(a) Whenever an agency is required by law to hold a public hearing as part of its rulemaking process, the agency shall:

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 4-5-203

  • Agency: means each state board, commission, committee, department, officer, or any other unit of state government authorized or required by any statute or constitutional provision to make rules or to determine contested cases. See Tennessee Code 4-5-102
  • Person: means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, governmental subdivision, or public or private organization of any character, including another agency. See Tennessee Code 4-5-102
  • Publication: means a posting of materials on the appropriate website by the secretary of state that have been submitted in accordance with this chapter or any other information for which the secretary of state is responsible. See Tennessee Code 4-5-102
  • Rule: includes the establishment of a fee and the amendment or repeal of a prior rule. See Tennessee Code 4-5-102
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
  • written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(1)

(A) Transmit written notice of the hearings to the secretary of state for publication in the notice section of the administrative register website and, if a statute applicable to the specific agency or a specific rule or class of rules under consideration requires some other form of publication, publish notice as required by that statute in addition to publication in the notice section of the administrative register website. Such notice of a hearing shall remain on the website until the date of such hearing;
(B) Whenever an agency is required by law to hold a public hearing as part of its rulemaking process, the agency shall make copies of the rule available in redline form to persons in attendance at the hearing. As used in this subsection (a), “redline form” has the same meaning as defined in § 4-5-226(i)(2)(B);
(2) Take such other steps as it deems necessary to convey effective notice to persons who are likely to have an interest in the rule being proposed.
(b) Except as otherwise permitted by § 4-5-204(e), notice through publication on the administrative register website shall be given at least forty-five (45) days prior to the date set for the hearing and shall be deemed to have been given seven (7) days from the date notice was transmitted to the secretary of state for such publication.
(c) The notice required under subdivision (a)(1)(A) shall include:

(1) A statement of the time and place at which the hearing is to be held;
(2)

(A) The express terms of the rule being proposed; provided, that an informative summary reasonably calculated to give notice to interested parties may be substituted for the express terms of the rule being proposed if:

(i) The express terms of the rule being proposed are filed with the secretary of state;
(ii) The secretary of state determines that publication of the entire text of the rule being proposed would be impractical; and
(iii) The complete text of the express terms of the rule being proposed is made available by the secretary of state or the agency for public inspection and copying;
(B) Nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude an agency from making changes in the rule being proposed after the public hearing, so long as the changes are within the scope of the rulemaking notice filed with the secretary of state;
(3) Insofar as practicable, a reference to the statutory authority pursuant to which the agency proposed to adopt the rule; and
(4) Any additional matter that may be prescribed by statute applicable to the specific rule or class of rules under consideration.
(d) Failure of any person to receive notice of a hearing on a rule being proposed is not grounds for invalidating the resulting rule if notice of the hearing was published as provided in subdivision (a)(1).
(e) The secretary of state shall prescribe rules governing the manner and form in which written notice of hearings shall be transmitted by the agencies to the secretary of state for publication in the notice section of the administrative register website. The secretary of state may require the online submission of notices of hearing and related filings pursuant to this part. The secretary of state may refuse to accept for publication any notice of hearing transmitted that does not conform to such requirements, in which case transmission of notice shall be deemed not to have been satisfied under subdivision (a)(1) and subsection (b).
(f)

(1) Except as provided in subdivision (f)(2), a hearing shall be conducted prior to the adoption of a permanent rule if such rule was filed previously as an emergency rule pursuant to § 4-5-208.
(2) A hearing shall not be required if the emergency rule was required by an agency of the federal government and adoption of the rule through ordinary rulemaking procedures might jeopardize the loss of a federal program or funds.
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