Minnesota Session Laws - 1998, Regular Session

                            CHAPTER 303-S.F.No. 1583 
                  An act relating to state government; setting state 
                  policy for regulatory rules and programs of agencies; 
                  regulating obsolete, unnecessary, or duplicative 
                  rules; providing notice of rulemaking action to the 
                  legislature; requiring a study; amending Minnesota 
                  Statutes 1997 Supplement, sections 14.05, subdivision 
                  5; and 14.131; proposing coding for new law in 
                  Minnesota Statutes, chapter 14. 
        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
           Section 1.  [14.002] [STATE REGULATORY POLICY.] 
           The legislature recognizes the important and sensitive role 
        for administrative rules in implementing policies and programs 
        created by the legislature.  However, the legislature finds that 
        some regulatory rules and programs have become overly 
        prescriptive and inflexible, thereby increasing costs to the 
        state, local governments, and the regulated community and 
        decreasing the effectiveness of the regulatory program.  
        Therefore, whenever feasible, state agencies must develop rules 
        and regulatory programs that emphasize superior achievement in 
        meeting the agency's regulatory objectives and maximum 
        flexibility for the regulated party and the agency in meeting 
        those goals. 
           Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1997 Supplement, 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 must submit a list of all the rules 
        of the agency to the governor, the legislative coordinating 
        commission, the policy and funding committees and divisions with 
        jurisdiction over the agency, and the revisor of statutes.  The, 
        a list must identify of any rules or portions of rules that are 
        obsolete and should be repealed, unnecessary, or duplicative of 
        other state or federal statutes or rules.  The list must also 
        include an explanation of why the rule or portion of the rule is 
        obsolete and the agency's, unnecessary, or duplicative of other 
        state or federal statutes or rules.  By December 1, the agency 
        must either report a timetable for repeal of the rule or portion 
        of the rule, or must develop a bill for submission to the 
        appropriate policy committee to repeal the obsolete, 
        unnecessary, or duplicative rule.  Such a bill must include 
        proposed authorization to use the expedited procedures of 
        section 14.389 to repeal or amend the obsolete, unnecessary, or 
        duplicative rule.  A report submitted under this subdivision 
        must be signed by the person in the agency who is responsible 
        for identifying and initiating repeal of obsolete rules.  The 
        report also must identify the status of any rules identified in 
        the prior year's report as obsolete, unnecessary, or 
        duplicative.  If none of an agency's rules are obsolete, 
        unnecessary, or duplicative, an agency's December 1 report must 
        state that conclusion. 
           Sec. 3.  [14.116] [NOTICE TO LEGISLATURE.] 
           When an agency mails notice of intent to adopt rules under 
        section 14.14 or 14.22, the agency must make reasonable efforts 
        to send a copy of the same notice and a copy of the statement of 
        need and reasonableness to the following: 
           (1) all people who are still legislators and who were main 
        authors, or supporting authors, of the law granting the agency 
        the statutory authority the agency relies upon as authority to 
        adopt the proposed rule; and 
           (2) the chairs of the legislative policy and budget 
        committees with jurisdiction over the subject matter of the 
        proposed rules. 
           Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1997 Supplement, 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 
        shall must 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 describe how the agency, in developing 
        the rules, considered and implemented the legislative policy 
        supporting performance-based regulatory systems set forth in 
        section 14.002. 
           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 must send a copy of the statement of need 
        and reasonableness to the legislative reference library when it 
        becomes available for public review.  
           Sec. 5.  [STUDY.] 
           The legislative coordinating commission, or a subcommittee 
        appointed by the commission, must report to the legislature by 
        January 15, 1999, on broad statutory delegations of rulemaking 
        authority to state agencies.  The report must include proposed 
        legislation to repeal or modify delegations of authority which 
        the commission believes to be overly broad.  The commission must 
        notify appropriate policy committees of these overly broad 
        delegations, and must encourage the committees to propose 
        legislation with more specific delegations of authority.  In its 
        study, the commission must consider, among other delegation, the 
        authority granted in the following sections of Minnesota 
        Statutes:  16B.04, subdivision 1; 41A.04, subdivision 4; 45.023; 
        84.03; 103B.101, subdivision 7; 115B.28, subdivision 1; 
        116J.035, subdivision 2; 147.01, subdivision 3; 148.05; 148.08, 
        subdivision 3; 148.191, subdivision 2; 148.53; 148B.20, 
        subdivision 1; 148B.31; 150A.04, subdivision 5; 151.06, 
        subdivision 1; 153.02; 154.24; 156.01, subdivision 3; 175.171; 
        179A.04, subdivision 3; 182.657; 216A.07, subdivision 5; 
        216B.08; 216C.02, subdivision 3; 223.19; 239.06; 256.975, 
        subdivision 2; 268.0122, subdivision 5; 268.021; 270.06; 
        299J.04, subdivision 1; 299K.03, subdivision 5; 326.06; 326.18; 
        326.241, subdivision 2; 352.03, subdivision 4; 363.05, 
        subdivision 1; 401.03; 462A.06; 611A.33; and 626.843, 
        subdivision 1. 
           Presented to the governor March 17, 1998 
           Signed by the governor March 18, 1998, 4:20 p.m.