In Indiana, Administrative Rules and Regulations are found in Title 4, Article 22 of Burns Indiana Code. According to Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 4-22-2-19.5, a rule adopted by an agency should:
- Minimize the expenses to:
- regulated entities that are required to comply with the rule,
- persons who pay taxes or pay fees for government services affected by the rule, and
- consumers of products and services of regulated entities affected by the rule.
- Achieve the regulatory goal in the least restrictive manner.
- Avoid duplicating standards found in state or federal laws.
- Be written for ease of comprehension.
- Have practicable enforcement.
As per Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 4-22-2-22, the attorney general is the legal advisor to all agencies in the drafting and preparation of rules.
As per Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 4-22-2-23, an agency should notify the public of its intention to adopt a rule by publishing a notice of intent to adopt a rule in the Indiana Register. The publication notice should include an overview of the intent and scope of the proposed rule and the statutory authority for the rule. An agency may also solicit comments from the public on the need for a rule, the drafting of a rule, or any other subject related to a rulemaking action. Similarly, the agency should prepare a written response that contains a summary of the comments received during any part of the rulemaking process.
According to Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 4-22-2-24, an agency should notify the public of its intention to adopt a rule by publishing a notice of a public hearing in one newspaper of general circulation in Marion County, Indiana. The agency should also publish a notice of public hearing and full text of the agency’s proposed rule in the Indiana Register. As per Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 4-22-2-26, after the notices and the text of an agency’s proposed rule are published, the agency should conduct a public hearing on the proposed rule.
Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 4-22-3-2 provides that all agencies conducting public hearings should allow the use of either recorded or live broadcasts of such hearings, subject to such reasonable rules and regulations as may be adopted by the administrative body that holds and conducts such public hearings.
Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 4-22-2-28 directs the Indiana economic development corporation to review a proposed rule that imposes requirements or costs on businesses or is referred to the corporation by an agency. An agency should further submit a proposed rule to the office of management and budget for a review, if the agency proposing the rule determines that the rule will have a total estimated economic impact greater than five hundred thousand dollars on all regulated persons.
The office of management and budget should prepare a fiscal impact statement by using the data and assumptions provided by the agency proposing the rule, along with any other data or information available to the office of management and budget. The fiscal impact statement should contain the total estimated economic impact of the proposed rule and a determination concerning the extent to which the proposed rule creates an unfunded mandate on a state agency or political subdivision.
According to Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 4-22-2-29, after complying with all the procedures an agency may adopt a rule that is identical to a proposed rule published in the Indiana Register. As per Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 4-22-2-31, after adoption of a rule agency should submit its rule to the attorney general for approval. According to Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 4-22-2-33, after a rule has been approved by attorney general, an agency should submit the rule to the governor for approval. Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 4-22-2-35 provides that when a rule has been approved by the governor, the agency should immediately submit the rule to the publisher for filing.
According to Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 4-22-2.1-5, if an agency intends to adopt a rule that will impose requirements or costs on small businesses, the agency should prepare a statement that describes the annual economic impact of a rule on all small businesses.
According to Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 4-22-9-3, any adopted rule should be judicially noticed by all courts and agencies of the state of Indiana. As per Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 4-22-9-7, the determination and construction of rules in all civil actions should be made by the court as a matter of law and not by the jury.
