Authorizes the use of innovative techniques to enhance public participation in the rule making process; provides that use of such techniques shall in no way otherwise diminish public participation in the rule making process; establishes a three year pilot project for seven major regulatory agencies to hold public hearings upon petition of 125 or more New York residents.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6267
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 12, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. MAMDANI -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Governmental Operations
AN ACT to amend the state administrative procedure act, in relation to
public hearings on proposed rules; and providing for the repeal of
such provisions upon expiration thereof
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 102 of the state administrative
2 procedure act, as amended by section 155 of subpart B of part C of chap-
3 ter 62 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows:
4 1. "Agency" means any department, board, bureau, commission, division,
5 office, council, committee or officer of the state, or a public benefit
6 corporation or public authority at least one of whose members is
7 appointed by the governor, authorized by law to make rules or to make
8 final decisions in adjudicatory proceedings but shall not include the
9 governor, agencies in the legislative and judicial branches, agencies
10 created by interstate compact or international agreement, the division
11 of military and naval affairs to the extent it exercises its responsi-
12 bility for military and naval affairs, the division of state police, the
13 identification and intelligence unit of the division of criminal justice
14 services, the state insurance fund, the unemployment insurance appeal
15 board, and except for purposes of subdivision one of section two hundred
16 two-d and section two hundred two-f of this chapter, the workers'
17 compensation board and except for purposes of article two of this chap-
18 ter, the department of corrections and community supervision.
19 § 2. The state administrative procedure act is amended by adding a new
20 section 202-f to read as follows:
21 § 202-f. Public hearings. 1. Whenever a public hearing is held on a
22 proposed rule pursuant to this chapter, unless otherwise provided in
23 law, an agency is authorized to utilize innovative techniques to enhance
24 public participation in rule making, including but not limited to allow-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03263-01-1
A. 6267 2
1 ing the public to ask questions of agency personnel for a portion of
2 such hearing, organizing such hearing as a roundtable discussion, sched-
3 uling an evening or weekend hearing, and using broadcasting and telecon-
4 ferencing technologies; provided, however, that no such innovative tech-
5 niques shall be used in a manner which diminishes the ability which
6 members of the public would otherwise have to comment on the proposed
7 rule at a public hearing. Each agency listed in subdivision four of this
8 section shall, and any other agency may, include in its annual report a
9 description and analysis of its use of innovative techniques pursuant to
10 this subdivision.
11 2. Except as provided in subdivision three of this section, any agency
12 listed in subdivision four of this section which receives a petition
13 subscribed by not fewer than one hundred twenty-five persons residing in
14 this state requesting a public hearing on any rule or rules which have
15 been proposed by the agency, or have been described in the regulatory
16 agenda submitted by the agency pursuant to section two hundred two-d of
17 this article, shall hold at least one public hearing on the rule or
18 rules; provided, however, that any such petition on a rule which has
19 been proposed must be received by the agency not later than the twenti-
20 eth day before the last date for submission of comments. Any agency that
21 receives a petition after the twentieth day before the last date for
22 submission of comments and any agency not listed in subdivision four of
23 this section may elect to hold a hearing upon receipt of a petition. Due
24 consideration shall be given to any request in a petition that a hearing
25 be conducted in a particular region.
26 3. An agency shall not be required to hold a public hearing pursuant
27 to subdivision two of this section (a) on a rule for which a hearing is
28 required by law and has been scheduled or held; (b) on a consensus rule;
29 or (c) on a rule defined in subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (a) of subdi-
30 vision two of section one hundred two of this chapter. When a public
31 hearing has been requested for any rule described in a regulatory agen-
32 da, the agency shall not be required to schedule a public hearing until
33 such time as the rule is proposed.
34 4. The following agencies shall engage in the reporting provided for
35 in subdivision one of this section and hold hearings as provided for in
36 subdivisions two and three of this section: the workers' compensation
37 board and the departments of education, environmental conservation,
38 health, financial services, labor and family assistance.
39 § 3. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
40 ing the date on which it shall have become a law, and shall expire and
41 be deemed repealed on the thirty-first day of December of the second
42 calendar year following such effective date, and shall apply to all
43 rules for which a notice of proposed rule making or a description in a
44 regulatory agenda is published during such time period.
