A04956
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.
703
Session of
2019
INTRODUCED BY SCARNATI, MAY 31, 2019
REFERRED TO RULES AND EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS, MAY 31, 2019
AN ACT
Amending Title 45 (Legal Notices) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, in publication and effectiveness of
Commonwealth documents, further providing for Joint Committee
on Documents.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 502(c) and (d) of Title 45 of the
Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes are amended to read:
§ 502. Joint Committee on Documents.
* * *
(c) Quorum and organization.--[Four] A majority of the
members of the joint committee shall constitute a quorum, and
the committee shall select from among its members a chairman and
a vice-chairman, and shall elect a secretary who need not be a
member of the committee.
(d) Powers and duties.--
(1) The joint committee shall exercise the powers and
perform the duties vested in and imposed upon it by this part
and any other powers and duties vested in and imposed upon
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the joint committee by law.
(2) In discharging its function under section 7.1 of the
act of June 25, 1982 (P.L.633, No.181), known as the
Regulatory Review Act, if the joint committee determines that
a document should be promulgated as a regulation and orders
the agency either to promulgate the document as a regulation
by the statutory deadline, the following apply:
(i) Subject to subparagraph (ii), the joint
committee may extend the promulgation deadline for up to
180 days if it determines that the agency is making a
good faith effort to promulgate the regulation in
accordance with:
(A) section 612 of the act of April 9, 1929
(P.L.177, No.175), known as The Administrative Code
of 1929;
(B) Article II of the act of July 31, 1968
(P.L.769, No.240), referred to as the Commonwealth
Documents Law;
(C) sections 204(b) and 301(10) of the act of
October 15, 1980 (P.L.950, No.164), known as the
Commonwealth Attorneys Act; and
(D) sections 5, 5.1, 5.2, 6, 7 and 8 of the
Regulatory Review Act.
(ii) No more than two extensions may be made.
Regardless of extensions, the promulgation deadline may
not extend beyond 18 months of the date of the original
order. or to desist from use of the document in the
business of the agency and if the agency chooses to
promulgate the document as a regulation, the joint
committee is authorized to extend the statutory period in
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its initial order under section 7.1 as follows:
(i) S ubject to subparagraph (ii), the joint
committee may extend the initial promulgation deadline
for up to an additional 180 days if the joint committee
determines that the agency is making a good faith effort
to promulgate the regulation in accordance with law.
(ii) No more than two extensions may be granted. If
the agency has not promulgated the document as a
regulation within 18 months of the date of the joint
committee's initial order, the agency shall desist from
the use of the document in the business of the agency.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 30 days.
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