2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVIII - Prisons, Imprisonment, Paroles and Pardons › Chapter 127 - Officers and Inmates of Penal and Reformatory Institutions. Paroles and Pardons › Section 151h - Rulemaking; Authority and Procedure

Section 151H. (a) The interstate commission shall promulgate rules in order to effectively and efficiently achieve the purposes of the compact including transition rules governing administration of the compact during the period in which it is being considered and enacted by the states.
(b) Rulemaking shall occur pursuant to the criteria set forth in this section and the by-laws and rules adopted pursuant thereto. Such rulemaking shall substantially conform to the principles of the federal Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C.S. section 551 et seq., and the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C.S. app. 2, section 1 et seq., as may be amended.
(c) All rules and amendments shall become binding as of the date specified in each rule or amendment.
(d) If a majority of the legislatures of the compacting states rejects a rule, by enactment of a statute or resolution in the same manner used to adopt the compact, then such rule shall have no further force and effect in any compacting state.
(e) When promulgating a rule, the interstate commission shall:—
(1) publish the proposed rule stating with particularity the text of the rule which is proposed and the reason for the proposed rule;
(2) allow persons to submit written data, facts, opinions and arguments, which information shall be publicly available;
(3) provide an opportunity for an informal hearing; and
(4) promulgate a final rule and its effective date, if appropriate, based on the rulemaking record.
Not later than 60 days after a rule is promulgated, any interested person may file a petition in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia or in the Federal District Court where the interstate commission's principal office is located for judicial review of such rule. If the court finds that the interstate commission's action is not supported by substantial evidence, as defined in the Administrative Procedure Act, in the rulemaking record, the court shall hold the rule unlawful and set it aside.
(f) Subjects to be addressed within 12 months after the first meeting shall, at a minimum, include:—
(1) notice to victims and opportunity to be heard;
(2) offender registration and compliance;
(3) violations or returns;
(4) transfer procedures and forms;
(5) eligibility for transfer;
(6) collection of restitution and fees from offenders;
(7) data collection and reporting;
(8) the level of supervision to be provided by the receiving state;
(9) transition rules governing the operation of the compact and the interstate commission during all or part of the period between the effective date of the compact and the date on which the last eligible state adopts the compact; and
(10) mediation, arbitration and dispute resolution.
(g) The existing rules governing the operation of the previous compact superceded by this chapter shall be null and void 12 months after the first meeting of the interstate commission created hereunder.
(h) Upon determination by the interstate commission that an emergency exists, it may promulgate an emergency rule which shall become effective immediately upon adoption, provided that the usual rulemaking procedures provided hereunder shall be retroactively applied to said rule as soon as reasonably possible, but in no event later than 90 days after the effective date of the rule.