General Assembly Governor's Bill No. 27
February Session, 2012 LCO No. 525
*00525__________*
Referred to Committee on Government Administration and Elections
Introduced by:
SEN. WILLIAMS, 29th Dist. SEN. LOONEY, 11th Dist. REP. DONOVAN, 84th Dist. REP. SHARKEY, 88th Dist.
General Assembly
Governor's Bill No. 27
February Session, 2012
LCO No. 525
*00525__________*
Referred to Committee on Government Administration and Elections
Introduced by:
SEN. WILLIAMS, 29th Dist.
SEN. LOONEY, 11th Dist.
REP. DONOVAN, 84th Dist.
REP. SHARKEY, 88th Dist.
AN ACT TRANSITIONING THE REGULATIONS OF CONNECTICUT STATE AGENCIES TO AN ONLINE FORMAT.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 4-167 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2013):
(a) In addition to other regulation-making requirements imposed by law, each agency shall: (1) Adopt as a regulation a description of its organization, stating the general course and method of its operations and the methods whereby the public may obtain information or make submissions or requests; (2) adopt as a regulation rules of practice setting forth the nature and requirements of all formal and informal procedures available provided such rules shall be in conformance with the provisions of this chapter; and (3) make available for public inspection, upon request, paper copies of all regulations and all other written statements of policy or interpretations formulated, adopted or used by the agency in the discharge of its functions, and all forms and instructions used by the agency.
(b) No agency regulation is enforceable against any person or party, nor may it be invoked by the agency for any purpose, until (1) it has been made available for public inspection as provided in this section and (2) the regulation or a notice of the adoption of the regulation has been published [in the Connecticut Law Journal] online by the Secretary of the State pursuant to section 4-173, as amended by this act. This provision is not applicable in favor of any person or party who has actual notice or knowledge thereof. The burden of proving the notice or knowledge is on the agency. The provisions of subdivision (2) of this subsection shall not apply to regulations adopted under subsection (f) of section 4-168, as amended by this act.
Sec. 2. Section 4-168 of the 2012 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2013):
(a) Except as provided in subsection (g) of this section, an agency, prior to adopting a proposed regulation, shall: (1) Give at least thirty days' notice by publication [in the Connecticut Law Journal] online by the Secretary of the State of its intended action. The notice shall include (A) either a statement of the terms or of the substance of the proposed regulation or a description sufficiently detailed so as to apprise persons likely to be affected of the issues and subjects involved in the proposed regulation, (B) a statement of the purposes for which the regulation is proposed, (C) a reference to the statutory authority for the proposed regulation, (D) when, where and how interested persons may obtain a copy of the small business impact and regulatory flexibility analyses required pursuant to section 4-168a, and (E) when, where and how interested persons may present their views on the proposed regulation; (2) give electronic notice to each joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of the subject matter of the proposed regulation; (3) give electronic or paper copy notice to all persons who have made requests to the agency for advance notice of its regulation-making proceedings. The agency may charge a reasonable fee for such notice based on the estimated cost of providing the service; (4) provide a paper copy or electronic version of the proposed regulation to persons requesting it. The agency may charge a reasonable fee for paper copies in accordance with the provisions of section 1-212; (5) [no later than the date of publication of the notice in the Connecticut Law Journal,] prepare a fiscal note, including an estimate of the cost or of the revenue impact (A) on the state or any municipality of the state, and (B) on small businesses in the state, including an estimate of the number of small businesses subject to the proposed regulation and the projected costs, including but not limited to, reporting, recordkeeping and administrative, associated with compliance with the proposed regulation and, if applicable, the regulatory flexibility analysis prepared under section 4-168a. The governing body of any municipality, if requested, shall provide the agency, within twenty working days, with any information that may be necessary for analysis in preparation of such fiscal note; (6) afford all interested persons reasonable opportunity to submit data, views or arguments, orally at a hearing granted under subdivision (7) of this subsection or in writing, and to inspect and copy or view online and print the fiscal note prepared pursuant to subdivision (5) of this subsection; (7) grant an opportunity to present oral argument if requested by fifteen persons, by a governmental subdivision or agency or by an association having not less than fifteen members, if notice of the request is received by the agency within fourteen days after the date of publication of the notice; and (8) consider fully all written and oral submissions respecting the proposed regulation and revise the fiscal note prepared in accordance with the provisions of subdivision (5) of this subsection to indicate any changes made in the proposed regulation. Notice and all accompanying documents prepared by an agency pursuant to this subsection shall be published online by the Secretary of the State not later than five calendar days after such agency has submitted such notice and documents to the Secretary of the State. Each agency shall post the notice and all accompanying documents on its Internet web site. No regulation shall be found invalid due to the failure of an agency to give notice to each committee of cognizance pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection, provided one such committee has been so notified.
(b) If an agency is required by a public act to adopt regulations, the agency, within five months after the effective date of the public act or by the time specified in the public act, shall publish [in the Connecticut Law Journal the notice required by] online pursuant to subsection (a) of this section of its intent to adopt regulations. If the agency fails to publish the notice within such five-month period or by the time specified in the public act, the agency shall submit [a written] an electronic statement of its reasons for failure to do so to the Governor, the joint standing committee having cognizance of the subject matter of the regulations and the standing legislative regulation review committee. The agency shall electronically submit the required regulations to the standing legislative regulation review committee, as provided in subsection (b) of section 4-170, as amended by this act, not later than one hundred eighty days after publication of the notice of its intent to adopt regulations, or electronically submit a [written] statement of its reasons for failure to do so to the committee.
(c) An agency may begin the regulation-making process under this chapter before the effective date of the public act requiring or permitting the agency to adopt regulations, but no regulation may take effect before the effective date of such act.
(d) Upon reaching a decision on whether to proceed with the proposed regulation or to alter its text from that initially proposed, the agency, at least twenty days before submitting the proposed regulation to the standing legislative regulation review committee, shall electronically mail or mail a paper copy to all persons who have made submissions pursuant to subdivision (6) of subsection (a) of this section or who have made statements or oral arguments concerning the proposed regulation and who have requested notification, notice that it has decided to take action on the proposed regulation and that it has made available for copying and inspection pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, as defined in section 1-200: (1) The final wording of the proposed regulation; (2) a statement of the principal reasons in support of its intended action; and (3) a statement of the principal considerations in opposition to its intended action as urged in written or oral comments on the proposed regulation and its reasons for rejecting such considerations.
(e) Except as provided in subsection (f) of this section, no regulation may be adopted, amended or repealed by any agency until it is (1) approved by the Attorney General as to legal sufficiency, as provided in section 4-169, (2) approved by the standing legislative regulation review committee, as provided in section 4-170, as amended by this act, and (3) [filed in] published online by the office of the Secretary of the State, as provided in section 4-172, as amended by this act.
(f) (1) An agency may proceed to adopt an emergency regulation in accordance with this subsection without prior notice or hearing or upon any abbreviated notice and hearing that it finds practicable if (A) the agency finds that adoption of a regulation upon fewer than thirty days' notice is required (i) due to an imminent peril to the public health, safety or welfare or (ii) by the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection in order to comply with the provisions of interstate fishery management plans adopted by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission or to meet unforeseen circumstances or emergencies affecting marine resources, (B) the agency states in writing its reasons for that finding, and (C) the Governor approves such finding in writing.
(2) The original of such emergency regulation and an electronic copy shall be submitted to the standing legislative regulation review committee in the form prescribed in subsection (b) of section 4-170, as amended by this act, together with a statement of the terms or substance of the intended action, the purpose of the action and a reference to the statutory authority under which the action is proposed, not later than ten days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, prior to the proposed effective date of such regulation. The committee may approve or disapprove the regulation, in whole or in part, within such ten-day period at a regular meeting, if one is scheduled, or may upon the call of either chairman or any five or more members hold a special meeting for the purpose of approving or disapproving the regulation, in whole or in part. Failure of the committee to act on such regulation within such ten-day period shall be deemed an approval. If the committee disapproves such regulation, in whole or in part, it shall notify the agency of the reasons for its action. An approved regulation, filed in the office of the Secretary of the State, may be effective for a period of not longer than one hundred twenty days renewable once for a period of not exceeding sixty days, provided notification of such sixty-day renewal is filed in the office of the Secretary of the State and a copy is given to the committee, but the adoption of an identical regulation in accordance with the provisions of subsections (a), (b) and (d) of this section is not precluded. The sixty-day renewal period may be extended an additional sixty days for emergency regulations described in subparagraph (A)(ii) of subdivision (1) of this subsection, provided the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection requests of the standing legislative regulation review committee an extension of the renewal period at the time such regulation is submitted or not less than ten days before the first sixty-day renewal period expires and said committee approves such extension. Failure of the committee to act on such request within ten days shall be deemed an approval of the extension.
(3) If the necessary steps to adopt a permanent regulation, including publication of notice of intent to adopt, preparation and submission of a fiscal note in accordance with the provisions of subsection (b) of section 4-170, as amended by this act, and approval by the Attorney General and the standing legislative regulation review committee, are not completed prior to the expiration date of an emergency regulation, the emergency regulation shall cease to be effective on that date.
(g) If an agency finds (1) that technical amendments to an existing regulation are necessary because of (A) the statutory transfer of functions, powers or duties from the agency named in the existing regulation to another agency, (B) a change in the name of the agency, (C) the renumbering of the section of the general statutes containing the statutory authority for the regulation, or (D) a correction in the numbering of the regulation, and no substantive changes are proposed, or (2) that the repeal of a regulation is necessary because the section of the general statutes under which the regulation has been adopted has been repealed and has not been transferred or reenacted, it may elect to comply with the requirements of subsection (a) of this section or may proceed without prior notice or hearing. Any such amendments to or repeal of a regulation shall be submitted in the form and manner prescribed in subsection (b) of section 4-170, as amended by this act, to the Attorney General, as provided in section 4-169, and to the standing legislative regulation review committee, as provided in section 4-170, as amended by this act, for approval and upon approval shall be [filed in] submitted to the office of the Secretary of the State with, in the case of renumbering of sections only, a correlated table of the former and new section numbers.
(h) No regulation adopted after October 1, 1985, is valid unless adopted in substantial compliance with this section. A proceeding to contest any regulation on the ground of noncompliance with the procedural requirements of this section shall be commenced within two years from the effective date of the regulation.
Sec. 3. Subsections (e) and (f) of section 4-170 of the 2012 supplement to the general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2013):
(e) If the committee rejects a proposed regulation without prejudice, in whole or in part, it shall notify the agency of the reasons for the rejection and the agency shall resubmit the regulation in revised form, if the adoption of such regulation is required by the general statutes or any public or special act, not later than the first Tuesday of the second month following such rejection without prejudice and may so resubmit any other regulation, in the same manner as provided in this section for the initial submission with a summary of revisions identified by paragraph. The committee shall review and take action on such revised regulation no later than thirty-five days after the date of submission, as provided in subsection (b) of this section. Publication of the notice [in the Connecticut Law Journal] online pursuant to the provisions of section 4-168, as amended by this act, shall not be required in the case of such resubmission.
(f) If an agency fails to [file] submit any regulation approved in whole or in part by the standing legislative regulation review committee [in] to the office of the Secretary of the State as provided in section 4-172, as amended by this act, within fourteen days after the date of approval, the agency shall notify the committee, within five days after such fourteen-day period, of its reasons for not so filing. If any agency fails to comply with the time limits established under subsection (b) of section 4-168, as amended by this act, or under subsection (e) of this section, the administrative head of such agency shall submit to the committee a written explanation of the reasons for such noncompliance. The committee, upon the affirmative vote of two-thirds of its members, may grant an extension of the time limits established under subsection (b) of section 4-168, as amended by this act, and under subsection (e) of this section. If no such extension is granted, the administrative head of the agency shall personally appear before the standing legislative regulation review committee, at a time prescribed by the committee, to explain such failure to comply. After any such appearance, the committee may, upon the affirmative vote of two-thirds of its members, report such noncompliance to the Governor. Within fourteen days thereafter the Governor shall report to the committee concerning the action the Governor has taken to ensure compliance with the provisions of section 4-168, as amended by this act, and with the provisions of this section.
Sec. 4. Section 4-172 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2013):
(a) After approval of a regulation as required by sections 4-169 and 4-170, as amended by this act, or after reversal of a decision of the standing committee by the General Assembly pursuant to section 4-171, each agency shall [file in] submit to the office of the Secretary of the State [two certified copies] an electronic copy of such regulation together with a statement from the department head of such agency certifying that such electronic copy is a true and accurate copy of the regulation approved in accordance with sections 4-169 and 4-170, as amended by this act. Each regulation when [filed] so submitted shall be in the form intended for publication, and each section of the regulation shall include the appropriate regulation section number and a section heading. The Secretary of the State shall, [keep a permanent register of] not later than five calendar days after submission by the agency, publish the regulations online in a manner that is open to public inspection.
(b) Each regulation hereafter adopted is effective upon [filing] publication by the Secretary of the State in accordance with this section, except that: (1) If a later date is required by statute or specified in the regulation, the later date is the effective date; (2) a regulation may not be effective before the effective date of the public act requiring or permitting the regulation; and (3) subject to applicable constitutional or statutory provisions, an emergency regulation becomes effective immediately upon [filing with] submission to the Secretary of the State, or at a stated date less than twenty days thereafter, if the agency finds that this effective date is necessary because of imminent peril to the public health, safety, or welfare. The agency's finding and a brief statement of the reasons therefor shall be [filed] submitted with the regulation. The agency shall take appropriate measures to make emergency regulations known to the persons who may be affected by them.
[(c) The Secretary of the State, upon receipt of the certified copies of each regulation as provided in subsection (a) of this section, shall include the effective date of the particular regulation on one copy thereof, and forward the copy to the Commission on Official Legal Publications which shall publish the regulation in accordance with the provisions of section 4-173.]
Sec. 5. Section 4-173 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2013):
(a) The [Commission on Official Legal Publications] Secretary of the State shall publish [and distribute] online a compilation of all effective regulations adopted by all state agencies subsequent to October 27, 1970, except regulations adopted pursuant to subsection (f) of section 4-168. [Such publication may be a supplement to or revision of the most current compilation, and shall be published at least semiannually. The Commission on Official Legal Publications] The Secretary of the State may omit from such compilation (1) any regulation that is incorporated by reference into a Connecticut regulation and published by or otherwise available in printed or electronic form from a federal agency, a government agency of another state or a commercial publishing company, and (2) any regulation that [is too expensive to publish, or (3) any regulation the publication of which would be unduly cumbersome] is incorporated by reference into a Connecticut regulation and to which a third party holds the intellectual property rights. If the [commission] Secretary omits a regulation from the compilation, [it] he or she shall publish in the compilation a notice identifying the omitted regulation, stating the general subject matter of the regulation and stating an address, telephone number, web site link, if applicable, and any other information needed to obtain a copy of the regulation. The Secretary of the State shall also provide a web site link, if applicable, to any regulation adopted by reference. Such [address and telephone number] information shall be kept current. [in each semiannual publication of the compilation. The commission shall publish any regulation that has been omitted from publication under subdivision (2) of this subsection as soon as the commission has sufficient funds.]
(b) All regulations published online pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall be accessible to the public and shall be the official version of the regulations of state agencies for all purposes, including all legal and administrative proceedings. The Secretary of the State may adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, specifying the format in which state agencies shall submit the final approved version of such regulations and all other documents required pursuant to this section and sections 4-167, 4-168, 4-170 and 4-172, as amended by this act.
[(b) The Commission on Official Legal Publications shall in addition cause to be published in the Connecticut Law Journal at least monthly the text of all regulations received by the commission from the office of the Secretary of the State pursuant to section 4-172 during the preceding month. The commission may omit from the Connecticut Law Journal (1) any regulation submitted in accordance with subsection (g) of section 4-168, for the purposes of renumbering sections only, if a correlated table of the former and new section numbers is published in lieu of the full text, (2) any regulation that is incorporated by reference into a Connecticut regulation and published by or otherwise available in printed form from a federal agency, a government agency of another state or a commercial publishing company, and (3) any regulation the publication of which would be too expensive or unduly cumbersome. If the commission omits a regulation from publication in the Connecticut Law Journal under subdivision (2) or (3) of this subsection, the commission shall publish in the Connecticut Law Journal a notice identifying the omitted regulation, stating the general subject matter of the regulation and stating an address, telephone number and any other information needed to obtain a copy of the regulation.
(c) Each agency which adopts a regulation shall make the regulation available for inspection and copying at its main office.
(d) Any publication made pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall be made available upon request to agencies and officials of this state free of charge, and to other persons at prices fixed by the Commission on Official Legal Publications, in accordance with section 51-216b.
(e) The compilation of regulations published under subsection (a) of this section and all Connecticut regulations omitted from the compilation under subsection (a) shall be maintained in the reference collection of each law library described in section 11-19a.]
Sec. 6. Subsection (c) of section 51-216a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2013):
(c) [In addition to the publication of regulations pursuant to section 4-173, the] The commission shall publish in the Connecticut Law Journal except as they may be incorporated into any revision of the Connecticut Practice Book: (1) Rules adopted by the judges of the Supreme Court, including but not limited to the rules adopted by the Supreme Court for the courts of probate, (2) the rules of the Appellate Court, and (3) the rules of the Superior Court.
Sec. 7. Subsection (g) of section 51-216a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2013):
(g) All official legal publications published by the commission pursuant to this section [and each compilation of effective regulations published by the commission pursuant to section 4-173] shall be printed on paper that meets or exceeds the American National Standards Institute standards for permanent paper, unless such paper is not available.
Sec. 8. (Effective from passage) (a) There is established a Regulation Modernization task force.
(b) The task force shall consist of the following members:
(1) One appointed by the House chairman of the standing legislative regulation review committee;
(2) One appointed by the Senate chairman of the standing legislative regulation review committee;
(3) Two appointed by the Secretary of the State;
(4) Two appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court;
(5) One appointed by the Commissioner of Administrative Services or such commissioner's designee; and
(6) Two appointed by the Governor.
(c) Any member of the task force appointed under subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (b) of this section may be a member of the General Assembly.
(d) All appointments to the task force shall be made not later than thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing authority.
(e) The Governor shall select the chairperson of the task force from among the members of the task force.
(f) The task force shall develop a plan to ensure that by July 1, 2013, the regulations of Connecticut state agencies are available to the public in an easily accessible online format. The task force shall submit the plan no later than January 1, 2013, to the standing legislative regulation review committee and the Governor, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes. The task force shall terminate on the date it submits such plan or January 1, 2013, whichever is later. The plan shall include, but not be limited to:
(1) An identification of all physical equipment and software needed to transition the regulations of Connecticut state agencies to an online format;
(2) A recommendation identifying the appropriate state agency to supervise continued maintenance of an online system once established;
(3) A description of all training that will be necessary to instruct existing staff on the use and maintenance of such system;
(4) A description of the anticipated additional workload and agency responsibilities that will be required to transition all such regulations to an online format and to maintain such system once established;
(5) A description of the anticipated reduction in workload and cost savings that will be achieved as a result of transitioning all such regulations to an online format;
(6) An estimate of the cost to implement and maintain such system along with recommendations on how the state may recover such costs; and
(7) Recommendations for any additional legislation the task force finds necessary to facilitate the transition of such regulations to an online format.
(g) The task force shall, if necessary, employ an expert consultant to advise the task force on technical aspects involved with implementing and maintaining an online system of the regulations of Connecticut state agencies. The task force is authorized to seek bonding, through the Department of Administrative Services, to pay the costs of such consultant.
(h) The Legislative Commissioners' Office, the Commission on Official Legal Publications, and all executive branch agencies shall cooperate and provide information to the task force as necessary to fulfill its duties.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2013 4-167
Sec. 2 July 1, 2013 4-168
Sec. 3 July 1, 2013 4-170(e) and (f)
Sec. 4 July 1, 2013 4-172
Sec. 5 July 1, 2013 4-173
Sec. 6 July 1, 2013 51-216a(c)
Sec. 7 July 1, 2013 51-216a(g)
Sec. 8 from passage New section
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
July 1, 2013
4-167
Sec. 2
July 1, 2013
4-168
Sec. 3
July 1, 2013
4-170(e) and (f)
Sec. 4
July 1, 2013
4-172
Sec. 5
July 1, 2013
4-173
Sec. 6
July 1, 2013
51-216a(c)
Sec. 7
July 1, 2013
51-216a(g)
Sec. 8
from passage
New section
Statement of Purpose:
To implement the Governor's budget recommendations.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]