Minnesota Legislature
Office of the Revisor of Statutes
Minnesota Session Laws - 1997, Regular Session
Key: (1) language to be deleted (2) new language
CHAPTER 98-S.F.No. 351
An act relating to administrative rules; assigning
responsibility for legislative review of
administrative rules to the legislative coordinating
commission; abolishing authority to suspend rules
without enactment of a statute; amending Minnesota
Statutes 1996, sections 3.841; 3.842, subdivisions 2
and 4a; 3.843; 14.05, subdivision 5; 14.131; 14.14,
subdivision 1a; 14.15, subdivision 4; 14.18,
subdivision 1; 14.19; 14.22, subdivision 1; 14.225;
14.23; 14.26, subdivisions 1 and 3; and 14.47,
subdivision 6; repealing Minnesota Statutes 1996,
sections 3.842, subdivisions 4, 5, 6, and 7; 3.844;
3.845; and 15.065.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 3.841, is
amended to read:
3.841 [LEGISLATIVE COORDINATING COMMISSION TO REVIEW
ADMINISTRATIVE RULES; COMPOSITION; MEETINGS.]
A For purposes of sections 3.842 and 3.843, "commission"
means the legislative coordinating commission to review
administrative rules, consisting of five senators appointed by
the subcommittee on committees of the committee on rules and
administration of the senate and five representatives appointed
by the speaker of the house of representatives shall be
appointed within 30 days after the convening of the legislative
session. Its members must include the chair or the chair's
designee of the committees in each body having jurisdiction over
administrative rules. The commission shall meet at the call of
its chair or upon a call signed by two of its members or signed
by five members of the legislature. The office of chair of the
legislative commission shall alternate between the two houses of
the legislature every two years or a legislative commission or
subcommittee established by the coordinating commission under
section 3.305, subdivision 6, to exercise the powers and
discharge the duties of the coordinating commission under
sections 3.842 and 3.843 or other law requiring action by the
coordinating commission on matters relating to administrative
rules.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 3.842,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. [JURISDICTION.] The jurisdiction of the
commission includes all rules as defined in section 14.02,
subdivision 4. The commission also has jurisdiction of rules
which are filed with the secretary of state in accordance with
sections 14.38, subdivisions 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 11; 14.386; and
14.388.
The commission may periodically review statutory exemptions
to the rulemaking provisions of this chapter.
Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 3.842,
subdivision 4a, is amended to read:
Subd. 4a. [OBJECTIONS TO RULES.] (a) If the legislative
commission to review administrative rules objects to all or some
portion of a rule because the commission considers it to be
beyond the procedural or substantive authority delegated to the
agency, including a proposed rule submitted under section 14.15,
subdivision 4, or 14.26, subdivision 3, paragraph (c), the
commission may file that objection in the office of the
secretary of state. The filed objection must contain a concise
statement of the commission's reasons for its action. An
objection to a proposed rule submitted under section 14.15,
subdivision 4, or 14.26, subdivision 3, paragraph (c), may not
be filed before the rule is adopted.
(b) The secretary of state shall affix to each objection a
certification of the date and time of its filing and as soon
after the objection is filed as practicable shall transmit a
certified copy of it to the agency issuing the rule in question
and to the revisor of statutes. The secretary of state shall
also maintain a permanent register open to public inspection of
all objections by the commission.
(c) The legislative commission to review administrative
rules shall publish and index an objection filed under this
section in the next issue of the State Register. The revisor of
statutes shall indicate its the existence of the objection
adjacent to the rule in question when that rule is published in
Minnesota Rules.
(d) Within 14 days after the filing of an objection by the
commission to a rule, the issuing agency shall respond in
writing to the commission. After receipt of the response, the
commission may withdraw or modify its objection.
(e) After the filing of an objection by the commission that
is not subsequently withdrawn, the burden is upon the agency in
any proceeding for judicial review or for enforcement of the
rule to establish that the whole or portion of the rule objected
to is valid.
(f) The failure of the commission to object to a rule is
not an implied legislative authorization of its validity.
(g) Pursuant to In accordance with sections 14.44 and
14.45, the commission may petition for a declaratory judgment to
determine the validity of any a rule objected to by the
commission. This The action must be started within two years
after an objection is filed in the office of the secretary of
state.
(h) The commission may intervene in litigation arising from
agency action. For purposes of this paragraph, agency action
means the whole or part of a rule, or the failure to issue a
rule.
Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 3.843, is amended
to read:
3.843 [PUBLIC HEARINGS BY STATE AGENCIES.]
By a vote of a majority of its members, the commission may
request any agency issuing rules to hold a public hearing in
respect to recommendations made pursuant to under section 3.842,
including recommendations made by the commission to promote
adequate and proper rules by that agency and recommendations
contained in the commission's biennial report. The agency shall
give notice as provided in section 14.14, subdivision 1, of a
hearing thereon under this section, to be conducted in
accordance with sections 14.05 to 14.28. The hearing shall must
be held not more than 60 days after receipt of the request or
within any other longer time period specified by the commission
in the request.
Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 14.05,
subdivision 5, is amended to read:
Subd. 5. [REVIEW AND REPEAL OF RULES.] By December 1 of
each year, an agency shall submit a list of all the rules of the
agency to the governor, the legislative coordinating commission
to review administrative rules, and the revisor of statutes.
The list must identify any rules that are obsolete and should be
repealed. The list must also include an explanation of why the
rule is obsolete and the agency's timetable for repeal.
Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 14.131, is
amended to read:
14.131 [STATEMENT OF NEED AND REASONABLENESS.]
Before the agency orders the publication of a rulemaking
notice required by section 14.14, subdivision 1a, the agency
must shall prepare, review, and make available for public review
a statement of the need for and reasonableness of the rule. The
statement of need and reasonableness must be prepared under
rules adopted by the chief administrative law judge and must
include the following to the extent the agency, through
reasonable effort, can ascertain this information:
(1) a description of the classes of persons who probably
will be affected by the proposed rule, including classes that
will bear the costs of the proposed rule and classes that will
benefit from the proposed rule;
(2) the probable costs to the agency and to any other
agency of the implementation and enforcement of the proposed
rule and any anticipated effect on state revenues;
(3) a determination of whether there are less costly
methods or less intrusive methods for achieving the purpose of
the proposed rule;
(4) a description of any alternative methods for achieving
the purpose of the proposed rule that were seriously considered
by the agency and the reasons why they were rejected in favor of
the proposed rule;
(5) the probable costs of complying with the proposed rule;
and
(6) an assessment of any differences between the proposed
rule and existing federal regulations and a specific analysis of
the need for and reasonableness of each difference.
For rules setting, adjusting, or establishing regulatory,
licensure, or other charges for goods and services, the
statement of need and reasonableness must include the comments
and recommendations of the commissioner of finance and must
address any fiscal and policy concerns raised during the review
process, as required by section 16A.1285.
The statement must also describe the agency's efforts to
provide additional notification to persons or classes of persons
who may be affected by the proposed rule or must explain why
these efforts were not made.
The agency shall send a copy of the statement of need and
reasonableness to the legislative commission to review
administrative rules reference library when it becomes available
for public review.
Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 14.14,
subdivision 1a, is amended to read:
Subd. 1a. [NOTICE OF RULE HEARING.] (a) Each agency shall
maintain a list of all persons who have registered with the
agency for the purpose of receiving notice of rule proceedings.
The agency may inquire as to whether those persons on the list
wish to maintain their names thereon on it and may remove names
for which there is a negative reply or no reply within 60 days.
The agency shall, at least 30 days prior to before the date set
for the hearing, give notice of its intention to adopt rules by
United States mail to all persons on its list, and by
publication in the State Register. The mailed notice shall must
include either a copy of the proposed rule or a description of
the its nature and effect of the proposed rule and an
announcement that a free copy of the proposed rule is available
on request from the agency. Each agency may, at its own
discretion, also contact notify persons not on its list who may
be affected by the rule being proposed. In addition, each
agency shall make reasonable efforts to notify persons or
classes of persons who may be significantly affected by the rule
being proposed by giving notice of its intention in newsletters,
newspapers, or other publications, or through other means of
communication. The notice in the State Register must include
the proposed rule or an amended rule in the form required by the
revisor under section 14.07, together with a citation to the
most specific statutory authority for the proposed rule, a
statement of the place, date, and time of the public hearing, a
statement that persons may register with the agency for the
purpose of receiving notice of rule proceedings and notice that
a rule has been adopted, and other information as required by
law or rule. When an entire rule is proposed to be repealed,
the agency need only publish that fact, giving the citation to
the rule to be repealed in the notice.
(b) The legislative commission to review administrative
rules chief administrative law judge may authorize an agency to
omit from the notice of rule hearing the text of any proposed
rule, the publication of which would be unduly cumbersome,
expensive, or otherwise inexpedient if:
(1) knowledge of the rule is likely to be important to only
a small class of persons;
(2) the notice of rule hearing states that a free copy of
the entire rule is available upon request to the agency; and
(3) the notice of rule hearing states in detail the
specific subject matter of the omitted rule, cites the statutory
authority for the proposed rule, and details the proposed rule's
purpose and motivation.
Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 14.15,
subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4. [NEED OR REASONABLENESS NOT ESTABLISHED.] If the
chief administrative law judge determines that the need for or
reasonableness of the rule has not been established pursuant to
section 14.14, subdivision 2, and if the agency does not elect
to follow the suggested actions of the chief administrative law
judge to correct that defect, then the agency shall submit the
proposed rule to the legislative coordinating commission to
review administrative rules for the commission's advice and
comment. The agency shall may not adopt the rule until it has
received and considered the advice of the commission. However,
the agency is not required to wait for the commission's advice
for more than 60 days after the commission has received the
agency's submission.
Sec. 9. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 14.18,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [GENERALLY.] A rule is effective after it
has been subjected to all requirements described in sections
14.131 to 14.20 and five working days after the notice of
adoption is published in the State Register unless a later date
is required by law or specified in the rule. If the rule
adopted is the same as the proposed rule, publication may be
made by publishing notice in the State Register that the rule
has been adopted as proposed and by citing the prior
publication. If the rule adopted differs from the proposed
rule, the portions of the adopted rule which that differ from
the proposed rule shall must be included in the notice of
adoption together with a citation to the prior State Register
publication of the remainder of the proposed rule. The nature
of the modifications must be clear to a reasonable person when
the notice of adoption is considered together with the State
Register publication of the proposed rule, except that
modifications may also be made which that comply with the form
requirements of section 14.07, subdivision 7.
If the agency omitted from the notice of proposed rule
adoption the text of the proposed rule, as permitted by section
14.14, subdivision 1a, paragraph (b), the legislative commission
to review administrative rules chief administrative law judge
may provide that the notice of the adopted rule need not include
the text of any changes from the proposed rule. However, the
notice of adoption must state in detail the substance of the
changes made from the proposed rule, and must state that a free
copy of that the portion of the adopted rule that was the
subject of the rulemaking proceeding, not including any material
adopted by reference as permitted by section 14.07, is available
upon request to the agency.
Sec. 10. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 14.19, is
amended to read:
14.19 [DEADLINE TO COMPLETE RULEMAKING.]
The agency shall, Within 180 days after issuance of the
administrative law judge's report, the agency shall submit its
notice of adoption, amendment, or repeal to the State Register
for publication. If the agency has not submitted its notice to
the State Register within 180 days, the rule is automatically
withdrawn. The agency shall may not adopt the withdrawn rules
without again following the procedures of sections 14.05 to
14.28. It shall report to the legislative coordinating
commission to review administrative rules, other appropriate
committees of the legislature, and the governor its failure to
adopt rules and the reasons for that failure. The 180-day time
limit of this section does not include any days used for review
by the chief administrative law judge or the legislative
commission to review administrative rules if the review is
required by law.
Sec. 11. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 14.22,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [CONTENTS.] (a) Unless an agency proceeds
directly to a public hearing on a proposed rule and gives the
notice prescribed in section 14.14, subdivision 1a, the agency
shall give notice of its intention to adopt a rule without
public hearing. The notice shall must be given by publication
in the State Register and by United States mail to persons who
have registered their names with the agency pursuant to under
section 14.14, subdivision 1a. The mailed notice shall must
include either a copy of the proposed rule or a description of
the its nature and effect of the proposed rule and an
announcement that a free copy of the proposed rule is available
on request from the agency. Each agency may, at its own
discretion, also contact notify persons not on its list who may
be affected by the rule being proposed. In addition, each
agency shall make reasonable efforts to notify persons or
classes of persons who may be significantly affected by the rule
by giving notice of its intention in newsletters, newspapers, or
other publications, or through other means of communication.
The notice in the State Register shall must include the proposed
rule or the amended rule in the form required by the revisor
under section 14.07, a citation to the most specific statutory
authority for the proposed rule, a statement that persons may
register with the agency for the purpose of receiving notice of
rule proceedings and notice that a rule has been submitted to
the chief administrative law judge, and other information as
required by law or rule. When an entire rule is proposed to be
repealed, the notice need only state that fact, giving the
citation to the rule to be repealed in the notice. The
notice shall must include a statement advising the public:
(1) that they have the public has 30 days in which to
submit comment in support of or in opposition to the proposed
rule and that comment is encouraged;
(2) that each comment should identify the portion of the
proposed rule addressed, the reason for the comment, and any
change proposed;
(3) that if 25 or more persons submit a written request for
a public hearing within the 30-day comment period, a public
hearing will be held;
(4) of the manner in which persons shall must request a
public hearing on the proposed rule;
(5) of the requirements contained in section 14.25 relating
to a written request for a public hearing, and that the
requester is encouraged to propose any change desired;
(6) that the proposed rule may be modified if the
modifications are supported by the data and views submitted; and
(7) that if a hearing is not required, notice of the date
of submission of the proposed rule to the chief administrative
law judge for review will be mailed to any person requesting to
receive the notice.
In connection with the statements required in clauses (1)
and (3), the notice must also include the date on which the
30-day comment period ends.
(b) The legislative commission to review administrative
rules chief administrative law judge may authorize an agency to
omit from the notice of intent to adopt the text of any proposed
rule, the publication of which would be unduly cumbersome,
expensive, or otherwise inexpedient if:
(1) knowledge of the rule is likely to be important to only
a small class of persons;
(2) the notice of intent to adopt states that a free copy
of the entire rule is available upon request to the agency; and
(3) the notice of intent to adopt states in detail the
specific subject matter of the omitted rule, cites the statutory
authority for the proposed rule, and details the proposed rule's
purpose and motivation.
Sec. 12. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 14.225, is
amended to read:
14.225 [DUAL NOTICE RULES.]
The attorney general, after consultation with the office of
chief administrative hearings, law judge shall adopt rules
prescribing the form and content of the notice authorized by
section 14.22, subdivision 2. The rules may provide for a
consolidated notice that satisfies the requirements of sections
14.14, 14.22, and 14.50, and the requirements of the rules of
the office of administrative hearings and of the attorney
general.
Sec. 13. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 14.23, is
amended to read:
14.23 [STATEMENT OF NEED AND REASONABLENESS.]
Before the date of the section 14.22 notice, the agency
shall prepare a statement of need and reasonableness, which
shall must be available to the public. The statement of need
and reasonableness must include the analysis required in section
14.131 and the comments and recommendations of the commissioner
of finance, and must address any fiscal and policy concerns
raised during the review process, as required by section
16A.1285. The statement must also describe the agency's efforts
to provide additional notification to persons or classes of
persons who may be affected by the proposed rules or must
explain why these efforts were not made. For at least 30 days
following the notice, the agency shall afford the public an
opportunity to request a public hearing and to submit data and
views on the proposed rule in writing.
The agency shall send a copy of the statement of need and
reasonableness to the legislative commission to review
administrative rules reference library when it becomes available
to the public.
Sec. 14. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 14.26,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [SUBMISSION.] If no hearing is required,
the agency shall submit to an administrative law judge assigned
by the chief administrative law judge the proposed rule and
notice as published, the rule as proposed for adoption, any
written comments received by the agency, and a statement of need
and reasonableness for the rule. The agency shall give notice
to all persons who requested to be informed that these materials
have been submitted to the administrative law judge. This
notice shall must be given on the same day that the record is
submitted. If the proposed rule has been modified, the notice
shall must state that fact, and shall must also state that a
free copy of the proposed rule, as modified, is available upon
request from the agency. The rule and these materials shall
must be submitted to the administrative law judge within 180
days of the day that the comment period for the rule is over or
the rule is automatically withdrawn. The agency shall report
its failure to adopt the rules and the reasons for that failure
to the legislative coordinating commission to review
administrative rules, other appropriate legislative committees,
and the governor.
Sec. 15. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 14.26,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. [REVIEW.] (a) Within 14 days, the administrative
law judge shall, within 14 days, approve or disapprove the rule
as to its legality and its form to the extent that the form
relates to legality, including the issues of whether the rule if
modified is substantially different, as determined under section
14.05, subdivision 2, from the rule as originally proposed,
whether the agency has the authority to adopt the rule, and
whether the record demonstrates a rational basis for the need
for and reasonableness of the proposed rule. If the rule is
approved, the administrative law judge shall promptly file two
copies of it in the office of the secretary of state. The
secretary of state shall forward one copy of each rule to the
revisor of statutes. If the rule is disapproved, the
administrative law judge shall state in writing the reasons for
the disapproval and make recommendations to overcome the defects.
(b) The written disapproval must be submitted to the chief
administrative law judge for approval. If the chief
administrative law judge approves of the findings of the
administrative law judge, the chief administrative law judge
shall send the statement of the reasons for disapproval of the
rule to the agency, the legislative coordinating commission to
review administrative rules, and the revisor of statutes and
advise the agency and the revisor of statutes of actions that
will correct the defects. The rule shall may not be filed in
the office of the secretary of state, nor published, until the
chief administrative law judge determines that the defects have
been corrected or, if applicable, that the agency has satisfied
the rule requirements for the adoption of a substantially
different rule.
(c) If the chief administrative law judge determines that
the need for or reasonableness of the rule has not been
established, and if the agency does not elect to follow the
suggested actions of the chief administrative law judge to
correct that defect, then the agency shall submit the proposed
rule to the legislative coordinating commission to review
administrative rules for the commission's advice and comment.
The agency shall may not adopt the rule until it has received
and considered the advice of the commission. However, the
agency is not required to wait for the commission's advice for
more than 60 days after the commission has received the agency's
submission.
(d) The administrative law judge shall disregard any error
or defect in the proceeding due to the agency's failure to
satisfy any procedural requirements imposed by law or rule if
the administrative law judge finds:
(1) that the failure did not deprive any person or entity
of an opportunity to participate meaningfully in the rulemaking
process; or
(2) that the agency has taken corrective action to cure the
error or defect so that the failure did not deprive any person
or entity of an opportunity to participate meaningfully in the
rulemaking process.
Sec. 16. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 14.47,
subdivision 6, is amended to read:
Subd. 6. [OMISSION OF TEXT.] (a) For purposes of any
compilation or publication of the rules, the revisor, unless the
attorney general objects, may omit any extraneous descriptive or
informative text which that is not an operative portion of the
rule. The revisor may also omit effective date provisions,
statements that a rule is repealed, prefaces, appendices,
guidelines, organizational descriptions, explanations of federal
or state law, and similar material. The revisor shall consult
with the agency, the attorney general, the
legislative coordinating commission to review administrative
rules, and with the chief administrative law judge before
omitting any text from publication.
(b) For the purposes of any compilation or publication of
the rules, the revisor, unless the attorney general objects, may
omit any rules that, by their own terms, are no longer effective
or have been repealed directly by the agency, repealed by the
legislature, or declared unconstitutional or otherwise void by a
court of last resort. The revisor shall not remove a rule which
is suspended and not fully repealed, but shall, if practicable,
note the fact of suspension in Minnesota Rules. The revisor
shall consult the agency involved, the attorney general, the
chief administrative law judge, and the legislative coordinating
commission to review administrative rules before omitting a rule
from publication.
Sec. 17. [REPEALER.]
Minnesota Statutes 1996, sections 3.842, subdivisions 4, 5,
6, and 7; 3.844; 3.845; and 15.065, are repealed.
Presented to the governor May 5, 1997
Signed by the governor May 6, 1997, 2:35 p.m.
Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes