(2) Because of their subject matter or anticipated impact, are reasonably expected to result in a significant increase in the cost of doing business, a significant reduction in property values, the loss or significant reduction of government benefits or services, the imposition of state mandates on units of local government as defined in the Constitution of Maine, Article IX, Section 21, or other serious burdens on the public or units of local government.

3. Levels of rule-making process. In order to provide for maximum agency flexibility in the adoption of rules while retaining appropriate legislative oversight over certain rules that are expected to be controversial or to have a major impact on the regulated community, each agency rule authorized and adopted after January 1, 1996 and before January 1, 2004 is subject to one of 2 levels of rule-making requirements.

A. Routine technical rules are subject to the rule-making requirements of subchapter II 2 only.

B. Major substantive rules are subject to the requirements of section 8072. After January 1, 1996, any grant of general or specific rule-making authority to adopt major substantive rules is considered to be permission only to provisionally adopt those rules subject to legislative review. Final adoption may occur only after legislative review of provisionally adopted rules as provided in section 8072.

The establishment or amendment of an agency fee by rulemaking is a major substantive rule, except for the establishment or amendment of a fee that falls under a cap or within a range set in statute, which is a routine technical rule.

Sec. 3. 5 MRSA c. 375, sub-c. 2-B is enacted to read:

SUBCHAPTER 2-B

RULE-MAKING PROCEDURES GOVERNING RULES

AUTHORIZED AND ADOPTED AFTER JANUARY 1, 2004

§8081.__Legislative review of agency rules

Notwithstanding any other provisions, all rules adopted pursuant to rule-making authority delegated to an agency on or