Rhode Island General Laws 42-35-2.8. Public participation
(a) An agency proposing a rule shall specify a public-comment period of at least thirty (30) days after publication of notice of the proposed rulemaking, during which a person may submit information and comment on the proposed rule. The information or comment may be submitted in an electronic or written format. The agency shall consider all information and comments on a proposed rule which is submitted pursuant to this subsection within the comment period.
Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 42-35-2.8
- agency: means a state agency, authority, board, bureau, commission, department, district, division, institution, office, officer, quasi-public agency, or other political subdivisions created by the general assembly or the governor, other than the legislature or the judiciary, that is authorized by law of this state to make rules or to determine contested cases. See Rhode Island General Laws 42-35-1
- Agency head: means the individual in whom, or one or more members of the body of individuals in which, the ultimate legal authority of an agency is vested. See Rhode Island General Laws 42-35-1
- Electronic: means relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities. See Rhode Island General Laws 42-35-1
- Person: means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, the department of environmental management, governmental subdivision, or public or private organization of any character other than an agency. See Rhode Island General Laws 42-35-1
- Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form. See Rhode Island General Laws 42-35-1
- Rule: means the whole or a part of an agency statement of general applicability that implements, interprets, or prescribes law or policy or the organization, procedure, or practice requirements of an agency and has the force of law. See Rhode Island General Laws 42-35-1
- Website: means a website on the internet or other similar technology or successor technology that permits the public to search a database that archives materials required to be published or exhibited by the secretary of state or an agency under this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 42-35-1
(b) An agency may consider any other information it receives concerning a proposed rule during the public-comment period. Any information considered by the agency must be incorporated into the record under § 42-35-2.3. The information need not be submitted in an electronic or written format. Nothing in this section prohibits an agency from discussing with any person at any time the subject of a proposed rule.
(c) Unless a hearing is required by law of this state other than this chapter, an agency is not required to hold a hearing on a proposed rule but may do so. Opportunity for a hearing must be granted if a request is received by twenty-five (25) persons, or by a governmental agency, or by an association having not less than twenty-five (25) members, within ten (10) days of a notice posted in accordance with subsection (a). A hearing must be open to the public, recorded, and held at least five (5) days before the end of the public-comment period.
(d) A hearing on a proposed rule may not be held earlier than ten (10) days after notice of its location, date, and time is published on the secretary of state’s website.
(e) An agency representative shall preside over a hearing on a proposed rule. If the representative is not the agency head, the representative shall prepare a memorandum summarizing the contents of the presentations made at the hearing for consideration by the agency head.
History of Section.
P.L. 2016, ch. 203, § 3; P.L. 2016, ch. 206, § 3.