536.021. Rules, procedure for making, amending or rescinding--notice of--rules effective when, exception--effective date to be printed in code of state regulations--failure of agencies to promulgate a
Rules, procedure for making, amending or rescinding--notice of--ruleseffective when, exception--effective date to be printed in code ofstate regulations--failure of agencies to promulgate a requiredrule--effect--exception--letter ruling authorized for departmentof revenue, effect.
536.021. 1. No rule shall hereafter be proposed, adopted, amended orrescinded by any state agency unless such agency shall first file with thesecretary of state a notice of proposed rulemaking and a subsequent finalorder of rulemaking, both of which shall be published in the MissouriRegister by the secretary of state as soon as practicable after the filingthereof in that office; except that a notice of proposed rulemaking is notrequired for the establishment of hunting or fishing seasons and limits orfor the establishment of state program plans required under federaleducation acts or regulations. The secretary of state shall not publishany proposed rulemaking or final order of rulemaking that has not fullycomplied with the provisions of section 536.024 or an executive order,whichever appropriately applies. If the joint committee on administrativerules disapproves any proposed order of rulemaking, final order ofrulemaking or portion thereof, the committee shall report its finding tothe house of representatives and the senate. No proposed order ofrulemaking, final order of rulemaking or portion thereof shall take effect,or be published by the secretary of state, so long as the general assemblyshall disapprove such by concurrent resolution pursuant to article IV,section 8 within thirty legislative days occurring during the same regularsession of the general assembly. The secretary of state shall not publishany order, or portion thereof, that is the subject of a concurrentresolution until the expiration of time necessary to comply with theprovisions of article III, section 32.
2. A notice of proposed rulemaking shall contain:
(1) An explanation of any proposed rule or any change in an existingrule, and the reasons therefor;
(2) The legal authority upon which the proposed rule is based;
(3) The text of the entire proposed rule or the entire text of anyaffected section or subsection of an existing rule which is proposed to beamended, with all new matter printed in boldface type and with all deletedmatter placed in brackets, except that when a proposed rule consists ofmaterial so extensive that the publication thereof would be undulycumbersome or expensive, the secretary of state need publish only a summaryand description of the substance of the proposed rule so long as a completecopy of the rule is made immediately available to any interested personupon application to the adopting state agency at a cost not to exceed theactual cost of reproduction. A proposed rule may incorporate by referenceonly if the material so incorporated is retained at the headquarters of thestate agency and made available to any interested person at a cost not toexceed the actual cost of the reproduction of a copy. When a proposedamendment to an existing rule is to correct a typographical or printingerror, or merely to make a technical change not affecting substantivematters, the amendment may be described in general terms without reprintingthe entire existing rule, section or subsection;
(4) The number and general subject matter of any existing ruleproposed to be rescinded;
(5) Notice that anyone may file a statement in support of or inopposition to the proposed rulemaking at a specified place and within aspecified time not less than thirty days after publication of the notice ofproposed rulemaking in the Missouri Register; and
(6) Notice of the time and place of a hearing on the proposedrulemaking if a hearing is ordered, which hearing shall be not less thanthirty days after publication of the notice of proposed rulemaking in theMissouri Register; or a statement that no hearing has been ordered if suchis the case.
3. Any state agency issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking may ordera hearing thereon, but no such hearing shall be necessary unless otherwiserequired by law.
4. Any state agency which has issued in the Missouri Register anotice of proposed rulemaking to be made without a hearing, but whichthereafter concludes that a hearing is desirable, shall withdraw theearlier notice and file a new notice of proposed rulemaking which fullycomplies with the provisions of subdivision (6) of subsection 2 of thissection, and the state agency shall not schedule the hearing for a timeless than thirty days following the publication of the new notice.
5. Within ninety days after the expiration of the time for filingstatements in support of or in opposition to the proposed rulemaking, orwithin ninety days after the hearing on such proposed rulemaking if ahearing is held thereon, the state agency proposing the rule shall filewith the secretary of state a final order of rulemaking either adopting theproposed rule, with or without further changes, or withdrawing the proposedrule, which order of rulemaking shall be published in the MissouriRegister. Such ninety days shall be tolled for the time period any rule isheld under abeyance pursuant to an executive order. If the state agencyfails to file the order of rulemaking as indicated in this subsection, theproposed rule shall lapse and shall be null, void and unenforceable.
6. The final order of rulemaking shall contain:
(1) Reference to the date and page or pages where the notice ofproposed rulemaking was published in the Missouri Register;
(2) An explanation of any change between the text of the rule ascontained in the notice of proposed rulemaking and the text of the rule asfinally adopted, together with the reason for any such change;
(3) The full text of any section or subsection of the rule as adoptedwhich has been changed from that contained in the notice of proposedrulemaking;
(4) A brief summary of the general nature and extent of commentssubmitted in support of or in opposition to the proposed rule and a concisesummary of the testimony presented at the hearing, if any, held inconnection with said rulemaking, together with a concise summary of thestate agency's findings with respect to the merits of any such testimony orcomments which are opposed in whole or in part to the proposed rule; and
(5) The legal authority upon which the order of rulemaking is based.
7. Except as provided in section 536.025, any rule, or amendment orrescission thereof, shall be null, void and unenforceable unless made inaccordance with the provisions of this section.
8. Except as provided in subsection 1 of this section and subsection4 of section 536.031, after the final order of rulemaking has beenpublished in the Missouri Register, the text of the entire rule shall bepublished in full in the Missouri code of state regulations. No rule,except an emergency rule, shall become effective prior to the thirtieth dayafter the date of publication of the revision to the Missouri code of stateregulations. The secretary of state shall distribute revisions of theMissouri code of state regulations to all subscribers of the Missouri codeof state regulations on or before the date of publication of such revision.The publication date of each rule shall be printed below the rule in theMissouri code of state regulations, provided further, that rules pertainingto changes in hunting or fishing seasons and limits that must comply withfederal requirements or that are necessary because of documented changes infish and game populations may become effective no earlier than on the tenthday after the filing of the final order of rulemaking.
9. If it is found in a contested case by an administrative orjudicial fact finder that a state agency's action was based upon astatement of general applicability which should have been adopted as arule, as required by sections 536.010 to 536.050, and that agency was puton notice in writing of such deficiency prior to the administrative orjudicial hearing on such matter, then the administrative or judicial factfinder shall award the prevailing nonstate agency party its reasonableattorney's fees incurred prior to the award, not to exceed the amount incontroversy in the original action. This award shall constitute areviewable order. If a state agency in a contested case grants the reliefsought by the nonstate party prior to a finding by an administrative orjudicial fact finder that the agency's action was based on a statement ofgeneral applicability which should have been adopted as a rule, but wasnot, then the affected party may bring an action in the circuit court ofCole County for the nonstate party's reasonable attorney's fees incurredprior to the relief being granted, not to exceed the amount in controversyin the original action.
10. The actions authorized by subsection 9 of this section shall notapply to the department of revenue if that department implements theauthorization hereby granted to the director or the director's dulyauthorized agents to issue letter rulings which shall bind the director orthe director's agents and their successors for a minimum of three years,subject to the terms and conditions set forth in properly publishedregulations. An unfavorable letter ruling shall not bind the applicant andshall not be appealable to any forum. Subject to appropriations, letterrulings shall be published periodically with information identifying thetaxpayer deleted. For the purposes of this subsection, the term "letterruling" means a written interpretation of law by the director to a specificset of facts provided by a nonstate party.
(L. 1975 S.B. 58 § 536.020, A.L. 1976 S.B. 478, A.L. 1989 H.B. 143, A.L. 1992 H.B. 1849, A.L. 1993 S.B. 347, A.L. 1994 S.B. 558, A.L. 1997 H.B. 850, A.L. 2004 H.B. 1616 merged with S.B. 1100)