PRINTER'S NO. 555
No. 511 Session of 1977
INTRODUCED BY DeVERTER, THOMAS, WAGNER, ZELLER, MORRIS,
L. E. SMITH, CESSAR, WILSON, HASAY, MACKOWSKI, WISE,
M. H. GEORGE, FREIND, HOEFFEL, BRANDT, O'CONNELL, MADIGAN,
BURD, ANDERSON, MEBUS, ZEARFOSS, LEVI, GEESEY, WEIDNER,
GRIECO, ABRAHAM, KLINGAMAN, E. Z. TAYLOR, E. H. SMITH,
MISCEVICH AND DAVIES, MARCH 7, 1977
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, MARCH 7, 1977
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of July 31, 1968 (P.L.769, No.240), entitled,
2 "An act relating to Commonwealth documents; providing for the
3 printing and distribution of administrative regulations;
4 regulating the adoption, publication, codification and
5 effectiveness of regulations, statements of policy, and
6 certain other Commonwealth documents; creating the Joint
7 Committee on Documents and prescribing its powers and duties;
8 providing penalties, and making appropriations and repeals,"
9 further providing for the creation of a joint committee to
10 review all proposed rules and regulations.
11 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
12 hereby enact as follows:
13 Section 1. The act of July 31, 1968 (P.L.769, No.240), known
14 as the "Commonwealth Documents Law," is amended by adding an
15 article to read:
16 ARTICLE II-A
17 Review of Rules and Regulations
18 Section 201-A. Joint Committee on Regulation Review.--(a)
19 There is hereby created within the General Assembly a Joint
20 Committee on Regulation Review. It shall be the duty of this
1 committee to review all proposed rules, regulations and
2 statements of policy of every department, departmental
3 administrative board, commission, independent commission,
4 independent board, agency or authority of this Commonwealth now
5 or hereafter created, but shall not include the power to review
6 any action of the General Assembly, the judicial system of this
7 Commonwealth or the political subdivisions of the Commonwealth.
8 (b) The Joint Committee on Regulation Review shall consist
9 of ten members of the General Assembly. Five members shall be
10 selected from the Senate by the President pro tempore of the
11 Senate, three members from the majority party and two members
12 from the minority party. Five members shall be selected from the
13 House of Representatives by the Speaker of the House of
14 Representatives, three members from the majority party and two
15 members from the minority party.
16 (c) The members of the committee shall serve without
17 compensation other than reimbursement for travel and other
18 actual expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.
19 (d) The committee shall select a chairman from among its
20 members. Seven members of the committee shall constitute a
21 quorum for all the business of the committee.
22 (e) The committee shall exercise the powers and perform the
23 duties vested in and imposed upon it by this article and any
24 other powers and duties subsequently vested in and imposed upon
25 it by law.
26 Section 202-A. Powers and Duties of the Committee.--The
27 Committee shall have the following powers and duties:
28 (1) To appoint and fix the compensation of an executive
29 director and such other staff as may be necessary to carry out
30 the purposes of the committee;
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1 (2) To adopt procedures which will govern the business of
2 the committee;
3 (3) To receive copies of all proposed rules and regulations
4 and all proposed amendments to existing rules and regulations at
5 the same time as the Legislative Reference Bureau and in the
6 same manner as set forth in sections 201 and 204;
7 (4) To review all proposed rules and regulations and
8 proposed amendments to existing rules and regulations to
9 determine: (i) whether the proposed rules, regulations, or
10 amendments will properly implement the intent and purposes of
11 the General Assembly; or (ii) whether the proposed rules,
12 regulations or amendments exceed the scope of the agency's
13 authority; or (iii) whether the action of the agency is
14 arbitrary or unreasonable;
15 (5) To give notice of all of its proceedings pursuant to the
16 provisions of this act;
17 (6) To hold public hearings for the purpose of reviewing the
18 proposed rules, regulations or amendments, giving notice of such
19 hearings pursuant to the act of July 19, 1974 (P.L.486, No.175)
20 referred to as the Public Agency Open Meeting Law;
21 (7) To make recommendations to the General Assembly relating
22 to the disapproval of any proposed rule, regulation or
23 amendment; and
24 (8) To do all things necessary for the proper functioning of
25 the committee.
26 Section 203-A. Disapproval by Committee.--(a) Within
27 twenty-five days of the receipt of copies of the proposed rule,
28 regulation or amendment, the committee, after receiving the
29 proposal, shall determine whether to approve or disapprove such
30 proposal. The committee shall forward a recommendation, in the
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1 form of a concurrent resolution, to each house of the General
2 Assembly for further action by that body.
3 (b) When the committee decides a proposal is acceptable, it
4 shall take no further action relating to that proposal.
5 (c) When the committee decides to reject a proposal, the
6 recommendation of rejection shall be sent to the agency making
7 the proposal and notice of the recommendation shall be published
8 in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
9 (d) Any agency which receives, from the committee, a
10 recommendation of rejection shall take no further action on the
11 rejected proposal for a period of fifty-five days from the date
12 the recommendation is received. If the General Assembly rejects
13 the committee's recommendation or takes no action on the
14 recommendation, the agency may proceed to implement the
15 proposal. If the General Assembly accepts the committee's
16 recommendation, the agency shall be prohibited from implementing
17 the rejected proposal.
18 Section 204-A. Determination by the General Assembly.--(a)
19 The General Assembly shall have forty-five days to accept any
20 recommendation of rejection that it receives from the committee.
21 Acceptance of any recommendation of rejection shall be in the
22 form of a concurrent resolution to be passed by both house of
23 the General Assembly.
24 (b) The General Assembly can refuse the recommendation of
25 the committee by passing a concurrent resolution to that affect,
26 by refusing to pass the concurrent resolution of acceptance or
27 by taking no action within the forty-five day period.
28 (c) Nothing in this article shall be deemed to affect
29 further legislative action by the General Assembly.
30 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 90 days.
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