A. The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate shall establish a joint rule committee to be designated as the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules.
B. The President Pro Tempore and the Speaker shall appoint current members of the Senate and House of Representatives to the Committee. The President Pro Tempore and Speaker shall designate one of their respective appointments as co-chair of the Committee.
C. A quorum shall be required to conduct any business of the Committee. A quorum shall be a majority of the Senate members of the Committee and a majority of the House members of the Committee.
D. The Committee shall meet as needed and during sessions of the Legislature and at regular intervals in the interim.
E. The function of the Committee shall be the review of all adopted agency administrative rules including recommending by concurrent majority an approval or disapproval of each proposed rule to the Legislature. The Committee may also recommend by concurrent majority an agency amend or further consider a proposed rule.
F. The Committee shall approve or disapprove by concurrent majority a repeal of rules under the expedited repeal process pursuant to this act. Such rules shall be presented to the Legislature for final approval for repeal.
G. In addition to the review of agency-adopted rules pursuant to this act, the Committee shall have the power and duty to:
1. Conduct a continuous study and investigations as to whether additional legislation or changes in legislation are needed based on various factors, including but not limited to, review of proposed rules, review of existing rules including but not limited to consideration of amendments to or repeal of existing rules, the lack of rules, the ability of agencies to promulgate such rules, the burden of administrative rules on the regulated community and the needs of administrative agencies;
2. Conduct a continuous study of the rulemaking process of all state agencies including those agencies exempted by Section 250.4 of this title for the purpose of improving the rulemaking process;
3. Conduct such other studies and investigations relating to rules as may be determined to be necessary by the Committee; and
4. Monitor and investigate compliance of agencies with the provisions of the Administrative Procedures Act, make periodic investigations of the rulemaking activities of all agencies and evaluate and report on all rules in terms of their propriety, legal adequacy, relation to constitutional or statutory authorization, economic and budgetary effects and public policy.
Added by Laws 1987, c. 207, § 19. Amended by Laws 1988, c. 292, § 18, emerg. eff. July 1, 1988; Laws 2021, c. 11, § 12, eff. Sept. 1, 2020.