NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5615
SPONSOR: Zebrowski TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the state administrative procedure act, in relation to
public petitions for rule making
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill would establish a formal process for the public to petition
state agencies for the adoption, amendment or repeal of rules, including
a required agency response when a petition is signed by 100 or more New
York residents.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one of the bill amends the State Administrative Procedure
Act(SAPA) that sets forth a process for the public to seek adoption,
repeal or other changes in state agency rules. A petition must meet
minimum requirements, including:
-identifying petitioners by name and address;
-setting forth the text of the rule to be changed or adopted; and
-indicating the authority and justification for the change, including
the public benefit.
An agency shall maintain a publicly available file of petitions it
receives and shall post information on its website on the process for
submitting petitions Ind comments on the same, the text or summary of
each petition received and any written denials issued on petitions.
No specific action is required on a petition unless it is the subject of
substantial public interest, as indicated by the signatures of 100 or
more New York State residents. Such petitions must either be denied in
writing within 180 days of receipt or a notice of proposed rule making
must be issued within 270 days of such receipt.
Section two relates to the effective date.
EFFECTS OF PRESENT LAW WHICH THIS BILL WOULD ALTER:
This bill establishes a new petition process in SAPA, and is not
intended to limit or modify other statutory provisions regarding
petitions for rules, such as Agriculture & Markets Law § 36-a and Labor
Law § 676.
JUSTIFICATION:
In America we expect government to be "of the people, by the people, for
the people." For many years the Federal Administrative Procedure Act has
required agencies to accept public petitions for rule changes. Various
forms of this requirement are also found in many state laws and in the
New York City Charter. New Yorkers could also benefit from a process for
requesting changes in the rules of state agencies. This bill preserves
the ability of an agency to ultimately determine priorities for changes
in policy, while including assurances that issues of significant public
interest will be considered on their merits. Any petition that is signed
by 100 or more New York State residents must either be denied in writing
by the agency or a notice of proposed rule making must be issued. This
will allow the agency to obtain further public input and a more complete
assessment of popular sentiment on the issue in question.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A.1318 of 2021-22,
A.3521 of 2019-20,
A.6459 of 2017-18,
A.1586 of 2015-16,
A9560 of 2013-14.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
First day of January after having become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5615
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 17, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ZEBROWSKI, GUNTHER, STECK, OTIS -- Multi-Spon-
sored by -- M. of A. COOK, GOODELL, THIELE -- read once and referred
to the Committee on Governmental Operations
AN ACT to amend the state administrative procedure act, in relation to
public petitions for rule making
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The state administrative procedure act is amended by adding
2 a new section 208 to read as follows:
3 § 208. Public petitions for rule making. 1. Any person or persons may
4 petition an agency to request the adoption, amendment, or repeal of a
5 rule.
6 2. A petition shall meet the following minimum requirements:
7 (a) the petition shall include the full name and address of each peti-
8 tioner and of any entity or organization with which the petitioner is
9 affiliated; and if there are multiple petitioners shall identify the
10 person to whom communications concerning the petition should be
11 directed;
12 (b) the text of any proposed changes to the current rules shall be
13 submitted in a manner that clearly identifies the words to be added to
14 or deleted from the current rules of the agency;
15 (c) the petition shall identify the statutory authority for the
16 proposed rule;
17 (d) the petition shall indicate the justification for the proposed
18 rule, including an identification of the public benefit of the adoption,
19 amendment or repeal;
20 (e) any petition that concerns the rules of more than one agency shall
21 be submitted to each such agency; and
22 (f) the petition shall be limited to one rule or a related series of
23 rules and shall not concern any matter which is the subject of a current
24 notice of proposed rule making or notice of emergency adoption.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06363-01-3
A. 5615 2
1 3. An agency shall maintain a publicly available file of petitions
2 submitted to it pursuant to this section and shall:
3 (a) post information on its website on how petitions may be submitted
4 to the agency and how the public may comment on such petitions;
5 (b) post a notice within thirty days of receipt of a petition that
6 includes the full text or a summary thereof; and
7 (c) shall post within thirty days of issuance a written denial of a
8 petition.
9 4. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subdivision, an
10 agency shall not be required to take any action in response to a peti-
11 tion, but may in its discretion publish a notice of proposed rule making
12 or a written denial of a petition or may solicit additional information,
13 through the conduct of public hearings or otherwise, on the merits of a
14 petition.
15 (b) Within one hundred eighty days of receipt of a petition meeting
16 the requirements of this section that has been signed by one hundred or
17 more residents of the state, an agency shall either deny the petition in
18 writing, stating its reasons for denial, or issue a notice of proposed
19 rule making in accordance with this article. Such notice of proposed
20 rule making shall include information on the initiating petition and
21 shall be submitted for publication in the state register within two
22 hundred seventy days of receipt of such petition. The agency may vary
23 the text of the proposed rule from the text submitted with the petition.
24 (c) Denial of a petition on the basis that it does not meet the mini-
25 mum requirements of this section does not preclude the submission of a
26 new petition on the same subject that seeks to correct any deficiencies.
27 5. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to limit or modify the
28 applicability of any other provision of law concerning petitions for the
29 adoption, modification or revocation of rules, including but not limited
30 to section thirty-six-a of the agriculture and markets law and section
31 six hundred seventy-six of the labor law.
32 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
33 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
