Utah Code 63G-3-201. When rulemaking is required

63G-3-201. When rulemaking is required.

(1)

Each agency shall:

Attorney's Note

Under the Utah Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:

Class	Prison	Fine
class C misdemeanor	up to 90 days	up to $750

For details, see Utah Code § 76-3-204

Terms Used In Utah Code 63G-3-201

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
Code: means the body of all effective rules as compiled and organized by the office and entitled "Utah Administrative Code. See Utah Code 63G-3-102
Director: means the director of the office. See Utah Code 63G-3-102
File: means to submit a document to the office as prescribed by the office. See Utah Code 63G-3-102
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
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)

maintain a current version of its rules; and

(b)	make it available to the public for inspection during its regular business hours.

(2)

In addition to other rulemaking required by law, each agency shall make rules when agency action:

(a)	authorizes, requires, or prohibits an action;

(b)	provides or prohibits a material benefit;

(c)	applies to a class of persons or another agency; and

(d)	is explicitly or implicitly authorized by statute.

(3)	Rulemaking is also required when an agency issues a written interpretation of a state or federal legal mandate.

(4)

Rulemaking is not required when:

(a)

agency action applies only to internal agency management, inmates or residents of a state correctional, diagnostic, or detention facility, persons under state legal custody, patients admitted to a state hospital, members of the state retirement system, or , except as provided in 3, students enrolled in a state education institution;

(b)	a standardized agency manual applies only to internal fiscal or administrative details of governmental entities supervised under statute;

(c)	an agency issues policy or other statements that are advisory, informative, or descriptive, and do not conform to the requirements of Subsections (2) and (3); or

(d)	an agency makes nonsubstantive changes in a rule, except that the agency shall file all nonsubstantive changes in a rule with the office.

(5)

(a)	A rule shall enumerate any penalty authorized by statute that may result from its violation, subject to Subsections (5)(b) and (c).

(b)	A violation of a rule may not be subject to the criminal penalty of a class C misdemeanor or greater offense, except as provided under Subsection (5)(c).

(c)

A violation of a rule may be subject to a class C misdemeanor or greater criminal penalty under Subsection (5)(a) when:

(i)	authorized by a specific state statute;

(ii)	a state law and programs under that law are established in order for the state to obtain or maintain primacy over a federal program; or

(iii)

state civil or criminal penalties established by state statute regarding the program are equivalent to or less than corresponding federal civil or criminal penalties.

(6)	Each agency shall enact rules incorporating the principles of law not already in its rules that are established by final adjudicative decisions within 120 days after the decision is announced in its cases.

(7)

(a)

Each agency may enact a rule that incorporates by reference:

(i)	all or any part of another code, rule, or regulation that has been adopted by a federal agency, an agency or political subdivision of this state, an agency of another state, or by a nationally recognized organization or association;

(ii)	state agency implementation plans mandated by the federal government for participation in the federal program;

(iii)

lists, tables, illustrations, or similar materials that are subject to frequent change, fully described in the rule, and are available for public inspection; or

(iv)	lists, tables, illustrations, or similar materials that the director determines are too expensive to reproduce in the administrative code.

(b)

Rules incorporating materials by reference shall:

(i)	be enacted according to the procedures outlined in this chapter;

(ii)	state that the referenced material is incorporated by reference;

(iii)

state the date, issue, or version of the material being incorporated; and

(iv)	define specifically what material is incorporated by reference and identify any agency deviations from it.

(c)	The agency shall identify any substantive changes in the material incorporated by reference by following the rulemaking procedures of this chapter.

(d)	The agency shall maintain a complete and current copy of the referenced material available for public review at the agency and at the office.

(8)

(a)	This chapter is not intended to inhibit the exercise of agency discretion within the limits prescribed by statute or agency rule.

(b)	An agency may enact a rule creating a justified exception to a rule.

(9)	An agency may obtain assistance from the attorney general to ensure that its rules meet legal and constitutional requirements.

Amended by Chapter 408, 2020 General Session

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