NOTICES

INDEPENDENT REGULATORY REVIEW COMMISSION

Notice of Comments Issued

[54 Pa.B. 8228]
[Saturday, December 14, 2024]

 Section 5(g) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P.S. § 745.5(g)) provides that the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) may issue comments within 30 days of the close of the public comment period. IRRC comments are based upon the criteria contained in section 5.2 of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P.S. § 745.5b).

 IRRC has issued comments on the following proposed regulation. The agency must consider these comments in preparing the final-form regulation. The final-form regulation must be submitted within 2 years of the close of the public comment period or it will be deemed withdrawn.

Reg. No.	Agency/Title	Close of the Public Comment Period	IRRC Comments Issued
12-119	Department of Labor and Industry Examinations, Fees and Provisional Registration Process for Sign  Language Interpreters and Transliterators 54 Pa.B. 6258 (October 5, 2024)	11/04/24	12/04/24

Department of Labor and Industry Regulation
# 12-119 (IRRC # 3415)

Examinations, Fees and Provisional Registration Process for Sign Language Interpreters and Transliterators

December 4, 2024

 We submit for your consideration the following comments on the proposed rulemaking published in the October 5, 2024 Pennsylvania Bulletin. Our comments are based on criteria in Section 5.2 of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P.S. § 745.5b). Section 5.1(a) of the Regulatory Review Act (RRA) (71 P.S. § 745.5a(a)) directs the Department of Labor and Industry (Department) to respond to all comments received from us or any other source.

1. Legislative Comments; and Possible conflict with or duplication of statutes or existing regulations.

 Representative Ryan Mackenzie, Republican Chairman of the House Labor and Industry Committee, shared several concerns regarding the proposed rulemaking. He notes that one of the stated objectives of the proposed regulation is to correct inconsistencies created by Act 124 of 2010 (Act 124). However, with the recent adoption of Senate Bill 1274 (SB 1274) which became Act 143 of 2024 (Act 143), the lawmaker contends that the Department will again have regulations that are inconsistent with current law. The Department, according to Representative Mackenzie, was knowledgeable of the legislative activity surrounding SB 1274 when it submitted the proposed regulation and should have been aware of the potential impact it would have on any proposed rulemaking. Moreover, any changes made to the final-form regulation, in response to the recent enactment of SB 1274, will not have had the benefit of public or stakeholder feedback. The lawmaker believes that a more appropriate action for the Department to have undertaken would have been to wait until the outcome of SB 1274 was known, and then propose regulations based on the current statute. As such, he has urged the Department to withdraw the current proposed regulations until the provisions of Act 143 become fully effective. Commentators expressed similar concerns with the timing of the proposal and its inconsistencies with the pending legislation that is now Act 143.

 Representative Mackenzie identifies the following provisions of the proposed regulation that, if promulgated, will need to be revised to be consistent with the amended statute:

 • Proposed Section 501.4.1(c)(3) prohibits individuals with a provisional registration from providing services in a ''physician's office.'' Act 143 changes this term to ''medical setting'' which the proposed regulations provide a definition for but does not replace the term ''physician's office'' in the regulations;

 • Proposed Section 501.4.1(c)(4) prohibits individuals with a provisional registration from providing services in a ''critical care or emergency setting.'' Act 143 provides that services may be provided when the conditions of Section 4(b)(2) of the Sign Language Interpreter and Transliterator State Registration Act (63 P.S §§ 1725.1—1725.14) (Act) are met. This change allows individuals with a provisional registration to provide services in an ''immediate, life threatening medical emergency;

 • Proposed Section 501.4.1(g) provides for a provisional registration to be renewed twice. Act 143 provides for four renewals of a provisional registration;

 • Existing Sections 501.5(e) and (f), provide for individuals that are ''deaf or hard of hearing'' but not ''deafblind.'' Act 143 adds deafblind individuals under those covered by the Act;

 • Act 143 contains the definitions and provisions for ''alternative pathway programs,'' ''certification,'' and ''video remote interpreting.'' None of these terms nor their application are discussed in the proposed rulemaking;

 • Act 143 requires the Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (Office) to annually review the requirements of all alternative pathway programs, determine which programs are satisfactory, and publish a list of all approved alternate pathway programs; and

 • Requires the Office to consider the standards of any current or past certification from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc., and the State of Texas Board for Evaluation of Interpreters when evaluating certifications to approve.

 Senator Devlin Robinson, Chair of the Senate Labor and Industry Committee, noted that while he appreciates the Department's efforts to update the Chapter 501 regulations, he believes the timing of the update is ''misguided.'' He feels that it would be appropriate for the Office of Deaf and Hard of Hearing to withdraw the proposed rulemaking and resubmit an updated regulatory package that is consistent with the changes made in Act 143. Moving forward with the proposed regulation that does not conform to the amended statute, he asserts, would not be in the best interest of stakeholders, including deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing individuals and the interpreters and agencies that provide services to those individuals. Senator Robinson also identifies inconsistencies like those enumerated above.

 In addition to discrepancies described by the lawmakers, a commentator remarked on the technical accuracy of the proposed definitions for ''Interpreter Education Program,'' and ''RID—Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc.'' and questioned whether the definition of ''Legal setting'' has been vetted with Act 172 of 2006 for Pennsylvania Court Interpreters to ensure alignment.

Advance Notice of Final Rulemaking (ANFR)

 Public participation is the cornerstone of the RRA. Stakeholders, the legislature and the Department share the same goal of creating more options for individuals to become state-registered providers of these invaluable services that benefit 1.5 million Pennsylvania citizens. We share the concerns expressed by Representative Mackenzie, Senator Robinson and commentators regarding the timing of the proposed regulation and its impact on the ability of individuals to offer meaningful feedback on the final regulatory product. Given the concerns raised, in the event the Department chooses to proceed with the proposed rulemaking and not withdraw it, the Department should issue an ANFR to solicit additional input on this regulation, including changes that could be contained within the final-form rulemaking. Prior to issuing an ANFR, we strongly encourage the Department to actively engage stakeholders in a discussion regarding the recent statutory amendments and to share its plan on how it will align the current proposal with Act 143. Should the Department proceed without issuing an ANFR because no substantial changes were made from the proposed to the final stage of regulatory review, we ask the Department to explain how the regulation conforms to Act 143. If the Department makes significant changes based on the amended statute but does not issue an ANFR, the Department should explain how its approach upholds the intended spirit of the RRA with respect to public participation and how not giving advance notice to the regulated community about significant changes is in the public interest.

2. Miscellaneous Clarity.

 We ask the Department to:

 • Make certain that terms are used consistently throughout the body of the regulation. For instance, Section 501.4.1(b)(4) uses the term ''State'' before ''provisional registration'' whereas the remaining provisions refer to ''provisional registration'' without ''State;''

 • Update Regulatory Analysis Form (RAF) Box # 3 to correct the statutory citation; and

 • Update RAF Box # 29 regarding any public meetings or hearings that will be held, the expected date of delivery of the final-form regulation and the expected date by which compliance with the final-form regulation will be required.

GEORGE D. BEDWICK, 
Chairperson

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 24-1800. Filed for public inspection December 13, 2024, 9:00 a.m.]

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