1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to state government; providing that certain
1.3 	rules take effect only upon legislative approval;
1.4 	amending Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 14.19;
1.5 	proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes,
1.6 	chapter 14.
1.7 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.8 	Section 1. [14.127] LEGISLATIVE APPROVAL REQUIRED.
1.9 		Subdivision 1.Cost thresholds. An agency must determine
1.10 	if the cost of complying with a proposed rule in the first year
1.11 	after the rule takes effect will exceed $25,000 for:  (1) any
1.12 	one business that has less than 50 full-time employees; or (2)
1.13 	any one statutory or home rule charter city that has less than
1.14 	ten full-time employees.  For purposes of this section,
1.15 	"business" means a business entity organized for profit or as a
1.16 	nonprofit, and includes an individual, partnership, corporation,
1.17 	joint venture, association, or cooperative.
1.18 		Subd. 2.Agency determination. An agency must make the
1.19 	determination required by subdivision 1 before the close of the
1.20 	hearing record, or before the agency submits the record to the
1.21 	administrative law judge if there is no hearing.  The
1.22 	administrative law judge must review and approve or disapprove
1.23 	the agency determination under this section.
1.24 		Subd. 3.Legislative approval required. If the agency
1.25 	determines that the cost exceeds the threshold in subdivision 1,
1.26 	or if the administrative law judge disapproves the agency's
2.1 	determination that the cost does not exceed the threshold in
2.2 	subdivision 1, the rules may not take effect until the rules are
2.3 	approved by a law enacted after the agency determination or
2.4 	administrative law judge disapproval.
2.5 		Subd. 4.Exceptions. (a) Subdivision 3 does not apply if
2.6 	the administrative law judge approves an agency's determination
2.7 	that the legislature has appropriated money to sufficiently fund
2.8 	the expected cost of the rule upon the business or city proposed
2.9 	to be regulated by the rule.
2.10 	(b) Subdivision 3 does not apply if the administrative law
2.11 	judge approves an agency's determination that the rule has been
2.12 	proposed pursuant to a specific federal statutory or regulatory
2.13 	mandate.
2.14 	(c) This section does not apply if the rule is adopted
2.15 	under section 14.388 or under another law specifying that the
2.16 	rulemaking procedures of chapter 14 do not apply.
2.17 	(d) This section does not apply to a rule adopted by the
2.18 	Public Utilities Commission.
2.19 	(e) Subdivision 3 does not apply if the governor waives
2.20 	application of subdivision 3.  The governor may issue a waiver
2.21 	at any time, either before or after the rule would take effect
2.22 	but for the requirement of legislative approval.  As soon as
2.23 	possible after issuing a waiver under this paragraph, the
2.24 	governor must send notice of the waiver to the speaker of the
2.25 	house of representatives and the president of the senate, and
2.26 	must publish notice of this determination in the State Register.
2.27 		Subd. 5.Severability. If an administrative law judge
2.28 	determines that part of a proposed rule exceeds the threshold
2.29 	specified in subdivision 1, but that a severable portion of a
2.30 	proposed rule does not exceed the threshold in subdivision 1,
2.31 	the administrative law judge may provide that the severable
2.32 	portion of the rule that does not exceed the threshold may take
2.33 	effect without legislative approval.

2.34 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 14.19, is amended
2.35 	to read:
2.36 	14.19 DEADLINE TO COMPLETE RULEMAKING.
3.1 	Within 180 days after issuance of the administrative law
3.2 	judge's report or that of the chief administrative law judge,
3.3 	the agency shall submit its notice of adoption, amendment, or
3.4 	repeal to the State Register for publication.  If the agency has
3.5 	not submitted its notice to the State Register within 180 days,
3.6 	the rule is automatically withdrawn.  The agency may not adopt
3.7 	the withdrawn rules without again following the procedures of
3.8 	sections 14.05 to 14.28, with the exception of section 14.101,
3.9 	if the noncompliance is approved by the chief administrative law
3.10 	judge.  The agency shall report to the Legislative Coordinating
3.11 	Commission, other appropriate committees of the legislature, and
3.12 	the governor its failure to adopt rules and the reasons for that
3.13 	failure.  The 180-day time limit of this section does not
3.14 	include:
3.15 	(1) any days used for review by the chief administrative
3.16 	law judge or the commission if the review is required by law; or 
3.17 	(2) days during which the rule cannot be adopted, because
3.18 	of votes by legislative committees under section 14.126; or 
3.19 	(3) days during which the rule cannot be adopted because
3.20 	approval of the legislature is required under section 14.127.

3.21 	Sec. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.
 3.22 	Sections 1 and 2 are effective July 1, 2005.  These
3.23 	sections apply to any rule for which the hearing record has not
3.24 	closed before July 1, 2005, or, if there is no public hearing,
3.25 	for which the agency has not submitted the record to the
3.26 	administrative law judge before that date.