1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to administrative rules; making permanent the 
  1.3             local government rule petition process; imposing 
  1.4             notice requirements for use of the good cause 
  1.5             exemption; amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, sections 
  1.6             14.091; 14.388. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 14.091, is 
  1.9   amended to read: 
  1.10     14.091 [PETITION; UNIT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT.] 
  1.11     (a) The elected governing body of a statutory or home rule 
  1.12  city, a county, or a sanitary district may petition for 
  1.13  amendment or repeal of a rule or a specified portion of a rule.  
  1.14  The petition must be adopted by resolution of the elected 
  1.15  governing body and must be submitted in writing to the agency 
  1.16  and to the office of administrative hearings, must specify what 
  1.17  amendment or repeal is requested, and must demonstrate that one 
  1.18  of the following has become available since the adoption of the 
  1.19  rule in question: 
  1.20     (1) significant new evidence relating to the need for or 
  1.21  reasonableness of the rule; or 
  1.22     (2) less costly or intrusive methods of achieving the 
  1.23  purpose of the rule. 
  1.24     (b) Within 30 days of receiving a petition, an agency shall 
  1.25  reply to the petitioner in writing stating either that the 
  1.26  agency, within 90 days of the date of the reply, will give 
  2.1   notice under section 14.389 of intent to adopt the amendment or 
  2.2   repeal requested by the petitioner or that the agency does not 
  2.3   intend to amend or repeal the rule and has requested the office 
  2.4   of administrative hearings to review the petition.  If the 
  2.5   agency intends to amend or repeal the rule in the manner 
  2.6   requested by the petitioner, the agency must use the process 
  2.7   under section 14.389 to amend or repeal the rule.  Section 
  2.8   14.389, subdivision 5, applies.  
  2.9      (c) Upon receipt of an agency request under paragraph (b), 
  2.10  the chief administrative law judge shall assign an 
  2.11  administrative law judge, who was not involved when the rule or 
  2.12  portion of a rule that is the subject of the petition was 
  2.13  adopted or amended, to review the petition to determine whether 
  2.14  the petitioner has complied with the requirements of paragraph 
  2.15  (a).  The petitioner, the agency, or any interested person, at 
  2.16  the option of any of them, may submit written material for the 
  2.17  assigned administrative law judge's consideration within ten 
  2.18  days of the chief administrative law judge's receipt of the 
  2.19  agency request.  The administrative law judge shall dismiss the 
  2.20  petition if the judge determines that: 
  2.21     (1) the petitioner has not complied with the requirements 
  2.22  of paragraph (a); 
  2.23     (2) the rule is required to comply with a court order; or 
  2.24     (3) the rule is required by federal law or is required to 
  2.25  maintain authority to administer a federal program. 
  2.26     (d) If the administrative law judge assigned by the chief 
  2.27  administrative law judge determines that the petitioner has 
  2.28  complied with the requirements of paragraph (a), the 
  2.29  administrative law judge shall conduct a hearing and issue a 
  2.30  decision on the petition within 120 days of its receipt by the 
  2.31  office of administrative hearings.  The agency shall give notice 
  2.32  of the hearing in the same manner required for notice of a 
  2.33  proposed rule hearing under section 14.14, subdivision 1a.  At 
  2.34  the public hearing, the agency shall make an affirmative 
  2.35  presentation of facts establishing the need for and 
  2.36  reasonableness of the rule or portion of the rule in question.  
  3.1   If the administrative law judge determines that the agency has 
  3.2   not established the continued need for and reasonableness of the 
  3.3   rule or portion of the rule, the rule or portion of the rule 
  3.4   does not have the force of law, effective 90 days after the 
  3.5   administrative law judge's decision, unless the agency has 
  3.6   before then published notice in the State Register of intent to 
  3.7   amend or repeal the rule in accordance with paragraph (e). 
  3.8      (e) The agency may amend or repeal the rule in the manner 
  3.9   requested by the petitioner, or in another manner that the 
  3.10  administrative law judge has determined is needed and reasonable.
  3.11  Amendments under this paragraph may be adopted under the 
  3.12  expedited process in section 14.389.  Section 14.389, 
  3.13  subdivision 5, applies to this adoption.  If the agency uses the 
  3.14  expedited process and no public hearing is required, the agency 
  3.15  must complete the amendment or repeal of the rule within 90 days 
  3.16  of the administrative law judge's decision under paragraph (d).  
  3.17  If a public hearing is required, the agency must complete the 
  3.18  amendment or repeal of the rule within 180 days of the 
  3.19  administrative law judge's decision under paragraph (d).  A rule 
  3.20  or portion of a rule that is not amended or repealed in the time 
  3.21  prescribed by this paragraph does not have the force of law upon 
  3.22  expiration of the deadline.  A rule that is amended within the 
  3.23  time prescribed in this paragraph has the force of law, as 
  3.24  amended. 
  3.25     (f) The chief administrative law judge shall report the 
  3.26  decision under paragraph (d) within 30 days to the chairs of the 
  3.27  house and senate committees having jurisdiction over 
  3.28  governmental operations and the chairs of the house and senate 
  3.29  committees having jurisdiction over the agency whose rule or 
  3.30  portion of a rule was the subject of the petition. 
  3.31     (g) The chief administrative law judge shall assess a 
  3.32  petitioner half the cost of processing a petition and conducting 
  3.33  a public hearing under paragraph (d). 
  3.34     (h) This section expires July 31, 2006. 
  3.35     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 14.388, is 
  3.36  amended to read: 
  4.1      14.388 [GOOD CAUSE EXEMPTION.] 
  4.2      Subdivision 1.  [REQUIREMENTS.] If an agency for good cause 
  4.3   finds that the rulemaking provisions of this chapter are 
  4.4   unnecessary, impracticable, or contrary to the public interest 
  4.5   when adopting, amending, or repealing a rule to: 
  4.6      (1) address a serious and immediate threat to the public 
  4.7   health, safety, or welfare; 
  4.8      (2) comply with a court order or a requirement in federal 
  4.9   law in a manner that does not allow for compliance with sections 
  4.10  14.14 to 14.28; 
  4.11     (3) incorporate specific changes set forth in applicable 
  4.12  statutes when no interpretation of law is required; or 
  4.13     (4) make changes that do not alter the sense, meaning, or 
  4.14  effect of a rule, 
  4.15  the agency may adopt, amend, or repeal the rule after satisfying 
  4.16  the requirements of subdivision 2 and section 14.386, paragraph 
  4.17  (a), clauses (1) to (3), except that the notice and comment 
  4.18  provisions of subdivisions 2 and 3 shall not apply to good cause 
  4.19  exemptions sought under clause (1) for a serious and immediate 
  4.20  threat to public safety, health, or welfare.  The agency shall 
  4.21  incorporate its findings and a brief statement of its supporting 
  4.22  reasons in its order adopting, amending, or repealing the rule. 
  4.23     After considering the agency's statement and any comments 
  4.24  received, the office of administrative hearings shall determine 
  4.25  whether the agency has provided adequate justification for its 
  4.26  use of this section.  
  4.27     Rules adopted, amended, or repealed under clauses (1) and 
  4.28  (2) are effective for a period of two years from the date of 
  4.29  publication of the rule in the State Register. 
  4.30     Rules adopted, amended, or repealed under clause (3) or (4) 
  4.31  are effective upon publication in the State Register. 
  4.32     Subd. 2.  [NOTICE.] An agency proposing to adopt, amend, or 
  4.33  repeal a rule under this section must give electronic notice of 
  4.34  its intent in accordance with section 16E.07, subdivision 3, and 
  4.35  notice by United States mail or electronic mail to persons who 
  4.36  have registered their names with the agency under section 14.14, 
  5.1   subdivision 1a.  The notice must be given no later than the date 
  5.2   the agency submits the proposed rule to the office of 
  5.3   administrative hearings for review of its legality and must 
  5.4   include: 
  5.5      (1) the proposed rule, amendment, or repeal; 
  5.6      (2) an explanation of why the rule meets the requirements 
  5.7   of the good cause exemption under subdivision 1; and 
  5.8      (3) a statement that interested parties have five business 
  5.9   days after the date of the notice to submit comments to the 
  5.10  office of administrative hearings. 
  5.11     Subd. 3.  [REVIEW BY CHIEF JUDGE.] If a rule has been 
  5.12  disapproved by an administrative law judge, the agency may ask 
  5.13  the chief administrative law judge to review the rule.  The 
  5.14  agency must give notice of its request for review in accordance 
  5.15  with subdivision 2.  The notice must be given no later than the 
  5.16  date the agency requests review by the chief judge and must 
  5.17  include a summary of any information or arguments the agency 
  5.18  intends to submit to the chief judge that were not submitted to 
  5.19  the judge who disapproved the rule. 
  5.20     Subd. 4.  [COSTS.] The costs of any proceeding conducted by 
  5.21  the office of administrative hearings in accordance with this 
  5.22  section must be paid by the agency seeking to adopt, amend, or 
  5.23  repeal a rule under this section.