2023 Utah Code › Title 63N - Economic Opportunity Act › Chapter 16 - Utah Office of Regulatory Relief › Part 2 - General Regulatory Sandbox Program › Section 201 - General Regulatory Sandbox Program -- Application requirements.

Effective 5/4/2022
63N-16-201.
General Regulatory Sandbox Program -- Application requirements.
(1) There is created in the regulatory relief office the General Regulatory Sandbox Program.
(2) In administering the regulatory sandbox, the regulatory relief office:
(a) shall consult with each applicable agency;
(b) shall establish a program to enable a person to obtain legal protections and limited access to the market in the state to demonstrate an offering without obtaining a license or other authorization that might otherwise be required;
(c) may enter into agreements with or adopt the best practices of corresponding federal regulatory agencies or other states that are administering similar programs; and
(d) may consult with businesses in the state about existing or potential proposals for the regulatory sandbox.
(3)
(a) An applicant for the regulatory sandbox may contact the regulatory relief office to request a consultation regarding the regulatory sandbox before submitting an application.
(b) The regulatory relief office shall provide relevant information regarding the regulatory sandbox program.
(c) The regulatory relief office may provide assistance to an applicant in preparing an application for submission.
(4) An applicant for the regulatory sandbox shall provide to the regulatory relief office an application in a form prescribed by the regulatory relief office that:
(a) confirms the applicant is subject to the jurisdiction of the state;
(b) confirms the applicant has established a physical or virtual location in the state, from which the demonstration of an offering will be developed and performed and where all required records, documents, and data will be maintained;
(c) contains relevant personal and contact information for the applicant, including legal names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, website addresses, and other information required by the regulatory relief office;
(d) discloses criminal convictions of the applicant or other participating personnel, if any;
(e) contains a description of the offering to be demonstrated, including statements regarding:
(i) how the offering is subject to licensing, legal prohibition, or other authorization requirements outside of the regulatory sandbox;
(ii) each law or regulation that the applicant seeks to have waived or suspended while participating in the regulatory sandbox program;
(iii) how the offering would benefit consumers;
(iv) how the offering is different from other offerings available in the state;
(v) what risks might exist for consumers who use or purchase the offering;
(vi) how participating in the regulatory sandbox would enable a successful demonstration of the offering;
(vii) a description of the proposed demonstration plan, including estimated time periods for beginning and ending the demonstration;
(viii) recognition that the applicant will be subject to all laws and regulations pertaining to the applicant's offering after conclusion of the demonstration; and
(ix) how the applicant will end the demonstration and protect consumers if the demonstration fails;
(f) lists each government agency, if any, that the applicant knows regulates the applicant's business; and
(g) provides any other required information as determined by the regulatory relief office.
(5) The regulatory relief office may collect an application fee from an applicant that is set in accordance with Section 63J-1-504.
(6) An applicant shall file a separate application for each offering that the applicant wishes to demonstrate.
(7) After an application is filed, the regulatory relief office shall:
(a) classify, as a protected record, any part of the application that the office determines is nonpublic, confidential information that if disclosed would result in actual economic harm to the applicant in accordance with Subsection 63G-2-305(83);
(b) consult with each applicable government agency that regulates the applicant's business regarding whether more information is needed from the applicant; and
(c) seek additional information from the applicant that the regulatory relief office determines is necessary.
(8) No later than five business days after the day on which a complete application is received by the regulatory relief office, the regulatory relief office shall:
(a) review the application and refer the application to each applicable government agency that regulates the applicant's business;
(b) provide to the applicant:
(i) an acknowledgment of receipt of the application; and
(ii) the identity and contact information of each regulatory agency to which the application has been referred for review; and
(c) provide public notice, on the office's website and through other appropriate means, of each law or regulation that the office is considering to suspend or waive under the application.
(9)
(a) Subject to Subsections (9)(c) and (9)(g), no later than 30 days after the day on which an applicable agency receives a complete application for review, the applicable agency shall provide a written report to the director of the applicable agency's findings.
(b) The report shall:
(i) describe any identifiable, likely, and significant harm to the health, safety, or financial well-being of consumers that the relevant law or regulation protects against; and
(ii) make a recommendation to the regulatory relief office that the applicant either be admitted or denied entrance into the regulatory sandbox.
(c)
(i) The applicable agency may request an additional five business days to deliver the written report by providing notice to the director, which request shall automatically be granted.
(ii) The applicable agency may only request one extension per application.
(d) If the applicable agency recommends an applicant under this section be denied entrance into the regulatory sandbox, the written report shall include a description of the reasons for the recommendation, including why a temporary waiver or suspension of the relevant laws or regulations would potentially significantly harm the health, safety, or financial well-being of consumers or the public and the likelihood of such harm occurring.
(e) If the agency determines that the consumer's or public's health, safety, or financial well-being can be protected through less restrictive means than the existing relevant laws or regulations, then the applicable agency shall provide a recommendation of how that can be achieved.
(f) If an applicable agency fails to deliver a written report as described in this Subsection (9), the director shall assume that the applicable agency does not object to the temporary waiver or suspension of the relevant laws or regulations for an applicant seeking to participate in the regulatory sandbox.
(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an applicable agency may by written notice to the regulatory relief office:
(i) within the 30 days after the day on which the applicable agency receives a complete application for review, or within 35 days if an extension has been requested by the applicable agency, reject an application if the applicable agency determines, in the applicable agency's sole discretion, that the applicant's offering fails to comply with standards or specifications:
(A) required by federal law or regulation; or
(B) previously approved for use by a federal agency; or
(ii) reject an application preliminarily approved by the regulatory relief office, if the applicable agency:
(A) recommended rejection of the application in accordance with Subsection (9)(d) in the agency's written report; and
(B) provides in the written notice under this Subsection (9)(g), a description of the applicable agency's reasons why approval of the application would create a substantial risk of harm to the health or safety of the public, or create unreasonable expenses for taxpayers in the state.
(h) If an applicable agency rejects an application under Subsection (9)(g), the regulatory relief office may not approve the application.
(10)
(a) Upon receiving a written report described in Subsection (9), the director shall provide the application and the written report to the advisory committee.
(b) The director may call the advisory committee to meet as needed, but not less than once per quarter if applications are available for review.
(c) After receiving and reviewing the application and each written report, the advisory committee shall provide to the director the advisory committee's recommendation as to whether or not the applicant should be admitted as a sandbox participant under this chapter.
(d) As part of the advisory committee's review of each written report, the advisory committee shall use the criteria required for an applicable agency as described in Subsection (9).
(11)
(a) In reviewing an application and each applicable agency's written report, the regulatory relief office shall consult with each applicable agency and the advisory committee before admitting an applicant into the regulatory sandbox.
(b) The consultation with each applicable agency and the consultation with the advisory committee may include seeking information about whether:
(i) the applicable agency has previously issued a license or other authorization to the applicant; and
(ii) the applicable agency has previously investigated, sanctioned, or pursued legal action against the applicant.
(12) In reviewing an application under this section, the regulatory relief office and each applicable agency shall consider whether a competitor to the applicant is or has been a sandbox participant and, if so, weigh that as a factor in favor of allowing the applicant to also become a sandbox participant.
(13) In reviewing an application under this section, the regulatory relief office shall consider whether:
(a) the applicant's plan will adequately protect consumers from potential harm identified by an applicable agency in the applicable agency's written report;
(b) the risk of harm to consumers is outweighed by the potential benefits to consumers from the applicant's participation in the regulatory sandbox; and
(c) certain state laws or regulations that regulate an offering should not be waived or suspended even if the applicant is approved as a sandbox participant, including applicable antifraud or disclosure provisions.
(14)
(a) An applicant becomes a sandbox participant if the regulatory relief office approves the application for the regulatory sandbox and enters into a written agreement with the applicant describing the specific laws and regulations that are waived or suspended as part of participation in the regulatory sandbox.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the regulatory relief office may not enter into a written agreement with an applicant that waives or suspends a tax, fee, or charge that is administered by the State Tax Commission or that is described in Title 59, Revenue and Taxation.
(15)
(a) The director may deny at the director's sole discretion any application submitted under this section for any reason, including if the director determines that the preponderance of evidence demonstrates that suspending or waiving enforcement of a law or regulation would cause a significant risk of harm to consumers or residents of the state.
(b) If the director denies an application submitted under this section, the regulatory relief office shall provide to the applicant a written description of the reasons for not allowing the applicant to be a sandbox participant.
(c) The denial of an application submitted under this section is not subject to:
(i) agency or judicial review; or
(ii) the provisions of Title 63G, Chapter 4, Administrative Procedures Act.
(16) The director shall deny an application for participation in the regulatory sandbox described by this section if the applicant or any person who seeks to participate with the applicant in demonstrating an offering has been convicted, entered a plea of nolo contendere, or entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere held in abeyance, for any crime involving significant theft, fraud, or dishonesty if the crime bears a significant relationship to the applicant's or other participant's ability to safely and competently participate in the regulatory sandbox program.
(17)
(a) When an applicant is approved for participation in the regulatory sandbox, the director shall provide public notice of the approval on the office's website and through other appropriate means.
(b) The public notice described in Subsection (17)(a) shall state:
(i) the name of the sandbox participant;
(ii) the industries the sandbox participant represents; and
(iii) each law or regulation that is suspended or waived for the sandbox participant as allowed by the regulatory sandbox.
(18) In addition to the information described in Subsection (17), the office shall make the following information available on the office's website and through other appropriate means:
(a) documentation regarding the office's determination and grounds for approving each sandbox participant; and
(b) public notice regarding any sandbox participant's revocation to participate in the regulatory sandbox.
Amended by Chapter 332, 2022 General Session