1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to state government; providing for sunset of 
  1.3             administrative rules; authorizing legislative 
  1.4             governmental operations committees to formally object 
  1.5             to administrative rules; amending Minnesota Statutes 
  1.6             1998, section 3.842, subdivision 4a; proposing coding 
  1.7             for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 14. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 3.842, 
  1.10  subdivision 4a, is amended to read: 
  1.11     Subd. 4a.  [OBJECTIONS TO RULES.] (a) The commission, the 
  1.12  house of representatives governmental operations committee, or 
  1.13  the senate governmental operations committee may object to a 
  1.14  rule as provided in this subdivision.  For purposes of this 
  1.15  subdivision, "committee" means the house of representatives or 
  1.16  senate governmental operations committee.  If the commission or 
  1.17  a committee objects to all or some portion of a rule because the 
  1.18  commission or committee considers it to be beyond the procedural 
  1.19  or substantive authority delegated to the agency, including a 
  1.20  proposed rule submitted under section 14.15, subdivision 4, or 
  1.21  14.26, subdivision 3, paragraph (c), the commission or committee 
  1.22  may file that objection in the office of the secretary of 
  1.23  state.  The filed objection must contain a concise statement of 
  1.24  the commission's or committee's reasons for its action.  An 
  1.25  objection to a proposed rule submitted by the commission under 
  1.26  section 14.15, subdivision 4, or 14.26, subdivision 3, paragraph 
  2.1   (c), may not be filed before the rule is adopted. 
  2.2      (b) The secretary of state shall affix to each objection a 
  2.3   certification of the date and time of its filing and as soon 
  2.4   after the objection is filed as practicable shall transmit a 
  2.5   certified copy of it to the agency issuing the rule in question 
  2.6   and to the revisor of statutes.  The secretary of state shall 
  2.7   also maintain a permanent register open to public inspection of 
  2.8   all objections by the commission or committee.  
  2.9      (c) The commission or committee shall publish and index an 
  2.10  objection filed under this section in the next issue of the 
  2.11  State Register.  The revisor of statutes shall indicate the 
  2.12  existence of the objection adjacent to the rule in question when 
  2.13  that rule is published in Minnesota Rules. 
  2.14     (d) Within 14 days after the filing of an objection by the 
  2.15  commission or committee to a rule, the issuing agency shall 
  2.16  respond in writing to the commission objecting entity.  After 
  2.17  receipt of the response, the commission or committee may 
  2.18  withdraw or modify its objection.  
  2.19     (e) After the filing of an objection by the commission that 
  2.20  is not subsequently withdrawn, the burden is upon the agency in 
  2.21  any proceeding for judicial review or for enforcement of the 
  2.22  rule to establish that the whole or portion of the rule objected 
  2.23  to is valid.  
  2.24     (f) The failure of the commission or a committee to object 
  2.25  to a rule is not an implied legislative authorization of its 
  2.26  validity. 
  2.27     (g) In accordance with sections 14.44 and 14.45, the 
  2.28  commission or a committee may petition for a declaratory 
  2.29  judgment to determine the validity of a rule objected to by the 
  2.30  commission or committee.  The action must be started within two 
  2.31  years after an objection is filed in the office of the secretary 
  2.32  of state.  
  2.33     (h) The commission or a committee may intervene in 
  2.34  litigation arising from agency action.  For purposes of this 
  2.35  paragraph, agency action means the whole or part of a rule, or 
  2.36  the failure to issue a rule. 
  3.1      Sec. 2.  [14.369] [REPEAL OF RULES; SCHEDULE.] 
  3.2      Subdivision 1.  [REPEAL.] Rules published in Minnesota 
  3.3   Rules are repealed according to the schedule in subdivision 2, 
  3.4   unless a law is enacted before the effective date of the repeal 
  3.5   authorizes the rules to continue in effect. 
  3.6      Subd. 2.  [SCHEDULE.] (a) Rules of the accountancy board; 
  3.7   administration department; administrative hearings office; 
  3.8   agriculture department; animal health board; architecture, 
  3.9   engineering, land surveying, landscape architecture, geoscience, 
  3.10  and interior design board; arts board; Perpich center for arts 
  3.11  education; assessors board; barber examiners board; boxing 
  3.12  board; campaign finance and public disclosure board; capitol 
  3.13  area architectural and planning board; children, families, and 
  3.14  learning department; chiropractic examiners board; commerce 
  3.15  department; corrections department; dentistry board; designer 
  3.16  selection board; and dietetics and nutrition practice board, are 
  3.17  repealed July 1, 2001. 
  3.18     (b) Rules of the economic security department; electricity 
  3.19  board; emergency medical services regulatory board; employee 
  3.20  relations department; environmental assistance office; 
  3.21  environmental quality board; gambling control board; harmful 
  3.22  substance compensation board; health department; health 
  3.23  licensing boards; higher education services office; housing 
  3.24  finance agency; human rights department; human services 
  3.25  department; Indian affairs council; labor and industry 
  3.26  department; lottery board; marriage and family therapy board; 
  3.27  mediation services bureau; and medical practice board, are 
  3.28  repealed July 1, 2002. 
  3.29     (c) Rules of the metropolitan council; metropolitan waste 
  3.30  control commission; Minnesota state retirement system; municipal 
  3.31  board; natural resources department; nursing board; nursing home 
  3.32  administrators examiners board; optometry board; pardons board; 
  3.33  peace officer standards and training board; pharmacy board; 
  3.34  podiatry board; pollution control agency; psychology board; 
  3.35  public employees retirement association; public safety 
  3.36  department; public service department; public utilities 
  4.1   commission; racing commission; and revenue department, are 
  4.2   repealed July 1, 2003. 
  4.3      (d) Rules of the rural finance authority; secretary of 
  4.4   state; sentencing guidelines commission; social work board; 
  4.5   state planning agency; tax court; teaching board; 
  4.6   telecommunication access for communication-impaired persons; 
  4.7   trade and economic development department; transportation 
  4.8   department; transportation regulation board; veterans affairs 
  4.9   department; veterans homes board of directors; veterinary 
  4.10  medicine board; water and soil resources board; workers' 
  4.11  compensation court of appeals; and zoological board, are 
  4.12  repealed July 1, 2004. 
  4.13     Subd. 3.  [EFFECT ON OTHER LAW.] This section does not 
  4.14  extend the effective period of rules that are repealed at an 
  4.15  earlier time by other law. 
  4.16     Subd. 4.  [SUCCESSOR AGENCIES.] If an agency is renamed, 
  4.17  its rules expire at the time indicated in subdivision 2 for the 
  4.18  predecessor agency.  If the duty to adopt rules on a topic is 
  4.19  transferred from one agency to another agency, the rules expire 
  4.20  at the time indicated in subdivision 2 for the successor agency.