Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

H.B. 272 (2017GS)

Sponsor

Rep. Wilson, B.

Final action

Governor Signed 3/22/2017

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Gary R. Herbert

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• requires the legislative fiscal analyst, when evaluating proposed legislation, to indicate whether the legislation would make changes in the regulatory burden for state residents or businesses;
• requires agencies to conduct an analysis before submitting new administrative rules in order to show the regulatory impact the rule would have on state residents or businesses;
• provides requirements for the contents of the analysis; and
• requires agencies to submit a summary of efforts made to comply with obligations to assure that new administrative rules minimize negative fiscal impacts on small businesses.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

REGULATORY IMPACT AMENDMENTS
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Brad R. Wilson
Senate Sponsor: 
Daniel Hemmert
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill modifies the Administrative Rules Act and provisions governing the Office of
the Legislative Fiscal Analyst.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ requires the legislative fiscal analyst, when evaluating proposed legislation, to
indicate whether the legislation would make changes in the regulatory burden for
state residents or businesses;
▸ requires agencies to conduct an analysis before submitting new administrative rules
in order to show the regulatory impact the rule would have on state residents or
businesses;
▸ provides requirements for the contents of the analysis; and
▸ requires agencies to submit a summary of efforts made to comply with obligations
to assure that new administrative rules minimize negative fiscal impacts on small
businesses.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
36-12-13
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2014, Chapters 344 and 430
63G-3-301
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2016, Chapter 193
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
36-12-13
 is amended to read:
36-12-13.
Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst established -- Powers, functions,
and duties -- Qualifications.
(1) There is established an Office of 
the
 Legislative Fiscal Analyst as a permanent staff
office for the Legislature.
(2) The powers, functions, and duties of the Office of 
the
 Legislative Fiscal Analyst
under the supervision of the fiscal analyst are:
(a) to analyze in detail the state budget before the convening of each legislative session
and make recommendations to the Legislature on each item or program appearing in the
budget, including:
(i) funding for and performance of programs, acquisitions, and services currently
undertaken by state government to determine whether each department, agency, institution, or
program should:
(A) continue at its current level of expenditure;
(B) continue at a different level of expenditure; or
(C) be terminated; and
(ii) increases or decreases to spending authority and other resource allocations for the
current and future fiscal years;
(b) to prepare cost estimates on all proposed bills that anticipate state government
expenditures;
(c) to prepare cost estimates on all proposed bills that anticipate expenditures by
county, municipal, local district, or special service district governments;
(d) to prepare cost estimates on all proposed bills that anticipate direct expenditures by
any Utah resident or business, and the cost to the overall impacted Utah resident or business
population;
(e) to indicate whether each proposed bill will impact the regulatory burden for Utah
residents or businesses, and if so:
(i) whether the impact increases or decreases the regulatory burden; and
(ii) whether the change in burden is high, medium, or low;
[
(e)
] 
(f)
 to prepare a review and analysis of revenue estimates for existing and proposed
revenue acts, which shall include a comparison of current estimates to 15-year trends by tax
type;
[
(f)
] 
(g)
 to report instances in which the administration may be failing to carry out the
expressed intent of the Legislature;
[
(g)
] 
(h)
 to propose and analyze statutory changes for more effective operational
economies or more effective administration;
[
(h)
] 
(i)
 to prepare, before each annual general session of the Legislature, a summary
showing the current status of the following as compared to the past nine fiscal years:
(i) debt;
(ii) long-term liabilities;
(iii) contingent liabilities;
(iv) General Fund borrowing;
(v) reserves;
(vi) fund and nonlapsing balances; and
(vii) cash funded capital investments;
[
(i)
] 
(j)
 to make recommendations for addressing the items described in Subsection
(2)(h) in the upcoming annual general session of the Legislature;
[
(j)
] 
(k)
 to prepare, after each session of the Legislature, a summary showing the effect
of the final legislative program on the financial condition of the state;
[
(k)
] 
(l)
 to conduct organizational and management improvement studies;
[
(l)
] 
(m)
 to prepare and deliver upon request of any interim committee or the
Legislative Management Committee, reports on the finances of the state and on anticipated or
proposed requests for appropriations;
[
(m)
] 
(n)
 to recommend areas for research studies by the executive department or the
interim committees;
[
(n)
] 
(o)
 to appoint and develop a professional staff within budget limitations;
[
(o)
] 
(p)
 to prepare and submit the annual budget request for the office;
[
(p)
] 
(q)
 to develop a taxpayer receipt:
(i) available to taxpayers through a website; and
(ii) that allows a taxpayer to view on the website an estimate of how the taxpayer's tax
dollars are expended for government purposes; and
[
(q)
] 
(r)
 to publish or provide other information on taxation and government
expenditures that may be accessed by the public.
(3) The Office of 
the
 Legislative Fiscal Analyst shall report the review and analysis
required under Subsection (2)[
(e)
]
(f)
 to the Executive Appropriations Committee of the
Legislature before each upcoming annual general session of the Legislature.
(4) The legislative fiscal analyst shall have a master's degree in public administration,
political science, economics, accounting, or the equivalent in academic or practical experience.
(5) In carrying out the duties provided for in this section, the legislative fiscal analyst
may obtain access to all records, documents, and reports necessary to the scope of the
legislative fiscal analyst's duties according to the procedures contained in Title 36, Chapter 14,
Legislative Subpoena Powers.
Section 2. Section 
63G-3-301
 is amended to read:
63G-3-301.
Rulemaking procedure.
(1) An agency authorized to make rules is also authorized to amend or repeal those
rules.
(2) Except as provided in Sections 
63G-3-303
 and 
63G-3-304
, when making,
amending, or repealing a rule agencies shall comply with:
(a) the requirements of this section;
(b) consistent procedures required by other statutes;
(c) applicable federal mandates; and
(d) rules made by the department to implement this chapter.
(3) Subject to the requirements of this chapter, each agency shall develop and use
flexible approaches in drafting rules that meet the needs of the agency and that involve persons
affected by the agency's rules.
(4) (a) Each agency shall file its proposed rule and rule analysis with the office.
(b) Rule amendments shall be marked with new language underlined and deleted
language struck out.
(c) (i) The office shall publish the information required under Subsection (8) on the
rule analysis and the text of the proposed rule in the next issue of the bulletin.
(ii) For rule amendments, only the section or subsection of the rule being amended
need be printed.
(iii) If the executive director or the executive director's designee determines that the
rule is too long to publish, the office shall publish the rule analysis and shall publish the rule by
reference to a copy on file with the office.
(5) [
Prior to
] 
Before
 filing a rule with the office, the [
department head shall consider
and comment on
] 
agency shall conduct a thorough analysis, consistent with the criteria
established by the Governor's Office of Management and Budget, of
 the fiscal impact a rule
may have on businesses[
.
]
, which criteria may include:
(a) the type of industries that will be impacted by the rule, and for each identified
industry, an estimate of the total number of businesses within the industry, and an estimate of
the number of those businesses that are small businesses;
(b) the individual fiscal impact that would incur to a typical business for a one-year
period;
(c) the aggregated total fiscal impact that would incur to all businesses within the state
for a one-year period;
(d) the total cost that would incur to all impacted entities over a five-year period; and
(e) the department head's comments on the analysis.
(6) If the agency reasonably expects that a proposed rule will have a measurable
negative fiscal impact on small businesses, the agency shall consider, as allowed by federal
law, each of the following methods of reducing the impact of the rule on small businesses:
(a) establishing less stringent compliance or reporting requirements for small
businesses;
(b) establishing less stringent schedules or deadlines for compliance or reporting
requirements for small businesses;
(c) consolidating or simplifying compliance or reporting requirements for small
businesses;
(d) establishing performance standards for small businesses to replace design or
operational standards required in the proposed rule; and
(e) exempting small businesses from all or any part of the requirements contained in
the proposed rule.
(7) If during the public comment period an agency receives comment that the proposed
rule will cost small business more than one day's annual average gross receipts, and the agency
had not previously performed the analysis in Subsection (6), the agency shall perform the
analysis described in Subsection (6).
(8) The rule analysis shall contain:
(a) a summary of the rule or change;
(b) the purpose of the rule or reason for the change;
(c) the statutory authority or federal requirement for the rule;
(d) the anticipated cost or savings to:
(i) the state budget;
(ii) local governments;
(iii) small businesses; and
(iv) persons other than small businesses, businesses, or local governmental entities;
(e) the compliance cost for affected persons;
(f) how interested persons may review the full text of the rule;
(g) how interested persons may present their views on the rule;
(h) the time and place of any scheduled public hearing;
(i) the name and telephone number of an agency employee who may be contacted
about the rule;
(j) the name of the agency head or designee who authorized the rule;
(k) the date on which the rule may become effective following the public comment
period; [
and
]
(l) the agency's analysis on the fiscal impact of the rule as required under Subsection
(5);
[
(l)
] 
(m) any additional
 comments [
by
] the department head [
on
] 
may choose to submit
regarding
 the fiscal impact the rule may have on businesses[
.
]
; and
(n) if applicable, a summary of the agency's efforts to comply with the requirements of
Subsection (6).
(9) (a) For a rule being repealed and reenacted, the rule analysis shall contain a
summary that generally includes the following:
(i) a summary of substantive provisions in the repealed rule which are eliminated from
the enacted rule; and
(ii) a summary of new substantive provisions appearing only in the enacted rule.
(b) The summary required under this Subsection (9) is to aid in review and may not be
used to contest any rule on the ground of noncompliance with the procedural requirements of
this chapter.
(10) A copy of the rule analysis shall be mailed to all persons who have made timely
request of the agency for advance notice of its rulemaking proceedings and to any other person
who, by statutory or federal mandate or in the judgment of the agency, should also receive
notice.
(11) (a) Following the publication date, the agency shall allow at least 30 days for
public comment on the rule.
(b) The agency shall review and evaluate all public comments submitted in writing
within the time period under Subsection (11)(a) or presented at public hearings conducted by
the agency within the time period under Subsection (11)(a).
(12) (a) Except as provided in Sections 
63G-3-303
 and 
63G-3-304
, a proposed rule
becomes effective on any date specified by the agency that is no fewer than seven calendar days
after the close of the public comment period under Subsection (11), nor more than 120 days
after the publication date.
(b) The agency shall provide notice of the rule's effective date to the office in the form
required by the department.
(c) The notice of effective date may not provide for an effective date prior to the date it
is received by the office.
(d) The office shall publish notice of the effective date of the rule in the next issue of
the bulletin.
(e) A proposed rule lapses if a notice of effective date or a change to a proposed rule is
not filed with the office within 120 days of publication.
(13) (a) As used in this Subsection (13), "initiate rulemaking proceedings" means the
filing, for the purposes of publication in accordance with Subsection (4), of an agency's
proposed rule that is required by state statute.
(b) A state agency shall initiate rulemaking proceedings no later than 180 days after the
effective date of the statutory provision that specifically requires the rulemaking, except under
Subsection (13)(c).
(c) When a statute is enacted that requires agency rulemaking and the affected agency
already has rules in place that meet the statutory requirement, the agency shall submit the rules
to the Administrative Rules Review Committee for review within 60 days after the statute
requiring the rulemaking takes effect.
(d) If a state agency does not initiate rulemaking proceedings in accordance with the
time requirements in Subsection (13)(b), the state agency shall appear before the legislative
Administrative Rules Review Committee and provide the reasons for the delay.