House 2543

WEST virginia legislature

2025 regular session

Committee Substitute

for

House Bill 2543

By Delegates Leavitt, McGeehan, Phillips, Rohrbach, Green, Hornby, Gearheart, D. Cannon, Akers, Ferrell, and Maynor

[Originating in the Committee on Government Organization; Reported on March 25, 2025]

A BILL to amend and reenact §29A-3-11 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to the submission of legislative rules; requiring the inclusion of a statement of the economic impact of each legislative rule; providing for the contents of a statement of the economic impact; requiring the Legislative Rule-Making Review Committee to review whether the proposed legislative rule has any economic impact on the state or its residents; and requiring the Legislative Rule-Making Review Committee to note any failure of an agency to comply with certain submission-related requirements.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

Article 3. Rule Making.

§29A-3-11. Submission of legislative rules to the Legislative Rule-Making Review Committee.

(a) When an agency finally approves a proposed legislative rule for submission to the Legislature, pursuant to the provisions of §29A-3-9 of this code, the secretary of the executive department which administers the agency pursuant to the provisions of §5F-2-1 et seq. of this code shall submit to the Legislative Rule-Making Review Committee at its offices or at a regular meeting of such committee a number of copies in electronic or paper form as requested by the committee, which shall include the following information:

(1) The full text of the legislative rule as finally approved by the agency, with new language underlined and with language to be deleted from any existing rule stricken through but clearly legible;

(2) A brief summary of the content of the legislative rule and a description and a copy of any existing rule which the agency proposes to amend or repeal;

(3) A statement of the circumstances which require the rule;

(4) A detailed description of the rule’s purpose and all proposed changes to the rule;

(5) A fiscal note containing all information included in a fiscal note for either house of the Legislature, a statement of the economic impact of the rule on the state or its residents, and, if there are any adjustments to any fees or other special revenue included in the rule, a fiscal note shall include, for any fund affected by adjustments to fees or other special revenue, the fund name, the fund number, and the past five years of actual revenues and expenses of the fund;

(6)  A statement, in the electronic or paper form, of the economic impact of the rule on the state and its residents, including those doing business in the state, that considers:

(A) regulatory and transactional costs;

(B) business productivity, innovation, and competitiveness, including the ability of persons doing business in the state to compete with persons doing business in other states or domestic markets;

(C) private-sector job creation and employment;

(D) private-sector investment; and

(E) economic growth;

(6) (7) One copy of any relevant federal statutes or regulations;

(7) (8) An explanation of the statutory authority for the rule, including a detailed summary of the effect of each provision of the rule with citation to the specific statute which empowers the agency to enact such provision;

(8) (9) All public comments for each proposed rule. An agency may consolidate substantially similar comments in the interest of efficiency;

(9) (10) All written responses by the agency to the substance of any public comments received, including whether the agency chose to modify the proposed rule in response to the comments or, if no changes were made, the rationale for declining to incorporate or make any suggested changes responding to the public comments. An agency may consolidate substantially similar responses in the interest of efficiency: Provided, That the agency’s response shall address each issue and concern expressed by all comments received; and

(10) (11) Any other information which the committee may request or which may be required by law. If the agency is an agency, board or commission which is not administered by an executive department as provided for in §5F-2-1 et seq., of this code, the agency shall submit the final agency-approved rule as required by this subsection.

(b) The committee shall review each proposed legislative rule and, in its discretion, may hold public hearings thereon. Such review shall include, but not be limited to, a determination of:

(1) Whether the agency has specific statutory authority to propose the rule and has not exceeded the scope of its statutory authority in approving the proposed legislative rule;

(2) Whether the proposed legislative rule is in conformity with the legislative intent of the statute which the rule is intended to implement, extend, apply, interpret or make specific;

(3) Whether the proposed legislative rule overlaps, duplicates or conflicts with any other provision of this code, any other rule adopted by the same or a different agency, with federal statutes and rules, or with local laws and rules;

(4) Whether federal funding will be impacted by its expiration and explanation as to such;

(5) Whether the proposed legislative rule is necessary to fully accomplish the objectives of the statute under which the rule was proposed for promulgation;

(6) Whether the proposed legislative rule is reasonable, especially as it affects the convenience of the general public or of persons particularly affected by it;

(7) Whether the proposed legislative rule could be made less complex or more readily understandable by the general public; and

(8) Whether the proposed legislative rule was proposed for promulgation in compliance with the requirements of this article and with any requirements imposed by any other provision of this code.; and

(9) Whether the proposed legislative rule would have an economic impact on the state or its residents.

(c) After reviewing the legislative rule, the committee shall recommend that the Legislature:

(1) Authorize the promulgation of the legislative rule;

(2) Authorize the promulgation of part of the legislative rule;

(3) Authorize the promulgation of the legislative rule with certain amendments;

(4) Recommend that the proposed rule be withdrawn; or

(5) Reject the proposed rule.

The committee shall file notice of its action in the State Register and with the agency proposing the rule: Provided, That the notice shall identify whether the agency failed to comply with any requirement of §29A-3-11(a) of this code when submitting the proposed rule: Provided further, That when the committee makes the recommendations of subdivision (2), (3), (4), or (5) of this subsection, the notice shall contain a statement of the reasons for such recommendation.

(d) When the committee recommends that a rule be authorized, in whole or in part, by the Legislature, the committee shall instruct its staff or the office of Legislative Services to draft a bill authorizing the promulgation of all or part of the legislative rule and incorporating such amendments as the committee desires. If the committee recommends that the rule not be authorized, it shall include in its report a draft of a bill authorizing promulgation of the rule together with a recommendation. Any draft bill prepared under this section shall contain a legislative finding that the rule is within the legislative intent of the statute which the rule is intended to implement, extend, apply, or interpret and shall be available for any member of the Legislature to introduce to the Legislature.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to clarify the nature of the statement of the economic impact that an agency is supposed to provide when it submits a proposed rule to the LRMRC.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.