a timely fashion. Currently, an agency might consider comments filed after the deadline, but would not be required to do so. Especially for ordinary citizens who are not familiar with the rule making process, an imminent deadline can have a chilling effect on their effort to submit comments. An example of this problem occurred in 1997, with the Department of Social Services' proposed child day care regulations. This bill would give an agency the authority to formally extend a comment period. This added flexibility is designed to make the public comment process more user-friendly, especially for ordinary citizens. The bill would also grant certain public officials a limited advantage over other citizens. An agency could deny an official's request for an extension, in the same way that any citizen's request could be denied. However, if the request is from an official, the agency would have to give a reason for the denial. This provision would ensure an element of rationality in an agency's decision on extensions, without unduly burdening the agency.
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.