BILL NUMBER:S1709

TITLE OF BILL:

An act
to amend the state administrative procedure act, in relation to improving
the
review of existing rules
and agency outreach efforts

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This bill would improve the effectiveness of the "5-year review"
process in SAPA by increasing the visibility of the process, and
would improve the overall process of issuing regulatory agendas by
inviting feedback from affected parties and improving oversight and
accountability.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Bill § 1 amends subdivision 2 of §207 of the State Administrative
Procedure Act (SAPA), and adds a new subdivision 6 to such section.
The amendments to subdivision 2 provide that:

* An agency that publishes its regulatory agenda on its website shall
also include the list of rules that must be reviewed on a five-year
              

cycle pursuant to §207. (Any other agency may publish such list on
its website.)

* Any listed rule that originally required the preparation of a
regulatory flexibility analysis and/or a rural area flexibility
analysis shall be identified and the agency shall provide outreach as
appropriate to potentially affected small businesses, local
governments and public and private interests in rural areas that the
rule is being reviewed. Such outreach may include solicitation of
input through online or other electronic means or through the
activities listed in SAPA §202-b(6) or §202-bb(7).

New subdivision 6 requires the Governor's Office of Regulatory Reform
(GORR) to monitor agency compliance with §207 and make
recommendations to agencies for improved compliance.

Bill §2 amends subdivision 1 of SAPA §202-d to require similar
outreach efforts and GORR oversight for regulatory agendas announcing
new rules under development by agencies.

EFFECTS OF PRESENT LAW WHICH THIS BILL WOULD ALTER:

There are currently no requirements in the regulatory agenda process
for online posting of 5-year review lists, or for outreach to
affected small businesses, local governments, or rural interests, and
no agency has been charged with oversight of the process. Adding
these improvements will make SAPA §§202-d and 207 more effective
tools in developing new regulations and weeding out unnecessary or
outdated regulations.


JUSTIFICATION:

One common complaint about rulemaking is that regulations can remain
on the books long after their usefulness has vanished, or that the
failure to review and update them can unthinkingly limit the
introduction of new technologies or impede more effective operations.
In order to prevent the rules on its books from becoming stale and
outdated, New York State enacted legislation in 1996 to establish a
"5-year review" cycle for substantive rules. Agencies are required to
list the rules they adopted five years ago, and thereafter to
re-review these rules every five years, stating their intentions to
modify them or their justification for retaining them unchanged. The
public is invited to comment on the continued need for the rules.

In recent years there have been indications that agencies are not
always paying as careful attention to the 5-year review process as
they should. For example, in 2008 the Assembly and Senate co··Chairs
of the Administrative Regulations Review Commission wrote to three
agencies concerning deficiencies in their efforts. One agency
announced that it was retaining its rules from 2003 -- without first
soliciting any public comment.
A second agency reviewed its rules from 2007, instead of2003. A third
reviewed its 2003 adoptions but failed to re-review the rules it had
originally adopted in 1998, including several highly significant rules.

This bill is needed to make the 5-year review process more visible,
particularly to parties that could be affected by the continuation of
outmoded rules, and to establish an overseer to ensure that agencies
continue to focus on the need for careful compliance. The result
should be improved attention to ensuring that New York State's
businesses and local governments are not held back by yesterday's
regulations.

Similar improvements regarding oversight and outreach are needed for
the other aspect of regulatory agendas - informing the public of
rules that an agency is developing or considering, but which have not
yet been formally proposed. Oversight and sharing of best practices
will help to ensure that small businesses and other affected parties
are able to provide information that will assist in developing
targeted, effective regulations.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
S.4101 of 2009
04/09/09 REFERRED TO COMMERCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & SMALL BUSINESS
01/06/10 REFERRED TO COMMERCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & SMALL BUSINESS

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

Savings will ultimately result from more effective efforts to
eliminate unneeded regulatory mandates on businesses and local
governments in the state.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

1st day of December after becoming law, with provisions.