Report Title:

Administrative Rules

Description:

Revises the standards for administrative rule making; makes the provisions of the Hawaii Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Act permanent; establishes a rule drafting policy task force; establishes a pilot program within department of commerce and consumer affairs to review its administrative rules.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1983

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2002

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

relating to administrative procedure.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding three new sections to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§91-    Rulemaking procedure. (a) When adopting, amending, or repealing rules, agencies shall comply with:

(1) The requirements of this chapter;

(2) Procedures required by Hawaii law; and

(3) Applicable federal laws.

(b) Subject to the requirements of this chapter, each agency shall develop and use flexible approaches in adopting, amending, or repealing rules to meet the needs of the agency and that involve persons affected by the agency's rules. In adopting, amending, or repealing rules, the head of the agency shall assign a designated representative with the responsibility of ensuring that the rules are developed in concert with the spirit and intent of the law.

(c) After a public hearing has been held on any rule as required by section 91-3, the proposed rule shall not be adopted unless the head of the agency concurs that:

(1) The proposed rule has a rational nexus to the law; and

(2) Conforms to the letter, spirit, and intent of the law.

(d) An interested party may appeal the adoption of a rule by filing a petition for regulatory review as provided for in section    -6 of the Hawaii Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Act, Act 168, Session Laws of Hawaii 1998.

§91- Rules required by federal law; minimum impact. Whenever a state or county agency is required by federal law to adopt rules, the rules adopted shall impose the minimum regulatory requirements necessary to comply with the federal law. Rules imposing regulatory requirements in excess of those necessary to comply with federal law may be adopted if the state or county agency:

(1) Includes a written statement of justification for the excess regulatory requirements when submitting the rules to the governor or mayor of the county for approval pursuant to section 91-3(c); and

(2) Subsequently submits the rules and the written statement of justification to the legislature ten days prior to the convening of the next regular session of the legislature."

§91-    Repeal of administrative rules based on statutes or ordinances that have been subsequently repealed. (a) Upon the effective date of this Act, any administrative rule that has been adopted pursuant to a statute or ordinance that has been subsequently repealed shall be repealed automatically without regard to the notification requirements of this chapter.

(b) Upon the repeal of a statute or ordinance, any administrative rule that has been adopted pursuant to the repealed statute or ordinance shall be repealed automatically without regard to the notification requirements of this chapter."

SECTION 2. Rule drafting policy task force; establishment; membership; organization, procedures and staff support; duties. (a) There is established a rule drafting policy task force, to be placed in the department of commerce and consumer affairs for administrative purposes only. The task force shall include a representative of the following programs and agencies, to be selected by the program or agency:

(1) Business advocate;

(2) Department of the attorney general;

(3) Department of commerce and consumer affairs;

(4) Legislative reference bureau; and

(5) Slice waste and tape program.

The task force may invite participants as deemed necessary to effectuate its purposes.

(b) The representative of the department of commerce and consumer affairs shall serve as the chairperson of the task force. The task force shall establish its own procedures and may designate another chairperson according to those procedures. The task force shall convene on a regular basis. In carrying out its duties under this section, the task force may request staff assistance from the department of commerce and consumer affairs and other appropriate state agencies.

(c) The task force shall develop policies representing the public interest in minimizing the burden that rules place on governmental and private productivity. The task force shall develop guidelines and examples to integrate these policies into the rulemaking process. The guidelines and examples shall be designed to assist rule drafters and revisers to identify rules with unintended, undesirable effects on governmental and private sector efficiency and effectiveness. The guidelines and examples shall also encourage and enable rule drafters and revisers to use less formal and inflexible alternatives to rules, and to distinguish between rules that are necessary and must be adopted, and rules that may be adopted in the discretion of the agency. The guidelines and examples shall also include alternatives to the adoption of rules. To give rule drafters and revisers access to agency experience, the task force shall, where possible, attempt to obtain and use examples of:

1) Actual problem agency rules;

2) Actual rules that have been adopted by agencies as an alternative to these problem rules; and

3) Actual non-rule alternatives that have been utilized by agencies.

The task force shall prepare legislation incorporating the policies into chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes, and providing for incorporation of the guidelines and examples in the Hawaii administrative rules drafting manual. The task force shall submit the proposed legislation and a summary of the proposed revision of the Hawaii administrative rules drafting manual to the legislature no later than twenty days before the convening of the regular session of 2003.

(d) The members of the task force shall serve without pay, but may be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred in carrying out their duties.

(e) The task force shall terminate on June 30, 2003.

SECTION 3. Administrative rules review pilot program; established. (a) There is established the administrative rules review pilot program to be placed in the department of commerce and consumer affairs for administrative purposes. As part of the administrative rules review pilot program, the department of commerce and consumer affairs shall:

(1) Review all of its rules to determine which rules should be repealed or amended because they are obsolete, cumbersome, unnecessary, or overly restrictive; and

(2) Consider the feasibility of repealing any rule adopted by an agency three years after its adoption, with provisions allowing for the continuation of rules that can be justified by the agency.

(b) Reports. The department of commerce and consumer affairs shall provide a preliminary report on the progress of the administrative rules review pilot program, outlining its method of review, to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2003.

The department of commerce and consumer affairs shall submit a final report of its findings and recommendations to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2004. The final report shall include:

(1) A master list of all rules reviewed by the department of commerce and consumer affairs;

(2) The total number of rules that should remain intact, be amended, and be repealed;

(3) A list, including the rule number and corresponding title, designating which rules should remain intact, be amended, and be repealed;

(4) Recommendations that can be used by other departments for the efficient review of their existing rules;

(5) Recommendations to ensure the timely review of all new rules;

(6) Any other pertinent information about the process used by the department of commerce and consumer affairs in undertaking the administrative rules review pilot program; and

(7) Proposed legislation, if necessary, to facilitate efforts to improve administrative procedure under chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

(c) The administrative rules review pilot program shall terminate on June 30, 2004.

SECTION 4. Act 168, Session Laws of Hawaii 1998, is amended by amending section 5 to read as follows:

"SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 1998[, and shall be repealed as of June 30, 2002]."

SECTION 5. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect upon its approval. ;

INTRODUCED BY:

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