Opinion ID: 2002356
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Concise Statement of Principal Reasons.

Text: Iowa Code section 17A.4(1)(b) provides that before adoption, amendment, or repeal of any rule: If requested to do so by an interested person, either prior to adoption or within thirty days thereafter, the agency shall issue a concise statement of the principal reasons for and against the rule it adopted, incorporating therein the reasons for overruling considerations urged against the rule. District court interpreted this provision as requiring promulgation of a concise statement at the time a rule is adopted, when a request is made under section 17A.4(1)(b) before adoption. At the threshold we note comparable provisions in both the federal APA and the Model State APA differ from Iowa Code section 17A.4(1)(b). See 5 U.S.C.A. § 553(c) (West 1977) (agency shall incorporate in the rules adopted a concise general statement); Model State Administrative Procedure Act § 3, 14 U.L.A. 387 (1980) (Upon adoption of a rule, the agency, if requested... shall issue a concise statement....). Cases decided by federal courts, and courts in states whose administrative procedure acts mirror the Model APA on this point, therefore possess limited value in interpreting our statute. Camputaro v. Stuart Hardwood Corp., 180 Conn. 545, 551, 429 A.2d 796, 799 (1980); State ex rel. Edmisten v. J.C. Penney Co., 292 N.C. 311, 315-16, 233 S.E.2d 895, 898-99 (1977); Rish v. Theo Bros. Construction Co., 269 S.C. 226, 232, 237 S.E.2d 61, 63 (1977). Both the Model APA and the federal APA were considered during drafting of the IAPA, A. Bonfield, supra, at 750-51, yet the specific time constraints included in these acts were not incorporated in the IAPA. Iowa Code § 17A.4(1)(b). We refuse to read into our statute a meaning not expressed therein, Cedar Rapids Steel Transportation, Inc., 160 N.W.2d at 830, in particular where the statute adopted fails to incorporate language from legislation upon which it is based. Cf. Iowa State Education AssociationIowa Higher Education Association v. Public Employment Relations Board, 269 N.W.2d 446, 448 (Iowa 1978); Chelsea Theater Corp. v. City of Burlington, 258 N.W.2d 372, 374 (Iowa 1977) (striking of provision before enactment indicates statute should not be construed to include it). Our conclusion finds support in the legislature's incorporation of specific time constraints in other parts of the IAPA, notably the rule-making procedure under section 17A.4. See, e.g., Iowa Code §§ 17A.4(1)(a) (notice of rule-making intent required thirty-five days in advance); 17A.4(1)(b) (adoption of rule or termination of proceedings not later than 180 days after later of notice or last oral presentation); 17A.4(1)(c) (economic impact estimate due fifteen days before adoption, amendment, or repeal of rule). Had the legislature intended a specific time constraint to apply here, we think it would have included one. Trabue v. State, 164 Ind.App. 409, 411-12, 328 N.E.2d 743, 744 (1975) (per curiam); In re Adoption of Voss, 550 P.2d 481, 485 (Wyo.1976); see North Iowa Steel Co. v. Staley, 253 Iowa 355, 357, 112 N.W.2d 364, 365 (1961) ([L]egislative intent is expressed by omission as well as by inclusion.); 2A C. Sands, Sutherland Statutory Construction § 47.23 (4th ed. 1973). Section 17A.4(1)(b) allows an interested party to request a concise statement of principal reasons at any time up to thirty days after adoption. District court's interpretation of the statute necessitates formulation of a second timeliness standard, similarly unsupported by the statutory language, to apply when a request is made after adoption. We are unwilling to approve such a strained construction. Beier Glass Co. v. Brundige, 329 N.W.2d 280, 283 (Iowa 1983); Iowa Beef Processors, Inc. v. Miller, 312 N.W.2d 530, 532 (Iowa 1981). The association argues imposition of a specific time constraint is necessary to ensure a concise statement is available to facilitate judicial review. Although we agree a concise statement is useful during review to gauge whether the agency failed to fully consider all submissions, A. Bonfield, supra, at 856, we think the primary purpose of section 17A.4(1)(b) is simply to encourage the agency to do so. See id.; Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc. v. Environmental Quality Council, 590 P.2d 1324, 1330 (Wyo.1979); Model State Administrative Procedure Act § 3 comment, 14 U.L.A. 388 (1980). Had the legislature deemed a concise statement crucial to judicial review, it would have rendered issuance mandatory, see 5 U.S.C.A. § 553(c), rather than merely operative upon demand. See Iowa Code § 17A.4(1)(b). We hold Iowa Code section 17A.4(1)(b) is not subject to a specific time constraint when a request is filed prior to adoption of administrative rules.