- What is a regular
rulemaking?
- What is the Department's
regular rulemaking process?
- What is an exempt
rulemaking?
- How do I know which
rules are being considered for rulemaking by the Department?
- Where can I obtain a
copy of a proposed rulemaking?
- How can I get
information about a proposed rulemaking or provide information or comments
about a proposed rulemaking?
- How long does it take
the Department to complete a regular rulemaking?
- When do regular rules
become effective?
- What can I do if I think
the Department should change one of its existing rules?
- What
is the difference between a five-year-review report and a rulemaking?
- How do I locate a
specific Arizona State statute online?
- How do I locate a
specific Arizona State rule online?
- How do I locate a
previous version of an Arizona rule?
- How do I locate another
state's rules and regulations?
- Who do I contact if I
have questions about what a rule requires and how it applies to me or my
business?
- What is a regular
rulemaking?
A regular rulemaking is one that is required to conform to all the requirements in the Arizona
Administrative Procedure Act in Arizona Revised Statute (A.R.S.) Title 41, Chapter 6.
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- What is the Department's
regular
rulemaking process?
The Department explains the two phases of regular rulemaking on its website at www.azdhs.gov/diro/admin_rules/phases.htm.
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- What is an exempt
rulemaking?
An exempt rulemaking is a rulemaking that is promulgated pursuant to a
statutory exemption from the Administrative Procedure Act in Arizona
Revised Statute (A.R.S.) Title 41,
Chapter 6. Generally, rules can be promulgated under the exempt
rulemaking process faster than they can be promulgated under the process
required in Title 41, Chapter 6. Many exempt rulemakings are granted
for specific periods of time. Additionally, the Legislature may
grant different types of exemptions. For instance, the Legislature
may exempt the Department from the Title 41, Chapter 6 requirements but
require the Department to submit proposed rules to the Secretary of State
for publication and hold a hearing about the proposed rules before the
rules are finalized. Usually, an agency that is given a Title 41,
Chapter 6 exemption is not required to obtain approval from the Governor's
Regulatory Review Council. Regardless of the type of exemption, the
Department is always required to file a Notice of Exempt Rulemaking with
the Secretary of State.
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- How do I know which
rules are being considered for rulemaking by the Department?
There are three ways to find out which rules are being considered for rulemaking.
First, pursuant to A.R.S. § 41-1021.02, by December 1 of each year, the Department is required to make available to the public the regulatory agenda that the Department expects to follow during the next calendar year. The Department publishes its regulatory agenda at
www.azdhs.gov/diro/admin_rules/agency_agenda.htm.
Second, when the Department begins drafting rules it must submit a Notice of Rulemaking Docket Opening to the Secretary of State for publication in the
Arizona Administrative Register. The purpose of this notice is to inform the public that the Department will begin drafting rules and identify the
person(s) with whom persons may communicate regarding the rules.
Third, the Department publishes a list of rulemaking docket openings at www.azdhs.gov/diro/admin_rules/docket.htm.
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- Where can I obtain a
copy of a proposed rulemaking?
How you go about obtaining a copy of a proposed rulemaking depends on
which phase the rulemaking is in. If the rulemaking is in phase one
(which is the drafting stage), the Department may publish draft rules on
its website under the heading of Phase One Rulemakings.
Generally, draft rules are published on the website to allow for public
input. If the rulemaking is in phase two, the Department files a
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking with the Secretary of State for publication
in the Arizona Administrative Register. A listing of proposed
rulemakings may be obtained on the Department's website at www.azdhs.gov/diro/admin_rules/proposed.htm.
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- How can I get
information about a proposed rulemaking or provide information or comments
about a proposed rulemaking?
Where you get information, or provide information or comments, depends on what phase the rulemaking is in. If the rulemaking is in phase two, a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking has been filed with the Secretary of State that contains the names of persons to contact for information about the rulemaking or to provide comments about the rulemaking. A listing of Proposed Rulemakings may be found on this website at www.azdhs.gov/diro/admin_rules/proposed.htm.
If you cannot find a rulemaking in the listing of proposed rulemakings,
the rulemaking may be in phase one.
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- How long does it take
the Department to complete a regular rulemaking?
The time it takes to complete a regular rulemaking depends on how long it takes to draft the language of the rules (complete phase one) and proceed through the formal process described in phase two.
Factors affecting the time spent in phase one include the number of rules that are being drafted and the extent of public participation in the rulemaking. When a rulemaking calls for extensive public participation, the Department may form a working group, representing different types of persons with an interest in the rules, that provides input into the subject matter of the rules. When this occurs, the Department may be in phase one for one or more years before proceeding to phase two.
If the Department obtains an immediate effective date (see number 8 below for explanation of
effective date), the minimum amount of time for a rulemaking to proceed through phase two is four months. This time-frame can be met only when the rulemaking proceeds through the system without any glitches such as controversial comments made during the public comment period.
It is more common for a rulemaking to take six to nine months to pass through phase two.
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- When do regular rules
become effective?
Regular rules must be approved by the Governor’s Regulatory Review Council (GRRC) at a monthly GRRC meeting.
After approval GRRC submits the rule to the Secretary of State for publication. When the rules become effective depends on whether the Department requested an immediate effective date in the rulemaking.
If the rules are approved by GRRC with an immediate effective date, the rules become effective when they are submitted to the Secretary of State, usually within a day or two of the date of the GRRC meeting.
If the Department did not request an immediate effective date, the rules become effective 60 days after the date they are submitted to the Secretary of State for publication.
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- What can I do if I
think the Department should change one of its existing rules?
The Office of Administrative Counsel and Rules (OACR) will always accept comments related to the Department's rules. The contact information for OACR is provided on this website. You also have the following opportunities for providing your comments to the Department:
When the Department has published a Notice of
Rulemaking Docket Opening and has
not yet proposed rules:
You can send your written suggestion for the rule change to one of the
individuals listed under item 4 of the Notice of Rulemaking Docket
Opening. The Department's Notices of Rulemaking Docket Openings can be found on this website at
www.azdhs.gov/diro/admin_rules/docket.htm. Your suggestion will not be part of the official rulemaking record, but
will be considered by the Department in making the rules.
When the Department has made proposed rules:
You can submit written comments on the proposed rules to one of the
individuals listed under item 4 in the Preamble of the Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking. If the Department has scheduled an oral proceeding on
the proposed rules for a future date, you can also submit oral comments at
the oral proceeding. If you provide oral comments at an oral
proceeding or submit written comments before the close of record, your
comments will become part of the official rulemaking record. The
Department's Notices of Proposed Rulemaking can be found on this website
at www.azdhs.gov/diro/admin_rules/proposed.htm.
When the close of record for a proposed
rulemaking has passed: You can contact OACR at (602) 542-1020 to find out where the Department is in the rulemaking process. If a Notice of Final Rulemaking has already been approved by the Governor's Regulatory Review Council (GRRC), the rulemaking process is complete, and you can follow the guidance in the paragraph below for when the Department is not currently involved in rulemaking. Regardless of where the Department is in the rulemaking process, the Department will always accept comments related to the Department's rules. The Department encourages anyone who believes that a Department rule should be changed to contact OACR to express their concerns.
When the Department is not currently involved in
rulemaking for a rule that you think should be changed:
The Department encourages you to contact OACR to
express your concerns. You may do this informally by telephone or in
writing or formally by submitting a written petition for a rule under
A.R.S. § 41-1033. A petition for a rule must meet the requirements
of Department rule A.A.C. R9-1-203, which may be found on the Arizona
Secretary of State's website at www.azsos.gov.
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- What
is the difference between a five-year-review report and a rulemaking?
A five-year-review
report analyzes an agency's rules to determine whether rulemaking is
necessary, but does not directly change any rules. The Department is
required by A.R.S. § 41-1056 to review its rules at least once every five
years to determine whether the rules should be amended or repealed.
The Governor's Regulatory Review Council (GRRC) has established a schedule
that specifies the month and year each agency's five-year-review reports
(report) are due to GRRC for approval. If a report is not submitted
to GRRC by the GRRC due date, the rules expire and cannot be enforced by
the Department.
Rulemaking is the process by which the Department creates new rules or
changes existing rules. The processes for conducting a
five-year-review and a rulemaking are entirely separate. The
Department does not make new rules in the five-year-review report.
The Department may, but rarely does, conduct a rulemaking simultaneously
with a five-year-review. If the Department determines that current
rules should be amended or repealed, the Department conducts a rulemaking
according to the proposed course of action stated in the five-year-review
report.
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- How do I locate a
specific Arizona State statute online?
To locate a specific statute online, go to the Arizona State Legislature
website (www.azleg.state.az.us).
From the left of the Legislature's homepage, select the link in blue lettering under “General Information” that reads "Arizona Revised Statutes." Next, scroll down and select a Title to search in. Select the link for the Title number that corresponds to the number(s) located to the left of the dash in your statutory citation. (For instance, if you are looking for A.R.S. § 36-551, click on the link for "Title 36.") The left hand column of the following page will list all the statutes for the selected Title in numeric order. Simply scroll down and select the link for the specific statute you are looking for to see its text.
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- How do I locate a
specific Arizona State rule online?
To locate a specific rule online, go the Arizona Secretary of State
website (www.azsos.gov). On the left side of the Secretary of State's homepage, scroll down and select the link for “Publications.” Then select “Administrative Code Online." Then scroll down to find the correct Title number that corresponds to the number(s) located directly to the right of the letter "R" in your rule citation. (For instance, if you are looking for A.A.C. R9-10-101, you are looking for Title 9.) After that, scroll down to the Chapter number that corresponds to the number(s) located between the two hyphens in your rule citation. (Using the previous example, you would be looking for Chapter 10.) Select the PDF (Portable Document Format) link to see the online version of the rules that most closely resembles the layout published in the Arizona Administrative Code. Finally, scroll down to where your rule is located in numeric order to see its text.
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- How do I locate a
previous version of an Arizona rule?
To locate a previous version of an Arizona Administrative Code
rule, contact the Secretary of State's office at (602) 364-3226 or (602)
364-3223 or the Arizona State Library, Law and Research Library Division
at (602) 542-5297.
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- How do I locate
another state's rules and regulations?
To locate another state's rules and regulations, visit the Administrative Code and Registers Section of the National Association of Secretaries of State's website at www.administrativerules.org.
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- Who do I contact if I
have questions about what a rule requires and how it applies to me or my
business?
There are two sources you can contact if you have questions about what a
rule requires. The first source is the program that is responsible
for overseeing the rule in question. The program is a group of
individuals designated by the Department to carry out a function or series
of functions for which the Department is responsible. Program staff
can assist you in understanding a rule's requirements and can provide
guidance regarding what you must do to comply with the rule. If you
do not know which program to contact, you may go to the Department's home
page at www.azdhs.gov where you
can find links to the Department's various programs and services.
You can also find contact information at www.azdhs.gov/division.htm.
Another source of information is the Office of Administrative Counsel and Rules (OACR), which may be able to provide information about the rule promulgation process. OACR usually cannot apply the rule to your particular situation and cannot provide legal advice related to the rule. To contact OACR, please call (602) 542-1020.
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