RulesNews

Staff to the Legislature’s Administrative Rules Review Committee distributed an e-mail on Friday, November 6, 2009 that contained the following:

In its November 24 meeting, the Legislature’s Administrative Rules Review Committee will discuss the use of “liberally construed” in both administrative rule and statute.

The discussion will focus on the purpose served by the phrase, under what circumstances it may be acceptable to continue using the phrase, and whether some or all uses of the phrase should continue or be repealed. If you have interest in this issue, you are invited to participate in the discussion.

Whether or not your agency’s rules or statutes use “liberally construed,” you are welcome to attend and participate.

With this e-mail, staff provided two documents that detail the use of the phrase “liberally construed” in statute and rule.  Staff provided the following clarification in the e-mail: “Please note that the uses of this phrase in interstate compacts are not included.  Uses of the phrase related to local governments, however, are included for purposes of this discussion.”

Questions may be directed to Mr. Art Hunsaker at 801-538-1032.

Yes, it’s possible. Well, probably most things are possible, but this one really is possible. I know because I’ve seen it.

Here’s the scenario. You’re using Internet Explorer (IE) as your web browser. You need to start a rule filing, so you visit the eRules web site, click on “Proposed Rule Types” and start entering data in your form like noboby’s business.

You’re feeling particularly fine and invulnerable that day. You don’t listen to the little voice that says “Shouldn’t you save as draft? Shouldn’t you save as draft?” “No, I don’t need to,” you say. “I just need to do a little bit more and then I’ll be done, and then I’ll save the form. I promise!”

And you go on. Paragraphs of priceless prose proceed to populate the data entry fields. And then it happens…

You look at the Admin. Code Ref. fields. You notice that there’s an extra character in the rule number field. You click in the rule number field, but because you’re in a hurry, not paying attention, and invulnerable, you don’t notice that you clicked next to the field, not in the field. You press backspace, and then, you scream. You scream because you suddenly see the Rule Filing List, not your practically perfect form with paragraphs of priceless prose. They have vanished. They can’t be recovered.

The backspace key in IE performs two functions. The first, and the one you expect, is the delete function if used within a data-entry field. If the cursor is in the field, the field is said to have focus.

The second function, and the one you probably don’t expect, is the “move backward one page in the browser history” function. In other words, if your cursor is not in a data-entry field, if a data-entry field doesn’t have focus, then pressing backspace is just like pressing IE’s back button: you move back in the browser history. If you press the forward button in a (vain) attempt to retrieve your form, you will simply see an empty form.

So the two-part moral: 1) never press the backspace key unless you are certain that your cursor is in a data-entry field; and 2) always use the “Save as Draft” button regularly and frequently.

Yes, a cryptic title. But it makes more sense once you realize that I’m talking about a set of fields in the “Rule Information” box of the proposed amendment form, the change in proposed rule form, and the nonsubstantive change form. The fields are right below the “Utah Admin. Code ref. (R no.)” fields.

The “Changed to Admin. Code Ref. (R. no)” are optional fields (the “Utah Admin. Code ref. (R no.)” fields are not, but that’s another story). They are only to be used in certain very specific circumstances.

Because you crave knowledge, you ask “What are the circumstances when I can use these fields?” I’m glad you asked. These fields are only used when:

• An agency’s title number has changed because the agency is being moved from one department to another;
• A rule is being moved from one title to another; or
• A section of a rule is being moved to a different rule.

In each of these cases, you may use the “Changed to Admin. Code Ref. (R. no)” fields. So, for example, let’s say that the Division of Administrative Rules is moved from the Department of Administrative Services to the Lieutenant Governor’s Office. A proposed amendment for each rule from the Division would be prepared, and the “Changed to Admin. Code Ref. (R. no)” fields would be used to show the new title number:

Remember, these fields are only used when titles, rules, or sections are being moved from one part of the code to another.

For those of you who attended training on September 16, you’ll recall that we pointed you to a copy of the notes the presenter used for the training. We posted that copy to the Division of Administrative Rules’s website. There are three ways to get to those materials.

1. Go to the Division’s home page; click on “Rule Filing Agency Resources (eRules)”; click on “Help for eRules”; then scroll down the page to the section that talks about training;
2. Log into eRules; click on the “Help” link in the left-hand menu; then scroll down the page to the section that talks about training; or
3. Use this direct link: http://www.rules.utah.gov/eRules/2009-09-16-eRulesTrainingOutline.pdf.

Thanks to everyone who attended the training on September 16th. For those who are signed up for the training on the 24th, we look forward to seeing you!

If you haven’t signed up for training yet, and you would like to come on the 24th, please contact the Division.

An intrepid rulewriter has discovered a bug in eRules: if a user begins a form and tries to save as draft *without* having selected an agency authorizer, *then* an error condition is created that prevents you from later opening that draft.

The workaround is simple: always select an agency authorizer before saving your filing as draft.

This bug is part of a much larger issue that DTS is working to resolve.

Nancy has put together a document called “Quick help for eRules version 2″. I have copied it below so that you can easily access it here. You may certainly also send an email message to Nancy and request a copy.

Quick Help for eRules Version 2

Form:

DAR tried to keep the forms as close as possible to the old ones
but there are a few minor changes:

• The amendment, repeal, repeal and reenact, and new forms are under “Proposed Rule Types” on the left-hand side. Open the form and in Box 3 there is a drop-down menu and select which form you want.
• The first box is for the rule number or section number. First go to top of Box 1 and select your agency. This will populate your agency title. The first box after the hyphen is for the rule number and the second box is for a “letter” if you use them. The section number goes in the first box after the second hyphen and the next box again is for a “letter” only.
• Next you go down to the bottom of Box 1 and select a contact. You must click on “Add Contact” for the information to appear. You made add as many as you need.
• Box 2: If you are changing the entire rule or multiple sections put in the “rule” title. If it is just one section, put in the “section” title. Do not put the rule number in this box. You also do not need to include the period at the end of the title.
• Box 4: Still the purpose box, why are you doing the filing?
• Box 5: Is this because of ARRC, mark yes or no (defaults to NO).
• Box 6: Still the summary box, what are the changes. Please do a summary and do not put the actual language changes in this box.
• Box 7: New item is the radio buttons at the top of each box. Mark yes or no on each.
• Boxes 7A and 7B are the same. If no costs, must explain why (how did you determine there were no costs).
• Box 7C has been split into 7C and 7D. 7C is the answer for effects on small businesses and 7D is the effect on persons other than small businesses. These are aggregate costs. If none, explain why.
• Box 8: Compliance costs for affected persons. This is individual costs. If none, explain why.
• Box 9: Comments from Department Head. This has been split into 9A and 9B. 9A is the comments and 9B is the department head’s name and title.
• Box 10 is still for citations, however, each citation should be in its own box. Put the first citation in the box and if you have more than one, click on “Add Citation” and fill it in. You can put as many as you need.
• Box 11 is for material being incorporated. The required fields are title, publisher, and either “Date issued” or “Issue, or version” (you can use both), and then use the drop-down for selecting whether it “adds, updates, or removes”.
• Box 12 is the same. 12A is for the end of comment date, use mm/dd/yyyy format. 12B is for public hearing information.
• Box 13 is the same. Put the “may become effective” date, use mm/dd/yyyy format and remember it must be at least seven days after comment ends but not more than 120 days after publication.
• Box 14 is the keywords and works like Box 10. Each keyword or term should be in its own box. Fill in the first box and then click on “Add Additional Keyword” to bring up another box. You can only add three because you are limited to four total.
• Box 15 works a little different. For filing, click on “Browse” find your file and open it and it puts it there. Still must be in RTF (rich text format). If you are sending corrected text, it works the same way (Browse = Add/Edit from the old system).
• Agency Authorization is the same except you will now only see those who can authorize for your agency. Fill in the date and make sure it is not a date that is after when you file it or you should not be filing it because it is not authorized.
• Remember use the “Save as Draft” button often.
• Submit the filing. It will lock after you file it so if you have to make changes, you must contact us.
• You should receive a confirmation e-mail telling you it is filed. If not after about five minutes, let us know.
• We have added the feature that you should receive an e-mail after
  you file a correction.

Overall on the form:

• No special characters are allowed (like section symbols, etc.)
• No hard returns. All text should be in one big block.
• No typographical quotes (these are the curly ones) or M or
  N-dashes (use hyphens).

The rest of the forms work the same way. You can always call us if you have questions.

Text:

Text formatting has not changed, however here are some reminders
because DAR has noticed some issues.

• No special characters are allowed.
• No line or section breaks are allowed.
• No typographical quotes (these are the curly ones).
• No page numbering.
• No headers or footers are allowed.
• No colored text.
• No indenting. Every paragraph (subsection) begins with a tab and only one tab is ever used.
• A blank line is only between sections.
• No line numbering.
• Do not use track changes to mark text. This is removed and your changes will be lost. New text is underlined and text to be removed is struck-through and surrounded by brackets.
• If filing one section, you must include the title line (agency name) and the rule number and catchline (title), and the citation block at the bottom of the rule text. Please include the entire section of text, not pieces.
• Make sure it is the final version of the text, no “Draft” watermarks or the word “Draft” at the top of the text.
• You can file any size text you want. There is not an issue in the
  new system with texts over 60kb.