Opinion ID: 2543807
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Effect of Law

Text: As alluded to above, the language initially used by the Commissioner to deny approval of ATA's policy in the Commissioner's July 6, 1995, letter shows the bulletins have the effect of law: Since it is clear from the aforementioned statement that your company will not comply with the criteria outlined in Bulletin 1993-12, this department does not consider your policy as a form of stop loss insurance, thus we are not in a position to approve the captioned policy for issuance in the state of Kansas. (Emphasis added.) In arguing the applicability of Bruns, the Commissioner stresses how the rule or regulation here is not a secret internal document. True, in Bruns we were concerned with the public policy rational of the statute, i.e. the desire to make information available to the public to guide the public through the maze of state governmental regulation. While we recognize the widely distributed nature of the bulletins here, we do not believe a widely distributed bulletin is a valid substitute for a properly promulgated rule or regulation under K.S.A. 77-415 et seq. The fact remains the Commissioner has failed to follow the prescribed steps of promulgating policy. The Commissioner would have us adopt an exception to K.S.A. 77-415 for rules and regulations that are otherwise widely distributed. There is no authority for such an exception. Furthermore, to create one now would require courts to decide in future cases the standard for the exception, whereas now there is clear statutory guidance on how to promulgate rules and regulations. The Commissioner's argument is rejected.