63G-3-501.  Administrative Rules Review and General Oversight Committee.

(1) 

Terms Used In Utah Code 63G-3-501

  • Agency: means each state board, authority, commission, institution, department, division, officer, or other state government entity other than the Legislature, its committees, the political subdivisions of the state, or the courts, which is authorized or required by law to make rules, adjudicate, grant or withhold licenses, grant or withhold relief from legal obligations, or perform other similar actions or duties delegated by law. See Utah Code 63G-3-102
  • Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
  • Bulletin: means the Utah State Bulletin. See Utah Code 63G-3-102
  • Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Month: means a calendar month, unless otherwise expressed. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Office: means the Office of Administrative Rules created in Section 63G-3-401. See Utah Code 63G-3-102
  • Order: means an agency action that determines the legal rights, duties, privileges, immunities, or other interests of one or more specific persons, but not a class of persons. See Utah Code 63G-3-102
  • Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
  • Person: means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, governmental entity, or public or private organization of any character other than an agency. See Utah Code 63G-3-102
  • Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of a judicial proceeding. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
  • Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
  • Rule: includes the amendment or repeal of an existing rule. See Utah Code 63G-3-102
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
(a)  There is created an Administrative Rules Review and General Oversight Committee of the following 10 permanent members:

(i)  five members of the Senate appointed by the president of the Senate, no more than three of whom may be from the same political party; and

(ii)  five members of the House of Representatives appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, no more than three of whom may be from the same political party.

(b)  Each permanent member shall serve:

(i)  for a two-year term; or

(ii)  until the permanent member’s successor is appointed.

(c) 

(i)  A vacancy exists when a permanent member ceases to be a member of the Legislature, or when a permanent member resigns from the committee.

(ii)  When a vacancy exists:

(A)  if the departing member is a member of the Senate, the president of the Senate shall appoint a member of the Senate to fill the vacancy; or

(B)  if the departing member is a member of the House of Representatives, the speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint a member of the House of Representatives to fill the vacancy.

(iii)  The newly appointed member shall serve the remainder of the departing member’s unexpired term.

(d) 

(i)  The president of the Senate shall designate a member of the Senate appointed under Subsection (1)(a)(i) as a cochair of the committee.

(ii)  The speaker of the House of Representatives shall designate a member of the House of Representatives appointed under Subsection (1)(a)(ii) as a cochair of the committee.

(e)  Three representatives and three senators from the permanent members are a quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting.

(f) 

(i)  Subject to Subsection (1)(f)(ii), the committee shall meet at least once each month to review new agency rules, amendments to existing agency rules, and repeals of existing agency rules.

(ii)  The committee chairs may suspend the meeting requirement described in Subsection (1)(f)(i) at the committee chairs’ discretion.

(2)  The office shall submit a copy of each issue of the bulletin to the committee.

(3) 

(a)  The committee shall exercise continuous oversight of the rulemaking process.

(b)  The committee shall examine each rule, including any rule made according to the emergency rulemaking procedure described in Section 63G-3-304, submitted by an agency to determine:

(i)  whether the rule is authorized by statute;

(ii)  whether the rule complies with legislative intent;

(iii)  the rule’s impact on the economy and the government operations of the state and local political subdivisions;

(iv)  the rule’s impact on affected persons;

(v)  the rule’s total cost to entities regulated by the state;

(vi)  the rule’s benefit to the citizens of the state; and

(vii)  whether adoption of the rule requires legislative review or approval.

(c)  The committee may examine and review:

(i)  any executive order issued pursuant to 2;

(ii)  any public health order issued during a public health emergency declared in accordance with Title 26A, Local Health Authorities, or Title 26B, Utah Health and Human Services Code; or

(iii)  an agency’s policies that:

(A)  affect a class of persons other than the agency; or

(B)  are contrary to legislative intent.

(d) 

(i)  To carry out these duties, the committee may examine any other issues that the committee considers necessary.

(ii)  Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this section, the committee may not examine an agency’s internal policies, procedures, or practices.

(iii)  The committee may also notify and refer rules to the chairs of the interim committee that has jurisdiction over a particular agency when the committee determines that an issue involved in an agency’s rules may be more appropriately addressed by that committee.

(e)  An agency shall respond to a request from the committee for:

(i)  an agency’s policy described in Subsection (3)(c)(iii); or

(ii)  information related to an agency’s policy described in Subsection (3)(c)(iii).

(f)  In reviewing a rule, the committee shall follow generally accepted principles of statutory construction.

(4)  When the committee reviews an existing rule, the committee chairs shall invite the Senate and House chairs of the standing committee and of the appropriation subcommittee that have jurisdiction over the agency whose existing rule is being reviewed to participate as nonvoting, ex officio members with the committee.

(5)  The committee may request that the Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst prepare a fiscal note on any rule.

(6)  In order to accomplish the committee’s functions described in this chapter, the committee has all the powers granted to legislative interim committees under Section 36-12-11.

(7) 

(a)  The committee may prepare written findings of the committee’s review of a rule, policy, practice, or procedure and may include any recommendation, including:

(i)  legislative action; or

(ii)  action by a standing committee or interim committee.

(b)  When the committee reviews a rule, the committee shall provide to the agency that enacted the rule:

(i)  the committee’s findings, if any; and

(ii)  a request that the agency notify the committee of any changes the agency makes to the rule.

(c)  The committee shall provide a copy of the committee’s findings described in Subsection (7)(a), if any, to:

(i)  any member of the Legislature, upon request;

(ii)  any person affected by the rule, upon request;

(iii)  the president of the Senate;

(iv)  the speaker of the House of Representatives;

(v)  the Senate and House chairs of the standing committee that has jurisdiction over the agency whose rule, policy, practice, or procedure is the subject of the finding; and

(vi)  the Senate and House chairs of the appropriation subcommittee that has jurisdiction over the agency that made the rule.

(8) 

(a) 

(i)  The committee may submit a report on the committee’s review under this section to each member of the Legislature at each regular session.

(ii)  The report shall include:

(A)  any finding or recommendation the committee made under Subsection (7);

(B)  any action an agency took in response to a committee recommendation; and

(C)  any recommendation by the committee for legislation.

(b)  If the committee receives a recommendation not to reauthorize a rule, as described in Subsection 63G-3-301(13)(b), and the committee recommends to the Legislature reauthorization of the rule, the committee shall submit a report to each member of the Legislature detailing the committee’s decision.

(c)  If the committee recommends legislation, the committee may prepare legislation for consideration by the Legislature at the next general session.

Amended by Chapter 329, 2023 General Session

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