See other bills
under the
same topic
PRINTER'S NO. 2116
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
1571
Session of
2017
INTRODUCED BY ELLIS, MILLARD, BLOOM, JAMES, KAUFFMAN, GROVE,
DUNBAR, A. HARRIS, ORTITAY, PICKETT AND HEFFLEY,
JUNE 22, 2017
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, JUNE 22, 2017
AN ACT
Amending the act of June 25, 1982 (P.L.633, No.181), entitled
"An act providing for independent oversight and review of
regulations, creating an Independent Regulatory Review
Commission, providing for its powers and duties and making
repeals," further providing for definitions, for proposed
regulations and procedures for review and for final-form
regulations and final-omitted regulations and procedures for
review; providing for regulations deemed withdrawn; and
further providing for existing regulations.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 3 of the act of June 25, 1982 (P.L.633,
No.181), known as the Regulatory Review Act, is amended by
adding a definition to read:
Section 3. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
have, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the
meanings given to them in this section:
* * *
"Legislative day." A day when both houses of the General
Assembly are in voting session.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
* * *
Section 2. Section 5(a) of the act is amended by adding a
paragraph and the section is amended by adding a subsection to
read:
Section 5. Proposed regulations; procedures for review.
(a) On the same date that an agency submits a proposed
regulation to the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication
of notice of proposed rulemaking in the Pennsylvania Bulletin as
required by the Commonwealth Documents Law, the agency shall
submit to the commission and the committees a copy of the
proposed regulation and a regulatory analysis form which
includes the following:
* * *
(1.2) In the case of a citation of State statutory
authority under paragraph (1.1), a citation of a provision of
a statute that explicitly states that the agency may
promulgate regulations for the specific purpose cited in the
statement of need for the regulation under paragraph (3).
* * *
(d.1) The committees shall, during the public comment
period, conduct a public hearing to receive comments regarding a
proposed regulation for which cost estimates included in the
regulatory analysis form, as required under subsection (a)(4),
exceed $1,000,000. The agency shall appear at the hearing if
requested to do so by the chair of the committee.
* * *
Section 3. Section 5.1(j.2) and (j.3) of the act are amended
to read:
Section 5.1. Final-form regulations and final-omitted
regulations; procedures for review.
20170HB1571PN2116 - 2 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
* * *
(j.2) (1) At any time during the commission's review period
up to 24 hours prior to the opening of the commission's
public meeting, a committee may notify the commission and the
agency that it has approved or disapproved a final-form or
final-omitted regulation or that it intends to review the
regulation.
(2) If the committee notifies the commission that it
intends to review a regulation under paragraph (1), the
committee may include the following in its review:
(i) An assessment of whether:
(A) the regulation is in the public interest;
(B) the agency has the statutory authority to
promulgate the regulation; and
(C) the regulation conforms to the intention of
the General Assembly in the enactment of the statute
upon which the regulation is based.
(ii) Consideration of any of the factors enumerated
in section 5.2(b).
(3) If the commission approves a regulation and a
committee has not notified the commission and the agency that
it has disapproved the regulation or that it intends to
review the regulation, the agency may promulgate the
regulation. If the commission approves a regulation and a
committee has notified the commission and the agency that it
has disapproved the regulation or that it intends to review
the regulation, the agency may not promulgate the regulation
for 14 days or six legislative days, whichever is longer,
after the committee has received the commission's approval
order.
20170HB1571PN2116 - 3 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
(4) During [this 14-day period] the period established
under paragraph (3), the committee may take action on the
regulation pursuant to section 7(d). If at the expiration of
the [14-day] period established under paragraph (3) the
committee has not taken action on the regulation pursuant to
section 7(d), the agency may promulgate the regulation.
(j.3) If the committees are prevented from completing their
[14-day] review during the period established under subsection
(j.2)(3) because of adjournment sine die or expiration of the
legislative session in an even-numbered year, their review of
the final-form or final-omitted regulation shall automatically
be suspended until the fourth Monday in January of the next
year. On that date, the agency shall resubmit the final-form or
final-omitted regulation and required material to the committees
and the commission. If either committee has not been designated
by the fourth Monday in January, the agency may not deliver the
final-form or final-omitted regulation and required material to
the committees and the commission until both committees are
designated. If the agency does not deliver the final-form or
final-omitted regulation and required material to the commission
and the committees by the second Monday after the date by which
both committee designations have been published in the
Pennsylvania Bulletin, the agency shall be deemed to have
withdrawn the final-form or final-omitted regulation. In
determining the remaining time for committee review, the number
of days in which the committees have had the final-form or the
final-omitted regulation under review as of the adjournment sine
die or expiration of the prior session shall be subtracted from
the [14-day] committee review period established under
subsection (j.2)(3), but the committee review period in the next
20170HB1571PN2116 - 4 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
succeeding legislative session shall not be less than ten days.
An agency may not submit a final-form or final-omitted
regulation to the commission or the committees for review during
the period from the adjournment sine die or expiration of the
legislative session of an even-numbered year to the date by
which both committees have been designated in the next
succeeding legislative session. This subsection shall not apply
to emergency-certified regulations adopted pursuant to the
provisions of section 6(d).
* * *
Section 4. The act is amended by adding a section to read:
Section 5.3. Regulations deemed withdrawn.
A regulation shall be deemed withdrawn if there is no
provision of a State statute which explicitly states that the
agency may promulgate regulations for the specific purpose cited
in the statement of need for the regulation under section 5(a)
(3) and the regulatory analysis form submitted for the
regulation does not comply with the requirements of section 5(a)
(1.2).
Section 5. Section 8.1 of the act is amended to read:
Section 8.1. Existing regulations.
(a) The commission, on its motion or at the request of any
person or member of the General Assembly, may review any
existing regulation which has been in effect for at least three
years. If a committee of the Senate or the House of
Representatives requests a review of an existing regulation, the
commission shall perform the review and shall assign it high
priority. The commission may submit recommendations to an agency
recommending changes in existing regulations if it finds the
existing regulations to be contrary to the public interest under
20170HB1571PN2116 - 5 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
the criteria established in section 5.2. The commission may also
make recommendations to the General Assembly and the Governor
for statutory changes if the commission finds that any existing
regulation may be contrary to the public interest.
(b) The commission shall post on its publicly accessible
Internet website a link to the Pennsylvania Code.
(c) Each agency shall post on its publicly accessible
Internet website a link to a searchable compilation of the text
of all existing regulations that have been promulgated by the
agency.
(d) The commission shall post on its publicly accessible
Internet website a link through which members of the public may
submit a request for the commission to review an existing
regulation as provided under subsection (a). If the commission
receives a request from a member of the public for the review of
a regulation, the commission shall transmit a copy of the
request to the appropriate standing committees of the Senate and
the House of Representatives.
(e) Each agency head shall develop and implement an ongoing
program to review its existing regulations. Each agency must
submit a plan for its program, including a proposed timeline, to
the commission and the appropriate standing committees of the
Senate and House of Representatives within six months of the
effective date of this subsection. Each agency program shall do
the following:
(1) Provide for the review of all agency regulations
over a three-year period and for the continuous review of
existing regulations over subsequent three-year periods.
(2) Provide for the review of existing regulations for
consistency with the following principles:
20170HB1571PN2116 - 6 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
(i) Regulations shall address a compelling public
interest.
(ii) Costs of regulations shall not outweigh their
benefits.
(iii) Regulations shall be written in clear, concise
and, when possible, nontechnical language.
(iv) Regulations shall address definable public
health, safety or environmental risks.
(v) If Federal regulations exist, State regulations
shall not exceed Federal standards unless justified by a
compelling public interest or unless required by State
law.
(vi) Compliance shall be the goal of all
regulations.
(vii) If viable nonregulatory alternatives exist,
the alternatives shall be preferred over regulations.
(viii) Regulations shall not hamper the
Commonwealth's ability to compete effectively with other
states.
(3) Include a process through which the agency
identifies regulations that the agency recommends for repeal.
Each recommendation for repeal shall include a justification
for the recommended repeal, a proposed schedule for repeal
and any costs or savings associated with the repeal.
(4) Include a goal for the agency's reduction of the
number of regulations or the number of pages of regulations
during each three-year period.
(5) Include a process through which the agency submits
its review of each regulation to the appropriate standing
committee and whereby the agency shall, upon the request of
20170HB1571PN2116 - 7 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
the standing committee, appear before the committee in a
public hearing to provide additional information and answer
questions regarding the regulation.
Section 6. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
20170HB1571PN2116 - 8 -
1
2
3
4