Bill Text: NJ A2581 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires OAL to maintain Internet database summarizing all State rule-making actions.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2014-10-23 - Received in the Senate, Referred to Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee [A2581 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-A2581-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman RAJ MUKHERJI
District 33 (Hudson)
Assemblywoman ELIANA PINTOR MARIN
District 29 (Essex)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Benson and Assemblywoman Mosquera
SYNOPSIS
Requires OAL to maintain Internet database summarizing all State rule-making actions.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the Internet publication of a State rule-making database, and supplementing P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Office of Administrative Law shall establish and maintain, at a publicly accessible location on its Internet website, a searchable database that identifies the number, nature, and current status of all pending or proposed rule-making actions in the State. The database shall include written descriptions and listings of all such pending or proposed State rule-making actions, and shall additionally incorporate the use of charts, tables, graphs, and other graphics or visual aids, as necessary or appropriate, to provide members of the public with a full, complete, and easily comprehensible overview of pending or proposed rule-making actions in the State.
b. (1) The database established and maintained pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall include, with respect to each proposed rule-making action, a summary description that indicates:
(a) the title or subject matter of the rule-making action;
(b) the State agency responsible for the rule-making action;
(c) the identification number, if any, that is associated with the rule-making action;
(d) the types or groups of persons who are the subject of, or who will, or are likely to be, affected by, the rule-making action;
(e) the legal authority for the rule-making action;
(f) the date on which the rule-making action was initiated by the State agency;
(g) the legal deadline, if any, that is associated with the rule-making action;
(h) a concise abstract or synopsis describing the basis for, and pertinent factors necessitating, the rule-making action; and
(i) a timetable showing the history of the rule-making action.
(2) The summary description required by this subsection shall additionally include a brief statement that identifies the potential impacts of the rule-making action on the State and its residents, and the anticipated significance of those impacts. At a minimum, this statement shall indicate:
(a) the type and potential significance of any expected socio-economic impacts associated with the rule-making action, as determined in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of section 4 of P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-4);
(b) the number of jobs that will, or are likely to, be generated or lost as a result of the rule-making action, as determined in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of section 4 of P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-4);
(c) the type and significance of any expected agricultural industry impacts associated with the rule-making action, as determined in accordance with the provisions of section 7 of P.L.1998, c.48 (C.4:1C-10.3) and paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of section 4 of P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-4);
(d) whether the State agency has prepared, or will prepare, a regulatory flexibility analysis in connection with the rule-making action, in accordance with the provisions of P.L.1986, c.169 (C.52:14B-16 et seq.) and paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of section 4 of P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-4); and
(e) if a regulatory flexibility analysis has been prepared in connection with the rule-making action, the estimated number of small businesses that will, or are likely to, be affected by the rule-making action.
c. Notwithstanding the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) to the contrary, the Office of Administrative Law may require each State agency to provide the information to be included in the database summary description under subsection b. of this section in association with any notice of proposed rule-making that is submitted by the agency prior to, on, or after, the effective date of this act. The form and manner in which the information will be provided shall be determined by the Office of Administrative Law.
d. The database established and maintained pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall also include distinct listings or graphics that identify the total number of pending rule-making actions by: (1) State agency; (2) rule-making type and stage; and (3) current length, in 30-day intervals, of the State agency review associated therewith, as determined by looking to the date of each rule-making action's initiation by the State agency.
e. The Office of Administrative Law shall make regular and timely updates to the database established pursuant to subsection a. of this section to ensure that it reflects the most current information pertaining to rule-making actions undertaken by each State agency. The Office of Administrative Law shall indicate, on its Internet website, the date on which the most recent database update was performed pursuant to this subsection.
2. This act shall take effect immediately, but shall remain inoperative until the first day of the 13th month following the date of its enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill would facilitate regulatory transparency in the State by requiring the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) to establish and maintain, on its Internet website, a searchable database that identifies the number, nature, and status of all pending or proposed State rule-making actions. The database would be required to include a listing and short description of every pending or proposed State rule-making action, as well as any charts, graphics, or other visual aids as are determined to be necessary and appropriate, in order to provide members of the public with a full, complete, and easily comprehensible overview of the pending or proposed rule-making activity in the State. The OAL would further be required to make regular and timely updates to the database, in order to ensure that it reflects the most current information pertaining to rule-making actions undertaken by each State agency.
The bill would require the database to include, with respect to each proposed State rule-making action, a summary description that indicates: (1) the title or subject matter of the rule-making action; (2) the State agency responsible for the rule-making action; (3) the identification number, if any, that is associated with the rule-making action; (4) the types or groups of persons who are the subject of, or who will, or are likely to be, affected by, the rule-making action; (5) the legal authority for the rule-making action; (6) the date on which the rule-making action was initiated by the State agency; (7) the legal deadline, if any, that is associated with the rule-making action; (8) a concise abstract or synopsis describing the basis for, and pertinent factors necessitating, the rule-making action; and (9) a timetable showing the history of the rule-making action.
The summary description of each rule-making action would also be required to incorporate a brief statement that identifies the potential impacts of the rule-making action on the State and its residents, and the anticipated significance of those impacts. At a minimum, this statement would be required to indicate: (1) the type and potential significance of any expected socio-economic impacts associated with the rule-making action; (2) the number of jobs that will, or are likely to, be generated or lost as a result of the rule-making action; (3) the type and significance of any expected agricultural industry impacts associated with the rule-making action; (4) whether the State agency has prepared, or will prepare, a regulatory flexibility analysis in connection with the rule-making action; and (5) if a regulatory flexibility analysis has been prepared, the estimated number of small businesses that will, or are likely to, be affected by the rule-making action.
Under the bill, the OAL may require each State agency to provide the information to be included in the database summary description in association with any notice of proposed rule-making that is submitted by the agency prior to, on, or after, the effective date of the bill.
The bill would additionally require the database to include distinct summary listings or graphics identifying the total number of pending rule-making actions by: (1) State agency; (2) rule-making type and stage; and (3) length, in 30-day intervals, of the State agency review associated therewith.
The State rule-making database that is established on the Internet pursuant to this bill would mirror a federal rule-making database that is currently maintained on the Internet by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Office of Management and Budget in the Executive Office of the President.
