First Regular Session
Sixty-second General Assembly
LLS NO. 99-0241.01 Debbie Haskins HOUSE BILL 99-1183
STATE OF COLORADO
BY REPRESENTATIVE Witwer
JUDICIARY
A BILL FOR AN ACT
101 CONCERNING LEGISLATIVE REVIEW OF EXECUTIVE BRANCH AGENCY RULES
102 BASED UPON REASONABLENESS.
Bill Summary
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does
not necessarily reflect any amendments that may be subsequently
adopted.)
Amends the "State Administrative Procedure Act" to provide that
no agency shall issue a rule that:
Imposes record-keeping that is burdensome in relation to
the public policy sought to be accomplished;
Imposes costs that are out of proportion to the public policy
sought to be accomplished;
Imposes requirements that are unrelated to the agency's
public policy goals;
Unreasonably interferes with an individual's or entity's
decisions about how to operate its business with no
reasonable relationship to public policy goals;
Is unnecessarily complex or inflexible; or
Unnecessarily limits the methods that regulated individuals
or entities may choose to achieve public policy goals.
Directs the committee on legal services to prescribe a process
whereby a member of the public, with the concurrence of a member of the
general assembly, may request review of a state agency rule by the
committee on legal services to analyze whether the rule meets any of the
specified criteria on unreasonably burdensome rules. If the committee
finds that the rule fails to meet such criteria, allows the committee to
introduce a bill to provide for the expiration or repeal of the rule.
[ ] denotes HOUSE amendment. { } denotes SENATE amendment.
Capital letters indicate new material to be added to existing statute.
Dashes through the words indicate material to be deleted from existing statute.
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1 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
2 SECTION 1. 24-4-103 (8), Colorado Revised Statutes, is
3 amended to read:
4 24-4-103. Rule-making - procedure. (8) (a) No rule shall be
5 issued except within the power delegated to the agency and as authorized
6 by law. A rule shall not be deemed to be within the statutory authority
7 and jurisdiction of any agency merely because such rule is not contrary
8 to the specific provisions of a statute. Any rule or amendment to an
9 existing rule issued by any agency, including state institutions of higher
10 education administered pursuant to title 23, C.R.S., which THAT conflicts
11 with a statute shall be void.
12 (b) On and after July 1, 1967, no rule shall be issued nor existing
13 rule amended by any agency unless it is first submitted by the issuing
14 agency to the attorney general for his OR HER opinion as to its
15 constitutionality and legality. Any rule or amendment to an existing rule
16 issued by any agency without being so submitted to the attorney general
17 shall be void.
18 (c) (I) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary
19 and the provisions of section 24-4-107, all rules adopted or amended on
20 or after January 1, 1993, and before November 1, 1993, shall expire at
21 11:59 p.m. on May 15 of the year following their adoption unless the
22 general assembly by bill acts to postpone the expiration of a specific rule,
23 and commencing with rules adopted or amended on or after November 1,
24 1993, all rules adopted or amended during any one-year period that
25 begins each November 1 and continues through the following October 31
26 shall expire at 11:59 p.m. on the May 15 that follows such one-year
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1 period unless the general assembly by bill acts to postpone the expiration
2 of a specific rule. The general assembly, in its discretion, may postpone
3 such expiration, in which case, the provisions of section 24-4-108 or
4 24-34-104 shall apply, and the rules shall expire or be subject to review
5 as provided in said sections. The postponement of the expiration of a rule
6 shall not constitute legislative approval of the rule nor be admissible in
7 any court as evidence of legislative intent. The postponement of the
8 expiration date of a specific rule shall not prohibit any action by the
9 general assembly pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (d) of this
10 subsection (8) with respect to such rule.
11 (II) It is the intent of the general assembly that, in the event of a
12 conflict between this paragraph (c) and any other provision of law
13 relating to suspension or extension of rules by joint resolution (whether
14 said provision was adopted prior to or subsequent to this paragraph (c),
15 this paragraph (c) shall control, notwithstanding the rule of law that a
16 specific provision of law controls over a general provision of law.
17 (d) All rules adopted or amended on or after July 1, 1976,
18 including temporary or emergency rules, shall be submitted by the
19 adopting agency to the office of legislative legal services in the form and
20 manner prescribed by the committee on legal services. Said rules and
21 amendments to existing rules shall be filed by and in such office and shall
22 be first reviewed by the staff of said committee to determine whether said
23 rules and amendments are within the agency's rule-making authority and
24 for later review by the committee on legal services for its opinion as to
25 whether the rules conform with paragraph (a) of this subsection (8). The
26 official certificate of the director of the office of legislative legal services
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1 as to the fact of submission or the date of submission of a rule as shown
2 by the records of his THE DIRECTOR'S office, as well as to the fact of
3 nonsubmission as shown by the nonexistence of such records, shall be
4 received and held in all civil cases as competent evidence of the facts
5 contained therein. Records regarding the review of rules pursuant to this
6 section shall be retained by the office of legislative legal services in
7 accordance with policies established pursuant to section 2-3-303 (2),
8 C.R.S. Any such rule or amendment to an existing rule issued by any
9 agency without being so submitted within twenty days after the date of
10 the attorney general's opinion rendered thereon to the office of legislative
11 legal services for review by the committee on legal services shall be void.
12 The staff's findings shall be presented to said committee at a public
13 meeting held after timely notice to the public and affected agencies. The
14 committee on legal services shall, on affirmative vote, submit such rules,
15 comments, and proposed legislation at the next regular session of the
16 general assembly. The committee on legal services shall be the
17 committee of reference for any bill introduced pursuant to this paragraph
18 (d). Any member of the general assembly may introduce a bill which
19 THAT rescinds or deletes portions of the rule. Rejection of such a bill
20 does not constitute legislative approval of the rule. Only that portion of
21 any rule specifically disapproved by bill shall no longer be effective, and
22 that portion of the rule which THAT remains after deletion of a portion
23 thereof shall retain its character as an administrative rule. Each agency
24 shall revise its rules to conform with the action taken by the general
25 assembly. A rule which THAT has been allowed to expire by action of the
26 general assembly pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (c) of this
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1 subsection (8) because such rule, in the opinion of the general assembly,
2 is not authorized by the state constitution or statute shall not be
3 repromulgated by an agency unless the authority to promulgate such rule
4 has been granted to such agency by a statutory amendment or by the state
5 constitution or by a judicial determination that statutory or constitutional
6 authority exists. Any rule so repromulgated shall be void. Such revision
7 shall be transmitted to the secretary of state for publication pursuant to
8 subsection (11) of this section. Passage of a bill repealing a rule does not
9 result in revival of a predecessor rule. This paragraph (d) and subsection
10 (4.5) of this section do not apply to rules of agency organization or
11 general statements of policy which THAT are not meant to be binding as
12 rules. For the purpose of performing the functions assigned it by this
13 paragraph (d), the committee on legal services, with the approval of the
14 speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate,
15 may appoint subcommittees from the membership of the general
16 assembly.
17 (e) (I) NO AGENCY SHALL ISSUE ANY RULE THAT:
18 (A) REQUIRES RECORD-KEEPING BY AN INDIVIDUAL OR ENTITY
19 THAT IS BURDENSOME IN RELATION TO THE PUBLIC POLICY SOUGHT TO BE
20 ACCOMPLISHED;
21 (B) REQUIRES INDIVIDUALS OR ENTITIES REGULATED BY THE RULE
22 TO INCUR COSTS THAT ARE OUT OF PROPORTION TO THE PUBLIC POLICY
23 SOUGHT TO BE ACCOMPLISHED;
24 (C) IMPOSES REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE UNRELATED TO A PUBLIC
25 POLICY GOAL ASSIGNED TO THE AGENCY;
26 (D) UNREASONABLY INTERFERES WITH AN INDIVIDUAL'S OR
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1 ENTITY'S DECISIONS ABOUT HOW TO OPERATE ITS OWN BUSINESS, WITH NO
2 REASONABLE RELATIONSHIP TO A PUBLIC POLICY GOAL SPECIFIED IN LAW;
3 (E) IS UNNECESSARILY COMPLEX OR COULD ACCOMPLISH THE SAME
4 PUBLIC POLICY GOAL IN A CHEAPER OR STREAMLINED MANNER;
5 (F) DOES NOT PERMIT REGULATED INDIVIDUALS OR ENTITIES AN
6 APPROPRIATE DEGREE OF FLEXIBILITY THAT IS CONSISTENT WITH
7 ACHIEVEMENT OF THE PUBLIC POLICY GOAL;
8 (G) UNNECESSARILY LIMITS THE METHODS THAT REGULATED
9 INDIVIDUALS OR ENTITIES MAY CHOOSE TO ACHIEVE PUBLIC POLICY GOALS.
10 (II) THE COMMITTEE ON LEGAL SERVICES SHALL PRESCRIBE A
11 PROCESS THAT ALLOWS ANY MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC TO REQUEST REVIEW
12 OF ANY RULE ADOPTED BY A STATE AGENCY TO ANALYZE WHETHER A RULE
13 MEETS ANY OF THE CRITERIA SET FORTH IN SUBPARAGRAPH (I) OF THIS
14 PARAGRAPH (e). SUCH PROCESS SHALL INCLUDE A REQUIREMENT THAT
15 RULES WILL BE REVIEWED BY THE STAFF OF THE COMMITTEE ONLY IF A
16 MEMBER OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY ALSO REQUESTS THAT SUCH REVIEW
17 BE CONDUCTED. IF, AFTER REVIEW OF THE STAFF'S FINDINGS, THE
18 COMMITTEE ON LEGAL SERVICES DETERMINES THAT THE RULE DOES NOT
19 MEET SUCH CRITERIA, THE COMMITTEE MAY INTRODUCE A BILL TO PROVIDE
20 FOR THE EXPIRATION OR REPEAL OF SUCH RULE.
21 SECTION 2. Safety clause. The general assembly hereby finds,
22 determines, and declares that this act is necessary for the immediate
23 preservation of the public peace, health, and safety.