State Codes and Statutes
Statutes > Connecticut > Title4 > Chap054 > Sec4-168Sec. 4-168. Notice prior to action on regulations. Fiscal notes. Hearings. Adoption procedure. Emergency regulations. Technical amendments. (a) Except as provided in subsection (g) of this section, an agency, prior to adopting a proposed regulation, shall: (1) Give at least thirty days' notice by publication in the Connecticut Law Journal of its intended action. The notice shall include (A) either a statement of the terms or of the substance of the proposed regulation or a description sufficiently detailed so as to apprise persons likely to be affected of the issues and subjects involved in the proposed regulation, (B) a statement of the purposes for which the regulation is proposed, (C) a reference to the statutory authority for the proposed regulation, and (D) when, where and how interested persons may present their views on the proposed regulation; (2) give notice by mail to each joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of the subject matter of the proposed regulation; (3) give notice by mail to all persons who have made requests to the agency for advance notice of its regulation-making proceedings. The agency may charge a reasonable fee for such notice based on the estimated cost of providing the service; (4) provide a copy of the proposed regulation to persons requesting it. The agency may charge a reasonable fee for copies in accordance with the provisions of section 1-212; (5) following publication of the notice in the Connecticut Law Journal, prepare a fiscal note, including (A) an estimate of the cost or of the revenue impact on the state or any municipality of the state, and (B) if applicable, the regulatory flexibility analysis prepared under section 4-168a. The governing body of any municipality, if requested, shall provide the agency, within twenty working days, with any information that may be necessary for analysis in preparation of such fiscal note; (6) afford all interested persons reasonable opportunity to submit data, views or arguments, orally at a hearing granted under subdivision (7) of this subsection or in writing, and to inspect and copy the fiscal note prepared pursuant to subdivision (5) of this subsection; (7) grant an opportunity to present oral argument if requested by fifteen persons, by a governmental subdivision or agency or by an association having not less than fifteen members, if notice of the request is received by the agency within fourteen days after the date of publication of the notice; and (8) consider fully all written and oral submissions respecting the proposed regulation and revise the fiscal note in accordance with the provisions of subdivision (5) of this subsection to indicate any changes made in the proposed regulation. No regulation shall be found invalid due to the failure of an agency to give notice to each committee of cognizance pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection, provided one such committee has been so notified.
(b) If an agency is required by a public act to adopt regulations, the agency, within five months after the effective date of the public act or by the time specified in the public act, shall publish in the Connecticut Law Journal the notice required by subsection (a) of this section of its intent to adopt regulations. If the agency fails to publish the notice within such five-month period or by the time specified in the public act, the agency shall submit a written statement of its reasons for failure to do so to the Governor, the joint standing committee having cognizance of the subject matter of the regulations and the standing legislative regulation review committee. The agency shall submit the required regulations to the standing legislative regulation review committee, as provided in subsection (b) of section 4-170, not later than one hundred eighty days after publication of the notice of its intent to adopt regulations, or submit a written statement of its reasons for failure to do so to the committee.
(c) An agency may begin the regulation-making process under this chapter before the effective date of the public act requiring or permitting the agency to adopt regulations, but no regulation may take effect before the effective date of such act.
(d) Upon reaching a decision on whether to proceed with the proposed regulation or to alter its text from that initially proposed, the agency, at least twenty days before submitting the proposed regulation to the standing legislative regulation review committee, shall mail to all persons who have made submissions pursuant to subdivision (6) of subsection (a) of this section or who have made statements or oral arguments concerning the proposed regulation and who have requested notification, notice that it has decided to take action on the proposed regulation and that it has made available for copying and inspection pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, as defined in section 1-200: (1) The final wording of the proposed regulation; (2) a statement of the principal reasons in support of its intended action; and (3) a statement of the principal considerations in opposition to its intended action as urged in written or oral comments on the proposed regulation and its reasons for rejecting such considerations.
(e) Except as provided in subsection (f) of this section, no regulation may be adopted, amended or repealed by any agency until it is (1) approved by the Attorney General as to legal sufficiency, as provided in section 4-169, (2) approved by the standing legislative regulation review committee, as provided in section 4-170 and (3) filed in the office of the Secretary of the State, as provided in section 4-172.
(f) (1) An agency may proceed to adopt an emergency regulation in accordance with this subsection without prior notice or hearing or upon any abbreviated notice and hearing that it finds practicable if (A) the agency finds that adoption of a regulation upon fewer than thirty days' notice is required (i) due to an imminent peril to the public health, safety or welfare or (ii) by the Commissioner of Environmental Protection in order to comply with the provisions of interstate fishery management plans adopted by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission or to meet unforeseen circumstances or emergencies affecting marine resources, (B) the agency states in writing its reasons for that finding and (C) the Governor approves such finding in writing.
(2) The original of such emergency regulation and eighteen copies shall be submitted to the standing legislative regulation review committee in the form prescribed in subsection (b) of section 4-170, together with a statement of the terms or substance of the intended action, the purpose of the action and a reference to the statutory authority under which the action is proposed, not later than ten days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, prior to the proposed effective date of such regulation. The committee may approve or disapprove the regulation, in whole or in part, within such ten-day period at a regular meeting, if one is scheduled, or may upon the call of either chairman or any five or more members hold a special meeting for the purpose of approving or disapproving the regulation, in whole or in part. Failure of the committee to act on such regulation within such ten-day period shall be deemed an approval. If the committee disapproves such regulation, in whole or in part, it shall notify the agency of the reasons for its action. An approved regulation, filed in the office of the Secretary of the State, may be effective for a period of not longer than one hundred twenty days renewable once for a period of not exceeding sixty days, provided notification of such sixty-day renewal is filed in the office of the Secretary of the State and a copy is given to the committee, but the adoption of an identical regulation in accordance with the provisions of subsections (a), (b) and (d) of this section is not precluded. The sixty-day renewal period may be extended an additional sixty days for emergency regulations described in subparagraph (A)(ii) of subdivision (1) of this subsection, provided the Commissioner of Environmental Protection requests of the standing legislative regulation review committee an extension of the renewal period at the time such regulation is submitted or not less than ten days before the first sixty-day renewal period expires and said committee approves such extension. Failure of the committee to act on such request within ten days shall be deemed an approval of the extension.
(3) If the necessary steps to adopt a permanent regulation, including publication of notice of intent to adopt, preparation and submission of a fiscal note in accordance with the provisions of subsection (b) of section 4-170 and approval by the Attorney General and the standing legislative regulation review committee, are not completed prior to the expiration date of an emergency regulation, the emergency regulation shall cease to be effective on that date.
(g) If an agency finds (1) that technical amendments to an existing regulation are necessary because of (A) the statutory transfer of functions, powers or duties from the agency named in the existing regulation to another agency, (B) a change in the name of the agency, (C) the renumbering of the section of the general statutes containing the statutory authority for the regulation, or (D) a correction in the numbering of the regulation, and no substantive changes are proposed, or (2) that the repeal of a regulation is necessary because the section of the general statutes under which the regulation has been adopted has been repealed and has not been transferred or reenacted, it may elect to comply with the requirements of subsection (a) of this section or may proceed without prior notice or hearing. Any such amendments to or repeal of a regulation shall be submitted in the form and manner prescribed in subsection (b) of section 4-170, to the Attorney General, as provided in section 4-169, and to the standing legislative regulation review committee, as provided in section 4-170, for approval and upon approval shall be filed in the office of the Secretary of the State with, in the case of renumbering of sections only, a correlated table of the former and new section numbers.
(h) No regulation adopted after October 1, 1985, is valid unless adopted in substantial compliance with this section. A proceeding to contest any regulation on the ground of noncompliance with the procedural requirements of this section shall be commenced within two years from the effective date of the regulation.
(1971, P.A. 854, S. 3; P.A. 73-616, S. 3; 73-620, S. 5, 19; P.A. 77-604, S. 82, 84; P.A. 78-283, S. 1; P.A. 79-623, S. 4, 5, 8; P.A. 80-471, S. 2; P.A. 83-277, S. 1, 3; P.A. 84-132; P.A. 85-608, S. 1; P.A. 86-250, S. 1, 4; P.A. 88-317, S. 3, 107; P.A. 90-124, S. 1; P.A. 94-179, S. 2; P.A. 96-16; P.A. 97-47, S. 26; P.A. 99-90, S. 2-4; P.A. 00-62; P.A. 05-288, S. 15, 16; P.A. 07-217, S. 9.)
History: P.A. 73-616 made technical changes; P.A. 73-620 required that requests to present arguments be made within 10 days of proposed regulation's publication and deleted provisions requiring publication of a defense of any regulation's adoption; P.A. 77-604 clarified procedure for adopting emergency regulations by requiring notice to and approval or rejection by regulation review committee at regular or special meeting; P.A. 78-283 allowed disapproval of emergency regulations in whole or in part, required notice to review committee of regulation's renewal and added provisions regarding adoption of emergency regulation as permanent regulation; P.A. 79-623 amended section to include provisions concerning fiscal notes, effective with respect to fiscal year ending June 30, 1980; P.A. 80-471 substantially amended section, in Subsec. (a), changing notice requirement from 20 to 30 days, clarifying contents of notice statement and providing for mailing to interested persons and in Subsec. (b) requiring governor's approval of emergency regulations, changing date of notice to review committee from 5 to 10 days prior to regulation's effective date and requiring regulations to be filed in secretary of the state's office; P.A. 83-277 inserted new Subsec. (c) which sets forth the procedure governing the adoption of technical amendments to agency regulations, relettering former Subsec. (c) accordingly; P.A. 84-132 added requirement that agencies submit proposed regulations to committee within 180 days after publication of notice and permitted technical amendment of regulations without hearing when general statute under which regulations were adopted is repealed; P.A. 85-608 changed publication of notice requirement in Subsec. (a) from one year to five months or by the first day of November following the passage of the act, whichever is earlier; P.A. 86-250 made technical changes including relettering of subsections and deleted requirement that agencies publish notice of intent to adopt regulations by November first following passage of act requiring adoption; P.A. 88-317 relettered subsections and renumbered subdivisions, rearranged and rephrased provisions, made other technical revisions and amended Subsec. (c) to allow agency to begin regulation-making process before effective date of act requiring or authorizing regulations, effective July 1, 1989, and applicable to agency proceedings commenced on or after that date; P.A. 90-124 amended Subsec. (a) to require an agency, prior to adopting a regulation, to give notice of its intended action to each committee of the general assembly having cognizance of the subject of the regulation and provided that no regulation shall be found invalid due to an agency's failure to give such notice to each such committee if one such committee has been so notified; (Revisor's note: In 1993 the reference in Subsec. (d) to "subdivision (5) of subsection (a)" was changed editorially to "subdivision (6) of subsection (a)" to reflect renumbering of subdivisions in P.A. 90-124, S. 1); P.A. 94-179 amended Subsec. (a)(5) to require regulatory flexibility analysis to be included in fiscal note, if applicable (Revisor's note: Language newly designated as Subparas. (1) and (2) within Subdiv. (5) was redesignated by the Revisors as Subparas. (A) and (B) for statutory conformity); P.A. 96-16 amended Subsec. (f) to authorize emergency regulations by the Commissioner of Environmental Protection re fishery management and to make technical changes; P.A. 97-47 amended Subsec. (d) by substituting "the Freedom of Information Act, as defined in section 1-18a" for "chapter 3"; P.A. 99-90 amended Subsec. (b) by inserting "as provided in subsection (b) of section 4-170", amended Subsec. (f)(2) by requiring eighteen copies, instead of seventeen copies, to be submitted to regulation review committee and amended Subsec. (g) by inserting "or (D) a correction in the numbering of the regulation,"; P.A. 00-62 amended Subsec. (f)(2) by adding provision allowing additional 60 days for emergency fisheries regulations; P.A. 05-288 made technical changes in Subsecs. (a) and (g), effective July 13, 2005; P.A. 07-217 made a technical change in Subsec. (b), effective July 12, 2007.
Compliance with sections 4-169 and 4-170 is required by this section. 165 C. 448. Cited. 171 C. 691. Cited. 172 C. 263. Cited. 173 C. 462. Cited. 177 C. 356. Cited. 183 C. 76. Cited. 186 C. 153. Cited. 187 C. 458. Cited. 188 C. 152. Cited. 191 C. 173; Id., 384. Cited. 200 C. 489. Cited. 223 C. 573. Cited. 239 C. 32.
Cited. 1 CA 1. Cited. 11 CA 693. Cited. 16 CA 497. Cited. 33 CA 775. Cited. 37 CA 653; judgment reversed, see 238 C. 361.
Cited. 34 CS 225.
Subsec. (a):
Cited. 204 C. 287. Cited. 214 C. 601.
Cited. 42 CS 323.
Subsec. (b):
Cited. 184 C. 311.
Subsec. (d):
Cited. 12 CA 455.
Subsec. (f):
Cited. 42 CS 323.
Subsec. (h):
Cited. 25 CA 555.
