An Act To Protect Legislative Intent in Rulemaking
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §8053, sub-§1, ¶B, as amended by PL 2003, c. 207, §1, is further amended to read:
B. Any person who has filed within the past year a written or electronic request with the agency for notice of rulemaking; and
Sec. 2. 5 MRSA §8053, sub-§1, ¶C, as amended by PL 1995, c. 373, §4, is further amended to read:
C. Any trade, industry, professional, interest group or regional publication that the agency considers effective in reaching the persons affected . ; and
Sec. 3. 5 MRSA §8053, sub-§1, ¶E is enacted to read:
E. The primary sponsor of the legislation that was enacted and authorized the rulemaking, as long as the legislation was enacted within the previous 2 years.
Sec. 4. 5 MRSA §8053-A, sub-§§5 and 6 are enacted to read:
5. Annual lists of rule-making activity. By February 1st of each year, the Secretary of State shall provide the Executive Director of the Legislative Council lists by agency of all rules adopted by each agency in the previous calendar year. The Executive Director of the Legislative Council shall refer each list to the appropriate joint standing committee or committees of the Legislature for review. Each list must include for each rule the following information, which must be submitted by each agency to the Secretary of State:
A. The statutory authority for the rule and the rule chapter number and title;
B. The principal reason or purpose for the rule;
C. A written statement explaining the factual and policy basis for each rule adopted pursuant to section 8052, subsection 5;
D. If the rule adopted was routine technical or major substantive;
E. If the rule was adopted as an emergency; and
F. The fiscal impact of the rule.
6. Authority to report out legislation. After each appropriate joint standing committee of the Legislature has received a list of rule-making activity pursuant to subsection 5, the committee may require an agency to appear before the committee, and the committee may report out legislation in the same legislative session in which the report is received to adjust rule-making authority related to the rules adopted in the previous calendar year.
Effective 90 days following adjournment of the 125th Legislature, Second Regular Session, unless otherwise indicated.