Source: https://www.cga.ct.gov/2013/sum/2013SUM00274-R02HB-06362-SUM.htm
Timestamp: 2017-09-24 06:58:05
Document Index: 131052288

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 12', '§ 1', '§ 1', '§ 1', '§ 3', '§ 4', '§ 1', '§ 5', '§ 6', '§ 9', '§ 9', '§ 11', '§ 26']

AN ACT CONCERNING THE TRANSPARENCY AND ACCESSIBILITY OF THE REGULATIONS OF CONNECTICUT STATE AGENCIES
PA 13-274—sHB 6362
SUMMARY: PA 12-92 required that, on and after July 1, 2013, state agency regulations be available to the public on the secretary of the state's and regulating agency's Internet websites, rather than published in the Connecticut Law Journal. It established the same requirement for notices of proposed regulations and their accompanying documents.
This act modifies several of the provisions in PA 12-92. It delays, from July 1, 2013 until a date no later than October 1, 2014, a requirement that online regulations posted by the secretary of the state be the “official version” of the regulations of state agencies for “all purposes, including all legal and administrative proceedings. ” It requires the Commission on Official Legal Publications (COLP) to continue publishing regulations in the Connecticut Law Journal until this time.
The act revises the requirements for selecting the Regulation Review Committee's co-chairpersons to conform law to current practice. It also requires that several manuals published by the Department of Social Services (DSS) be posted on the eRegulations System. Lastly, it repeals requirements, which were due to take effect on July 1, 2013, that agencies (1) post all manuals and guidance documents online and (2) post on their websites policies that are implemented before being adopted in regulation form (§ 12, effective upon passage).
§§ 1-4 & 8 — EREGULATIONS SYSTEM
§§ 1-2 & 8 — Official Version of State Agency Regulations
PA 12-92 required the secretary of the state, beginning July 1, 2013, to post online a compilation of all effective state agency regulations, including emergency regulations, adopted on and after October 27, 1970. It (1) required that the compilation be easily accessible to, and searchable by, the public and (2) designated it as the “official version” of the regulations of state agencies for “all purposes, including all legal and administrative proceedings. ”
§ 1 — Publication in the Connecticut Law Journal
Under prior law, COLP's publication of regulations in the Connecticut Law Journal was scheduled to cease on July 1, 2013. The act requires that, until the secretary certifies that the eRegulations System is ready to be the official version, (1) the secretary forward an electronic copy of each certified regulation to COLP and (2) COLP continue publishing regulations in the journal. Additionally, the act designates the COLP-published regulations as the official version until this time.
Under provisions in prior law that were repealed, effective July 1, 2013, by PA 12-92, COLP had to follow several requirements when publishing regulations. For example, it had to publish (1) in the Connecticut Law Journal, a monthly update of approved regulations and (2) a semiannual compilation of all adopted state agency regulations. A regulation or notice of a regulation's adoption also had to appear in the journal to be enforceable.
§ 3 — Notices of Proposed Regulations
Under PA 12-92, agencies had to, beginning July 1, 2013, (1) post on their websites notices of proposed regulations and regulation-related documents and (2) submit these notices and documents to the secretary of the state for posting on the online compilation. The act eliminates these requirements and instead requires agencies to post these notices and, on and after October 1, 2014, the regulation-related documents, on the eRegulations System. It thus delays, from July 1, 2013 until October 1, 2014, the requirement that the regulation-related documents be posted online.
§ 4 — Official Regulation-Making Record
The law requires agencies to create an official regulation-making record that includes, among other things, (1) the notice of intent to adopt regulations, (2) written analyses upon which the regulation is based, (3) submissions and comments received by the agency, and (4) official documents related to the regulation.
§ 1 — Hyperlink on Agency Websites
§§ 5-7 — REGULATION ADOPTION
§ 6 — Regulation Review Committee Co-Chairpersons
The act conforms law to current practice by revising the procedures for selecting the co-chairpersons of the Regulation Review Committee. It requires that (1) the committee's co-chairpersons be from different political parties; (2) the House chair and Senate chair alternate between political parties in successive terms; and (3) the co-chairpersons be appointed by either the Senate president pro tempore or minority leader, or the House speaker or minority leader, as appropriate. Prior law required the committee to elect its House and Senate co-chairpersons.
§§ 9-11 — DSS MANUALS AND POLICIES
§§ 9 & 10 — eRegulations Posting Requirements
The act eliminates, effective October 1, 2014, requirements that DSS (1) distribute its medical services and public assistance manuals to its regional and subregional offices, town halls, and legal assistance programs and (2) post the manuals and any updates to them on its website. It instead requires DSS to post these manuals and updates on the eRegulations System.
§ 11 — DSS Uniform Policy Manual
The act requires DSS to make technical and structural changes to its Uniform Policy Manual so that it conforms to the numbering, organization, form, and style of state agency regulations. The act allows DSS to make these changes without following the law's requirements concerning regulation-making proceedings.
PA 13-247 (§§ 26-36 & 388) makes identical changes concerning e-regulations.