Bill > A232

Introduced Session

This bill revises the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) (APA) to add specific requirements for the socio-economic impact statement required as part of the rule-making process. The APA, enacted in 1968, establishes the procedures that agencies in the Executive branch of State government must follow when exercising their authority to adopt rules and regulations. This bill expands the requirements for the description of the expected socio-economic impact of a proposed rule-making by requiring State agencies to obtain, for inclusion in the publication of the rule proposal in the New Jersey Register, a socio-economic impact description of the proposed rule from the regulated community. Under this bill, a State agency, prior to submitting a proposed rule to the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) for publication in the New Jersey Register, would be required to contact one representative of the segment of the public proposed to be regulated by the rule (i.e., the regulated community), provide that representative with a written copy of the proposed rule, and provide the opportunity for the representative to prepare a description of the socio-economic impact of the proposed rule. The agency would select the regulated community representative from among those interested persons associated with the segment of the public proposed to be regulated by the rule who have provided substantial written submissions to the agency on previous rules proposals on similar subject matter. Upon receipt of the socio-economic impact description of the proposed rule, the agency would be required to include, in full, that description in the proposed rule submitted to the OAL for publication in the New Jersey Register. The bill provides that the OAL may require payment by the regulated community representative preparing the socio-economic impact description in an amount sufficient to cover the proportional costs of printing and distributing the New Jersey Register attributable to the publication of that description. An agency would not be required to include a socio-economic impact description prepared by a representative of the regulated community if the agency finds that the proposed rule would impose an insignificant impact, either because the scope of the regulation is minimal, or there is an extreme unlikelihood that the regulation would evoke a socio-economic impact. In this case, the agency's finding and an indication of the basis for its finding are required to be included in the notice of a proposed rule published by OAL.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Dawn Fantasia (R)*,  Michael Inganamort (R)*, 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Oversight, Reform and Federal Relations Committee (on 01/09/2024)

Official Document