[29 Pa.B. 980]
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CHAPTER 303. MEETINGS OF THE COMMISSION Sec.
303.1 Notice of Commission staff review and public meetings; participation; minutes. 303.2. Blackout period. 303.3. Quorum. 303.4. Proxy voting. § 303.1. Notice of Commission staff review and public meetings; participation; minutes.
(a) The Commission will give notice of its staff review and public meetings in accordance with the Sunshine Act.
(b) The Commission will deliver notice of a rescheduled staff review or public meeting to the committees and affected agencies at least 10-calendar days prior to the meeting date.
(c) Commission staff review and public meetings are open to the public. Participation in meetings is at the discretion of the chairperson.
(d) Minutes of staff review and public meetings will be available for public inspection at the Commission office during regular business hours.
§ 303.2. Blackout period.
(a) During the blackout period, Commissioners and Commission staff will not communicate with any party, except a committee, committee member or committee staff person, regarding the substance of a regulation on the Commission's public meeting agenda.
(b) Comments and documents delivered by any party, except a committee, committee member or committee staff person, during the blackout period will be embargoed.
(c) Within 24 hours of receipt, the Commission will deliver embargoed material and committee comments received during the blackout period to the agency.
(d) Upon the call to order of the staff review meeting, or public meeting if a staff review meeting is not held, embargoed material will be distributed to the Commissioners and Commission staff assigned to review the regulation.
§ 303.3. Quorum.
(a) For purposes of conducting official business, three Commissioners must be physically present to constitute a quorum.
(b) Once a quorum is established, Commissioners may participate in meetings and vote on regulations by teleconference or proxy.
§ 303.4. Proxy voting.
(a) A Commissioner may vote by proxy on any issue before the Commission, including the approval or disapproval of a regulation, if the following conditions are met:
(1) The proxy shall be in writing, signed by the Commissioner, and addressed to the Chairperson at the Commission's office address.
(2) The Commissioner will deliver the proxy to the Commission, either by first-class mail or facsimile, prior to the commencement of the public meeting.
(3) The Commissioner will deliver a separate proxy for each vote.
(b) The Chairperson or a delegate will present the proxy at the public meeting at the time of the Commission vote.
(c) The proxy shall be recorded as the Commissioner's vote.
CHAPTER 305. PROCEDURES FOR DELIVERY AND REVIEW OF PROPOSED REGULATIONS Sec.
305.1. Delivery of a proposed regulation. 305.2. Delivery of comments and information by an agency. 305.3. Commission review period. 305.4. Commission comments on a proposed regulation. § 305.1. Delivery of a proposed regulation.
(a) The agency shall deliver a proposed regulation to the LRB, the committees and the Commission on the same date. Delivery of the regulation shall be made to the Commission after delivery to the committees.
(b) The agency shall include the following material with the regulation:
(1) A completed regulatory analysis form.
(2) A face sheet signed by the Office of Attorney General and the Office of General Counsel or chief counsel of an independent agency.
(3) A transmittal sheet signed by the committees.
(4) A statement from the agency head or designee or Office of General Counsel that the regulation was delivered to the committees in accordance with section 5(a) of the act (71 P. S. § 745.5(a)).
(5) The preamble and the text of the regulation set forth in an Annex A.
(c) If the agency is prevented from delivering the regulation to the Commission and the committees because of the end of the legislative session, the agency shall deliver the regulation in accordance with section 5(f) of the act.
§ 305.2. Delivery of comments and information by an agency.
(a) From the date of delivery of the proposed regulation until the expiration of the Commission's review period, the agency shall deliver to the Commission and committees copies of the following material relating to the regulation:
(1) The comments received.
(2) Reports from advisory groups.
(3) Public notices or announcements regarding solicitation of public comments and information regarding meetings the agency has held or will hold.
(b) The agency shall deliver copies of comments to the Commission within 5 days of its receipt of the comments.
(c) The agency shall deliver one copy of form letters received, and indicate the number of copies of that form letter it has received as of the date of delivery.
§ 305.3. Commission review period.
The Commission has 10 days after the expiration of the committee review period to review the regulation and deliver its comments to the agency. The Commission will calculate its review period as beginning the day after the expiration of the committee review period.
§ 305.4. Commission comments on a proposed regulation.
(a) The Commission will deliver its comments on a proposed regulation to the agency on or before the date the comments are due.
(b) To verify receipt of the comments by hand delivery, the agency staff person shall sign the Commission's receipt card. To verify receipt of the comments by facsimile, the agency staff person shall sign the cover sheet and send it back to the Commission by facsimile. To verify receipt of the comments by e-mail, the agency staff person shall send an e-mail message to the Commission indicating receipt of the comments.
(c) The comments shall contain objections to the regulation, specifying the regulatory review criteria that the regulation has not met. The comments may also contain recommendations for amendment of the regulation in final-form.
(d) If the Commission or a committee does not object to a provision in the proposed regulation by the expiration of its review period, and if the agency has not changed that provision in the final-form regulation, the Commission will be deemed to have approved that provision.
(e) The Commission may disapprove the final-form regulation only on the basis of one or more of the following:
(1) Objections which the Commission raised in its comments on the proposed regulation.
(2) Changes which the agency made to provisions in the final-form regulation.
(3) Recommendations, comments or objections of a committee relating to the regulation.
CHAPTER 307. PROCEDURES FOR DELIVERY AND REVIEW OF FINAL REGULATIONS Sec.
307.1. Two-year period for promulgation. 307.2. Delivery of a final-form regulation. 307.3. Delivery of a final-omitted regulation. 307.4. Tolling the review period. 307.5. Procedure for tolling. 307.6. Commission review of a final regulation. § 307.1. Two-year period for promulgation.
If an agency does not deliver, or withdraws and does not resubmit, a final-form regulation within 2 years of the close of the public comment period for the proposed regulation, the agency is deemed to have withdrawn the regulation.
§ 307.2. Delivery of a final-form regulation.
(a) The agency shall deliver a final-form regulation to the committees and the Commission on the same date. Delivery shall be made to the Commission after delivery to the committees.
(b) On the same date that the agency submits the regulation to the committees and the Commission, the agency shall mail a copy of the regulation or a summary of the changes from the proposed regulation to those commentators who requested information on the final-form regulation.
(c) The agency shall include the following documents with the regulation:
(1) A completed regulatory analysis form relating to the final-form regulation.
(2) A face sheet signed by the Office of General Counsel or chief counsel of an independent agency.
(3) A transmittal sheet signed by the committees.
(4) A statement from the agency head or designee or Office of General Counsel that the regulation was delivered to the committees in accordance with section 5.1(a) of the act (71 P. S. § 745.5a(a)).
(5) The agency's response to the comments received.
(6) The preamble.
(7) The text of the final-form regulation the agency intends to adopt indicating any changes made from the proposed regulation using the following format:
(i) Brackets to indicate language proposed to be deleted from the existing regulation.
(ii) Underscoring to indicate the new language proposed to be added to the existing regulation.
(iii) Strike-out type to indicate the new language in the proposed regulation which is deleted in the final-form.
(iv) Capital letters to indicate the new language in the final-form regulation which was not included in the proposed regulation.
(8) The names and addresses of commentators who requested additional information on the final-form regulation.
(d) If the committees are prevented from completing their review because of the end of the legislative session, the agency shall deliver the regulation in accordance with section 5.1(f) of the act.
§ 307.3. Delivery of a final-omitted regulation.
(a) The agency shall deliver a final-omitted regulation to the committees, the Attorney General and the Commission on the same date. Delivery shall be made to the Commission last, after delivery to the committees and the Attorney General.
(b) The agency shall include the following documents with the regulation:
(1) A completed regulatory analysis form.
(2) A face sheet signed by the Office of General Counsel or chief counsel of an independent agency.
(3) A transmittal sheet signed by the committees and the Office of Attorney General.
(4) A statement from the agency head or designee or Office of General Counsel that the regulation was delivered to the committees in accordance with section 5.1(c) of the act (71 P. S. § 745.5a(c)).
(5) The preamble.
(6) The text of the final-omitted regulation indicating amendments to the existing regulation using the following format:
(i) Brackets to indicate language deleted from the existing regulation.
(ii) Underscoring to indicate language added to the existing regulation.
(c) If the committees are prevented from completing their review because of the end of the legislative session, the agency shall proceed in accordance with section 5.1(f) of the act.
§ 307.4. Tolling the review period.
(a) After delivery of a final regulation to the Commission and committees, an agency may revise the regulation only if it tolls the review period in compliance with section 5.1(g) of the act (71 P. S. § 745.5a(g)) and this section.
(b) An agency may only toll the review period one time.
(c) The agency may only toll the review period to make revisions recommended by the Commission or a committee.
(d) The agency shall toll the review period prior to the day on which either committee takes action on the regulation or the expiration of the committee review period.
(e) The agency may only toll the review period for up to 30 days.
(f) The agency may not toll the review period if the Commission objects. The Commission may object if the revision the agency intends to make is broader than or inconsistent with that recommended by the Commission or committee.
§ 307.5. Procedure for tolling.
(a) The agency shall deliver written notice of its intention to toll to the Commission and the committees on the same date.
(b) The written notice shall include the following:
(1) A citation to the section to be revised.
(2) A description of the revision.
(3) An explanation of how the revision will satisfy the Commission's or committee's concerns.
(c) The agency shall deliver the written notice of its intention to toll prior to the expiration of the committees' 20-day review period or the day on which either committee takes action on the regulation, whichever occurs first.
(d) If the Commission objects to the tolling, it will notify the agency and the committees of its objections within 2 business days after its receipt of the agency's notice.
(e) If the Commission objects, the review period will not be tolled and the regulation will be reviewed within the original time period established under section 5.1(d)--(f) of the act (71 P. S. § 745.5a(d)--(f)).
(f) The Commission will notify the agency, the committees, the Attorney General and the General Counsel of the first and 30th day of the tolling period.
(g) Before the expiration of the tolling period, the agency shall deliver a revised regulation, or a written notice that the regulation will not be revised, to the committees, the Commission and the Attorney General (for a final-omitted regulation) on the same date. The agency shall deliver the revised regulation, or written notice, to the Commission after delivery to the committees and the Attorney General.
(h) The agency shall include a transmittal sheet with delivery of the regulation, or written notice that the regulation will not be revised.
(i) If the agency does not deliver a revised regulation, or written notice that the regulation will not be revised, before the expiration of the tolling period, the agency is deemed to have withdrawn the regulation. The Commission will notify the agency, the committees, the Attorney General and the Office of General Counsel that the regulation is deemed withdrawn.
(j) Upon receipt of the revised regulation, or written notice that the regulation will not be revised, the Commission will notify the agency, the committees, the Attorney General and the Office of General Counsel of the beginning and ending dates of the committee review period.
(k) The committees have the remainder of their 20-day review period or 10 days from the date of receipt of the revised regulation or written notice that the regulation will not be revised, whichever is longer, to approve or disapprove the regulation. The committee review period begins the day after the revised regulation or written notice is received.
(l) The Commission has 10 days after the expiration of the committee review period, or until its next regularly scheduled meeting, whichever is later, to approve or disapprove the original or revised regulation.
(m) If the committees are prevented from completing their review because of the end of the legislative session, the agency shall proceed in accordance with section 5.1(f) of the act.
§ 307.6. Commission review of a final regulation.
(a) The Commission has 10 days after the expiration of the committee review period, or until its next regularly scheduled meeting, whichever is later, to approve or disapprove a final regulation. The Commission will calculate its review period as beginning the day after the expiration of the committees' review period.
(b) If the Commission is unable to approve or disapprove a final regulation because of the lack of a quorum, its review period will be extended for 30 days or until the next meeting at which a quorum is present, whichever occurs first.
(c) To determine whether the final regulation meets the regulatory review criteria, the Commission will consider comments from interested parties, members of the General Assembly and the committees, and the agency's response to those comments.
CHAPTER 309. ACTION ON REGULATIONS Sec.
309.1. Commission and committee action on a final regulation. 309.2. Commission approval/committee disapproval of a final regulation. § 309.1. Commission and committee action on a final regulation.
(a) The Commission and each committee may approve or disapprove a final regulation by majority vote of members present.
(b) If a committee does not approve or disapprove the regulation within 20 days of receipt, the committee is deemed to have approved the regulation.
(c) The Commission is deemed to have approved a final-form regulation if the following conditions apply:
(1) All of the following events occur:
(i) The Commission has not objected to the regulation as proposed.
(ii) The agency has not made changes in the final-form regulation which were not included in the proposed regulation.
(iii) A committee has not conveyed to the Commission or agency any recommendations, comments or objections.
(2) The Commission does not take action within the time period established under § 307.6 (relating to Commission review of a final regulation).
(3) The Commission's vote results in a tie.
(d) The Commission will notify the LRB, the committees, and the agency of its action on a regulation.
(e) When the committees and the Commission approve or are deemed to have approved a regulation, the agency may proceed with promulgation of the regulation.
§ 309.2. Commission approval/committee disapproval of a final regulation.
(a) When the Commission approves a final regulation which one or both of the committees has disapproved, the Commission will deliver its approval order or notice indicating the regulation has been deemed approved to the disapproving committee and the agency within 2 business days after the approval or deemed approval.
(b) The agency may not promulgate the regulation for 14 days pending the report of a concurrent resolution from the disapproving committee, under section 7(d) of the act (71 P. S. § 745.7(d)).
(c) If the Commission is prevented from delivering the order or notice because of the end of the legislative session, the Commission will deliver its order or notice under section 6(c) of the act (71 P. S. § 745.6(c)).
CHAPTER 311. PROCEDURES FOR REVIEW OF DISAPPROVED FINAL REGULATIONS Sec.
311.1. Commission disapproval of a final regulation. 311.2. Response by an agency to Commission disapproval. 311.3. Subsequent review of regulation without revisions or modifications. 311.4. Delivery of a regulation with revisions. § 311.1. Commission disapproval of a final regulation.
(a) If the Commission disapproves a final regulation, the Commission will issue a disapproval order specifying the regulatory review criteria that the regulation has not met.
(b) The Commission will deliver its disapproval order to the LRB, the committees, the agency, the Attorney General and the commentators listed by the agency as having requested information on the final regulation.
(c) The Commission's disapproval order shall continue the bar on the promulgation of the regulation until the review provided under section 7 of the act (71 P. S. § 745.7) and this chapter is completed.
§ 311.2. Response by an agency to Commission disapproval.
(a) Within 7 calendar days of receipt of the Commission's disapproval order, the agency shall provide written notification to the Governor, the committees and the Commission of its selection of one of the following three options:
(1) To proceed with promulgation of the regulation without revisions.
(2) To revise the regulation in order to respond to the Commission's objections.
(3) To withdraw the regulation.
(b) If the agency does not select an option within 7-calendar days after receipt of the Commission's disapproval order, the agency is deemed to have withdrawn the regulation.
(c) If the agency is prevented from notifying the committees of the option selected because of the end of the legislative session, the agency shall proceed in accordance with section 7(a.1) of the act (71 P. S. § 745.7(a.1)).
§ 311.3. Subsequent review of regulation without revisions or modifications.
(a) If the agency chooses to proceed with promulgation of the regulation without revision under § 311.2(a)(1) (relating to response by an agency to Commission disapproval), the agency shall deliver a report to the Commission and the committees within 40-calendar days of receipt of the Commission's disapproval order.
(b) The report shall contain the following:
(1) The final regulation.
(2) The Commission's disapproval order.
(3) The agency's response to the Commission's disapproval.
(4) A signed transmittal sheet.
(c) If the agency does not deliver the report within 40-calendar days of receipt of the Commission's disapproval order, the agency is deemed to have withdrawn the regulation.
(d) Upon receipt of the report, the committees may proceed in accordance with section 7(d) of the act (71 P. S. § 745.7(d)).
(e) If the agency is prevented from delivering its report to the committees because of the end of the legislative session, the agency shall proceed in accordance with section 7(b) of the act.
§ 311.4. Delivery of a regulation with revisions.
(a) If the agency chooses to revise or modify the final regulation under § 311.2(a)(2) (relating to response by an agency to Commission disapproval), the agency shall deliver a report to the committees and the Commission within 40-calendar days of receipt of the Commission's disapproval order.
(b) The report shall contain the following:
(1) The revised final regulation.
(2) The Commission's disapproval order.
(3) A detailed explanation of how the revisions respond to the Commission's disapproval order.
(4) A signed transmittal sheet.
(c) If the agency does not deliver the report within 40-calendar days of receipt of the Commission's disapproval order, the agency is deemed to have withdrawn the regulation.
(d) The committees have 10-calendar days from receipt of the report to approve or disapprove the report. If a committee does not disapprove the report within the 10-day period, that committee is deemed to have approved the report.
(e) The Commission has 7 days after the expiration of the committee review period, or until its next regularly scheduled meeting, whichever is later, to approve or disapprove the report. The Commission will calculate its review period as beginning the day after the expiration of the committee review period.
(f) If the Commission does not disapprove the report, the Commission is deemed to have approved the report.
(g) If the committees and the Commission approve or are deemed to have approved the report, the agency may proceed with promulgation of the revised final regulation.
(h) If the Commission or a committee disapproves the report, the bar on the promulgation of the final regulation shall continue until the review provided under section 7(c) and (d) of the act (71 P. S. § 745.7(c) and (d)) is completed.
(i) If the agency is prevented from delivering its report to the committees because of the end of the legislative session, the agency shall proceed in accordance with section 7(c) of the act.
(j) If the Commission is prevented from delivering its approval or disapproval order to the committees because of the end of the legislative session, the Commission will deliver its order in accordance with section 7(c) of the act.
CHAPTER 313. EMERGENCY CERTIFIED REGULATIONS Sec.
313.1. General. 313.2. Review of an emergency certified final regulation. § 313.1. General.
(a) An agency may deliver a final regulation as an emergency certified regulation in either of the following situations:
(1) The Attorney General certifies that the regulation is required to satisfy the order of a State or Federal court, or to implement the provisions of a Federal statute or regulation.
(2) The Governor certifies that the regulation is required to avoid an emergency which may threaten the public health, safety or welfare, cause a budget deficit, or create the need for supplemental or deficiency appropriations of greater than $1 million.
(b) The agency shall deliver the emergency certified final-form regulation and the certification from the Attorney General or the Governor in accordance with § 307.2 (relating to delivery of a final-form regulation).
(c) The agency shall deliver the emergency certified final-omitted regulation and the certification from the Attorney General or the Governor in accordance with § 307.3 (relating to delivery of a final-omitted regulation).
§ 313.2. Review of an emergency certified final regulation.
(a) An emergency certified final regulation shall take effect immediately upon publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, or on the date specified in the agency's adoption order.
(b) Review of an emergency certified regulation shall be in accordance with the procedures of Chapters 307, 309 and 311 (relating to procedures for delivery and review of final regulations; action on regulations; and procedures for review of disapproved final regulations). If the emergency certified regulation is disapproved, the regulation shall be rescinded after 120 days or upon final disapproval under section 7(d) of the act (71 P. S. § 745.7(d)), whichever occurs later.
(c) Except as provided in section 5.1(g) of the act (71 P. S. § 745.5a(g)) and §§ 307.4 and § 307.5 (relating to tolling the review period; and procedures for tolling), an agency may not make changes to an emergency certified regulation after the agency delivers the regulation to the Commission and the committees.
CHAPTER 315. EXISTING REGULATIONS AND UNPUBLISHED DOCUMENTS Sec.
315.1. Review of an existing regulation. 315.2. Review of an unpublished document. § 315.1. Review of an existing regulation.
(a) The Commission, on its own motion or at the request of any person or member of the General Assembly, may review an existing regulation which has been in effect for at least 3 years. If a committee of the Senate or House of Representatives requests the review, the Commission will assign it high priority.
(b) Upon delivery of a request to review an existing regulation, the Commission will initiate a preliminary review to determine whether further investigation is warranted.
(c) If the Commission determines that an investigation is not warranted, the matter will be closed. The Commission will notify the person or entity requesting the review of the existing regulation that no further action will be taken.
(d) If it is determined that an investigation is warranted, the Commission will notify the agency of the issues that have been raised and request a written response.
(e) After review of the agency's response and other relevant material, the Commission will issue a report setting forth its findings, conclusions or recommendations.
(f) The Commission will deliver its report to the agency, the committees, the Governor and the Attorney General. The Commission's report may include recommendations for amendment of the statute that provides statutory authority for the regulation.
§ 315.2. Review of an unpublished document.
If the Commission finds that a published or unpublished document should be promulgated as a regulation, the Commission shall present its finding to the Joint Committee on Documents. The Joint Committee on Documents will determine whether the document should be promulgated as a regulation, and may order the agency to promulgate the document as a regulation within 180 days, or to desist from using the document in its business.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 99-267. Filed for public inspection February 19, 1999, 9:00 a.m.]
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