SB619 SFAT CARMICHAEL 3-11 #2

            Senator Carmichael moves to amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting therefor a new title, to read as follows:

Eng. Com. Sub. for Senate Bill No. 619 - - “A Bill to amend and reenact §29A-3-5 and §29A-3-11 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; to amend said code by adding thereto two new sections, designated §29A-3-19 and §29A-3-20; and to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §29A-3A-20, all relating generally to legislative rulemaking; requiring agencies to respond to public comments received during the rule-making process; requiring agencies to explain reason for comments being included or excluded from the rule; providing that failure of an agency to adequately explain why or why not public comments were incorporated into the rule may be grounds for rejection of the proposed rule; making changes to the procedures for the submission of a proposed legislative rule; allowing copies of proposed rule to be submitted in electronic or paper form at the request of the Legislative Rule-Making Review Committee; requiring additional information to be included when an agency submits proposed rules to the Legislative Rule-Making Review Committee; adding determinations the Legislative Rule-Making Review Committee shall make as part of its review of a proposed legislative rule; allowing the Legislative Rule-Making Review Committee to recommend rejection of the proposed legislative rule as one of the recommendations the Legislative Rule-Making Review Committee may make to the Legislature following its committee review; providing for a five-year sunset provision for all new legislative rules promulgated after April 1, 2016; requiring sunset provisions in all future modifications of existing legislative rules after April 1, 2016; allowing for renewal for an additional term of years; clarifying that statutory sunset provisions take precedence over sunset provisions in a rule; expressly exempting rules promulgated by the Department of Environmental Protection from the sunset requirement; expressly exempting emergency rules from the sunset requirement; providing that the existence of a sunset provision shall not preclude the repeal of the legislative rule prior to the expiration of the sunset provision; authorizing the Legislative Rule-Making Review Committee to establish a procedure for timely review of rules prior to the expiration of the sunset provision; requiring the Secretary of State to provide notice to agencies at least eighteen months prior to an agency’s rule sunset date; requiring executive agencies with rulemaking authority to submit a report to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance and to the Legislative Rule-Making Review Committee on or before November 1, 2017 indicating a description of state rules, guidelines, policies and recommendations that are more stringent than federal counterparts as well as public comments received relating to the same;  requiring agencies with rulemaking authority to perform certain actions, evaluations, determinations and public comment period in preparation of the report;  requiring each executive agency with rulemaking authority to review each of its rules, make certain determinations, within four years and submit a report to the Legislative Rule-Making Review Committee on or before July 1, 2020; setting forth the information to be included in the report to the Legislative Rule-Making Review Committee; requiring a five-year sunset provision for all new legislative rules promulgated after April 1, 2016 by the Higher Education Policy Commission or other higher education entity defined as a board under section one, article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of West Virginia Code; requiring sunset provisions in all future modifications of existing legislative rules promulgated after April 1, 2016 by the Higher Education Policy Commission or other higher education entity defined as a board under section one, article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of West Virginia Code; allowing for renewal for an additional term of years; clarifying that statutory sunset provisions take precedence over sunset provisions in a rule; expressly exempting emergency rules from the sunset requirement; providing that the existence of a sunset provision shall not preclude the repeal of the legislative rule prior to the expiration of the sunset provision; authorizing the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability to establish a procedure for timely review of rules prior to the expiration of the sunset provision; and requiring the Secretary of State to provide notice to the Higher Education Policy Commission or other higher education entity defined as a board under section one, article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of West Virginia Code at least eighteen months prior to an agency’s rule sunset date.”