Requiring rescission of existing regulations by state agencies when new regulations are adopted, providing for approval by the department of management of rulemaking, providing related procedures, and including effective date and applicability provisions

This requirement does not apply to rule filings by an agency within weeks of the effective date of the statute that established the agency. The bill defines “regulation” as a rule as described in the preface to the Iowa administrative bulletin, not including a subrule or other subunit or an entry designated in the Iowa administrative code as reserved or rescinded. The bill defines “rule filing” as a notice of intended action, a rule filed without notice, or an adopted rule. The bill requires that an agency, before submitting a rule filing to the administrative rules coordinator and the administrative code editor as required under current law, to submit the rule filing to the department of management for approval. The bill requires that the department ensure compliance with the requirement to rescind a number of regulations equal to at least twice the number of regulations added in a rule filing is not accomplished solely by reorganizing or redesignating existing regulations. The bill authorizes the department to disapprove any rule filing that appears to be drafted so as to circumvent the requirement. The bill requires an agency to include a regulatory baseline statement with the submission. The bill prohibits the department from approving a rule filing that does not include such a statement. The statement shall include the applicable portion of the statute that provides specific legal authority for the agency to adopt the rule filing, the purpose of the rule filing, and, if the rule filing would add one or more regulations to the Iowa administrative code, a list of the regulations to be added as well as the regulations to be rescinded in compliance with the bill. In lieu of such a list, the agency may include a request for exemption as provided in the bill. The bill provides criteria for evaluation of rule filings by the department, in consultation with the administrative rules coordinator, in determining whether to provide approval. The criteria relate to effectiveness and necessity, performance measures, clear justifications, cost effectiveness, economic impact, and whether the regulations are specifically required by a provision of law. If the department approves a rule filing, the agency shall submit the rule filing to the administrative rules coordinator and the administrative code editor as required under current law. If the department does not approve a rule filing, the department shall provide the agency with a written explanation for its disapproval. The bill provides a process for an agency to request an exemption from the department from the requirement to rescind a number of regulations equal to at least twice the number of regulations added in a rule filing, the requirement for an evaluation of the rule filing by the department, or both. The request shall include a detailed justification for the exemption. The department shall only grant an exemption if the department determines that the exemption is necessary to protect the health, safety, or welfare of the citizens of Iowa. The bill provides additional procedural requirements for rule filings that receive such exemptions. If the additional procedural requirements are not met, regulations contained in such rule filings are void weeks after publication in the Iowa administrative bulletin. The exemption request and the department’s determination regarding the request shall be published in the Iowa administrative bulletin. The bill requires the department to submit an annual report to the general assembly and the governor by November beginning in 2021 on the total number of regulations included in the Iowa administrative code, including a calculation of the change in the total from November of the previous year. The report shall include any recommendations regarding changes to the bill. The report requires the legislative services agency to provide the department with information regarding the Iowa administrative code and technical assistance as necessary to facilitate the implementation of the bill. The bill takes effect upon enactment. The bill applies to rule filings, as defined in the bill, submitted for publication in the Iowa administrative bulletin beginning in volume XLIII, number 8, dated October 7, 2020.