Relates to requiring certain agencies to submit regulatory agendas for publication in the state register

1) Eliminate the current requirement for a second semi-annual publication of a regulatory agenda in June, making publication of regulatory agendas an annual requirement;

2) Change the required timing for publication of a regulatory agenda from the first regular issue of the State Register in January to any issue published in January;

3) Remove the option of publishing a continuously updated online agenda as an alternative to the now-deleted June publication - instead, any agency could update its online regulatory agenda at any time without triggering any additional requirement for print publication;

4) Expand the list of agencies that are required to publish a regulatory agenda by adding three agencies - the Office of Mental Health, the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities and the State Gaming Commission -- which have become significant regulators in recent years; and

5) Provide that a regulatory agenda may indicate if a draft version of a potential rule is being made publicly available.

Section two amends section 2 of the state administrative procedure act to extend the provisions requiring certain agencies to submit regulatory agendas for publication in the state register until 2020.

Section three establishes that this act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to all regulatory agendas published on or after such date

Justification

Regulatory agendas provide the public with advance notice of regulations that are being developed or are under consideration by a state agency, but which have not yet been formally proposed. Experience with the provisions of SAPA § 202-d in recent years has pointed out opportunities to streamline its provisions to make it easier for state agencies to provide the public with this valuable information.

Specifically, the current requirement for semi-annual publications doubles the workloads of agencies without providing a substantial benefit to the public. The June agendas include a high percentage of repetitive information, and in some cases agencies have simply dispensed with the June publication entirely. Limiting the publication requirement to once per year and allowing publication in any Register issue will make it easier for agencies to focus on a single, comprehensive list of potential rules. An agency may still provide additional supplements to the January publication by updating the regulatory agenda on its website.

In addition to the above changes to the publication process, the bill adds three agencies - the Office of Mental Health, the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities and the State Gaming Commission -- to the statutory list of entities required to publish regulatory agendas, due to increased regulatory activity by those three agencies.

Existing law

SAPA § 202-d currently requires several major regulatory agencies to publish regulatory agendas twice per year, in the first regular issue of the State Register published in January and the last regular issue published in June. An agency may avoid the June publication by maintaining a continuously updated regulatory agenda on its website.

Legislative history

New bill

Fiscal implications

None

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to all regulatory agendas published on or after such date; provided, however, that the amendments to subdivision 1 of section 202-d of the state administrative procedure act made by section one of this act shall not affect the expiration of such subdivision and shall be deemed to expire therewith.