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131st MAINE LEGISLATURE
FIRST SPECIAL SESSION-2023
Legislative Document No. 1840H.P. 1172House of Representatives, April 27, 2023
An Act to Reform the State's Administrative and Rule-making
Procedures
Reference to the Committee on State and Local Government suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative ANDREWS of Paris. Page 1 - 131LR1006(01)
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3 is enacted to read:
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5 state court or an officer hearing an administrative action may not defer to an agency's
6 interpretation of it and shall instead interpret its meaning and effect de novo. In actions
7 brought by or against agencies, after applying all customary tools of interpretation, the
8 court or hearing officer shall resolve any remaining doubt in favor of a reasonable
9 interpretation that limits agency power and maximizes individual liberty.
10 as enacted by PL 1977, c. 551, §3, is amended
11 to read:
12 Every agency decision made at the conclusion of an adjudicatory proceeding shall must
13 be in writing or stated in the record, and shall must include findings of fact sufficient to
14 apprise the parties and any interested member of the public of the basis for the decision. A
15 copy of the decision shall must be delivered or promptly mailed to each party to the
16 proceeding or his the party's representative of record. Written notice of the party's rights to
17 review or appeal of the decision within the agency or review of the decision by the courts,
18 as the case may be, and of the action required and the time within which such action must
19 be taken in order to exercise the right of review or appeal, shall must be given to each party
20 with the decision. In any review or appeal of a decision to a court of this State, the court
21 may not defer to an agency's interpretation of a statute, rule or subregulatory document and
22 shall instead interpret its meaning and effect de novo. After applying all customary tools
23 of interpretation, the court shall resolve any remaining doubt in favor of a reasonable
24 interpretation that limits agency power and maximizes individual liberty.
25 as amended by PL 2021, c. 277, §10, is further
26 amended to read:
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28 questions of fact, except that, with respect to a timely appeal by an individual of a denial
29 of a disability determination by a hearing officer pursuant to sections 17106‑A and
30 17106‑B, the court shall review the matter de novo. The court shall review de novo an
31 agency's interpretation of a statute, rule or subregulatory document. After applying all
32 customary tools of interpretation, the court shall resolve any remaining doubt in favor of a
33 reasonable interpretation that limits agency power and maximizes individual liberty.
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35 is enacted to read:
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38 legislation is enacted to continue a rule to a date certain or indefinitely, a finally adopted
39 rule filed with the Secretary of State expires on June 30th of the 5th year following the year
40 of its filing. The postponement of the expiration of a rule does not constitute legislative
41 approval of the rule and is not admissible in any court as evidence of legislative intent.
42This section does not apply to: Page 2 - 131LR1006(01)
1 A. Emergency rules adopted pursuant to section 8054; or
2 B. Rules adopted to conform to or implement federal law.
3 is enacted to read:
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5 The adoption or amendment of a rule by an agency is subject to the approval of the
6 Governor. An agency may not submit for publication pursuant to section 8053 any required
7 notice of the adoption of a new rule or the amendment of an existing rule without first
8 receiving from the Governor and including a copy of the written approval of the adopted
9 or amended rule by the Governor.
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11 as enacted by PL 1995, c. 463, §2, is amended
12 to read:
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14 January 1, 1996.
15 A. Routine technical rules are procedural rules that establish standards of practice or
16 procedure for the conduct of business with or before an agency and any other rules that
17 are not major substantive rules as defined in paragraph B. Routine technical rules
18 include, but are not limited to, forms prescribed by an agency; they do not include fees
19 established by an agency except fees established or amended by agency rule that are
20 below a cap or within a range established by statute.
21 B. Major substantive rules are rules, including emergency rules, that, in the judgment
22 of the Legislature, will result in or are likely to result in:
23 ( 1) Require the exercise of significant agency discretion or interpretation in
24 drafting; or
25 ( 2) Because of their subject matter or anticipated impact, are reasonably expected
26 to result in a significant increase in the cost of doing business, a significant
27 reduction in property values, the loss or significant reduction of government
28 benefits or services, the imposition of state mandates on units of local government
29 as defined in the Constitution of Maine, Article IX, Section 21, or other serious
30 burdens on the public or units of local government.
31 (3) An annual effect on the economy of $50,000,000 or more;
32 (4) Significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment,
33 productivity or innovation, including significant adverse effects on individual
34 industries or regions; or
35 (5) Significant changes in social and cultural relations among citizens, including
36 significant impacts on religious, ethnic, racial or gender populations.
37 as amended by PL 2011, c. 244, §8, is further
38 amended to read:
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40 of a rule or part of a rule by an agency must occur within 60 days of the effective date of
41 the legislation approving that rule or part of that rule or of the adjournment of the session Page 3 - 131LR1006(01)
42 in which the Legislature failed to act on the rule or part of the rule as specified in subsection
43 11. Finally adopted rules must be filed with the Secretary of State as provided in section
44 8056, subsection 1, paragraph B and notice must be published as provided in section 8056,
45 subsection 1, paragraph D. Except as otherwise specified by law, the rules become
46 effective 30 days after filing with the Secretary of State or at a later date specified by the
47 agency.
7 as enacted by PL 2011, c. 244, §10, is amended
8 to read:
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10 adopted rule may not be finally adopted by an agency unless:
11 A. Legislation authorizing adoption of the rule or part of the rule is enacted into law;
12 or .
13 B. The agency submits the rule or part of the rule in accordance with this section during
14 the legislative rule acceptance period and the Legislature fails to act on the rule or part
15 of the rule.
16 For purposes of this subsection, the Legislature fails to act on a rule or part of a rule if the
17 Legislature fails to enact legislation authorizing adoption or disapproving adoption of the
18 rule or part of the rule during the legislative review session or during any subsequent
19 session to which a legislative instrument expressly providing for approval or disapproval
20 of the rule or part of the rule is carried over. Nothing in this section requires the Legislature
21 to use the legislative instrument produced pursuant to subsection 3 to approve or disapprove
22 of a rule or part of a rule.
23 as enacted by PL 2011, c. 599, §6, is amended to
24 read:
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26 The bureau shall establish a schedule of fees through rulemaking for the administration
27 of sections 8867‑D and 8867‑E. Notwithstanding Title 5, section 8071, subsection 2,
28 paragraph A, rules Rules adopted pursuant to this section are routine technical rules as
29 defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A. The bureau may not issue an approval,
30 certificate, special exception or variance until the required fee has been paid.
31 as enacted by PL 2021, c. 652, §1, is
32 amended to read:
33 A. Notwithstanding Title 5, section 8072, subsection 11 or any other provision of law
34 to the contrary, rules provisionally adopted by the department in accordance with this
35 subsection and submitted for legislative review may not be finally adopted by the
36 department unless legislation authorizing final adoption of those rules is enacted into
37 law.
38 This paragraph is repealed on November 1, 2025.
39 as amended by PL 2019, c. 335, §9, is
40 further amended to read:
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42 for trucks, truck tractors, semitrailers, heavy duty recovery vehicles and Class A special
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43 mobile equipment. Notwithstanding Title 5, section 8071, subsection 2, paragraph A, the
44 The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Commissioner of Transportation, shall
45 establish the fee schedule by rule. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine
46 technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A.
5 as amended by PL 2017, c. 142, §5,
6 is further amended to read:
7 B. In addition to other powers granted to it, the department shall adopt rules to carry
8 out its duties under this article, including, but not limited to, standards for exploration,
9 advanced exploration, construction, operation, closure, post-closure monitoring,
10 reclamation and remediation. Except as otherwise provided, rules adopted under this
11 article are major substantive rules for purposes of Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A
12 and are subject to section 341‑H. Notwithstanding Title 5, section 8072, subsection
13 11, or any other provision of law to the contrary, rules provisionally adopted by the
14 department in accordance with this article and submitted for legislative review may not
15 be finally adopted by the department unless legislation authorizing final adoption of
16 those rules is enacted into law.
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18 This bill makes the following changes to the laws governing administrative procedures.
19 Part A requires courts and hearing officers to review an agency's interpretation of a
20 statute, rule or subregulatory document without deference to the agency's interpretation. If
21 the legal text is unclear after the court or hearing officer exhausts all customary interpretive
22 tools, the court or hearing officer must default to a reasonable interpretation that limits
23 agency power and maximizes individual liberty.
24 Part B provides that administrative rules expire on June 30th of the 5th year following
25 the year of their filing unless extended by the Legislature. It also requires rules to be
26 approved by the Governor before they can be finally adopted by an agency.
27 Part C changes the definitions of routine technical rules and major substantive rules. It
28 also eliminates the provision allowing an agency to finally adopt major substantive rules
29 that the Legislature failed to act on.
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