Tag Archives: Criminal Penalties

H.B. 32 Passed; Amends Subsection 63G-3-201(5)

Posted by on March 5, 2009 Comments Off

H.B. 32 — amending provisions of statute in the Commerce, Health, Insurance, and Natural Resources titles of the code that provided a criminal penalty for violating rules — has passed.  Prior to passage, H.B. 32 was amended to include changes to Subsection 63G-3-201(5) of the Rulemaking Act.

Subsection (5) formerly required that, “[a] rule shall enumerate any penalty authorized by statute that may result from its violation.”  Now, Subsection (5) provides:

(5) (a) A rule shall enumerate any penalty authorized by statute that may result from its violation , subject to Subsections (5)(b) and (c).
(b) A violation of a rule may not be subject to the criminal penalty of a class C misdemeanor or greater offense, except as provided under Subsection (5)(c).
(c) A violation of a rule may be subject to a class C or greater criminal penalty under Subsection (5)(a) when:
(i) authorized by a specific state statute;
(ii) a state law and programs under that law are established in order for the state to obtain or maintain primacy over a federal program; or
(iii) state civil or criminal penalties established by state statute regarding the program are equivalent to or less than corresponding federal civil or criminal penalties.

In short, each agency is still required “to enumerate any penalty authorized by statute that may result from its violation”.  These penalties may be criminal or civil.

More information about H.B. 32 is available on the Legislature’s web site at http://le.utah.gov/~2009/htmdoc/hbillhtm/hb0032.htm.

H.B. 32, Amendments to Agency Rulemaking Regarding Criminal Penalties

Posted by on February 3, 2009 Comments Off

Rep. Ben Ferry is sponsoring H.B. 32, Amendments to Agency Rulemaking Regarding Criminal Penalties.  After almost four years and four other bills (H.B. 317 (2006), S.B. 138 (2007), H.B. 57 and H.B. 80 (2008)), H.B. 32 concludes the Administrative Rules Review Committee’s effort to amend provisions in statute that apply a criminal penalty for violation of a rule.

H.B. 32 affects statutes for the following departments:

  • Commerce (Title 61);
  • Health (Title 26);
  • Insurance (Title 31A);
  • Labor Commission (Titles 34 and 34A);
  • Natural Resources (Title 23); and
  • Public Service Commission (Title 54).

A House amendment approved in committee inserted changes in the Rulemaking Act in Subsection 63G-3-201(5).  These changes, starting on line 632y, provide that a “violation of a rule may not be subject to the criminal penalty of a class C misdemeanor or greater offense, except” in enumerated circumstances.  Three additional House floor amendments have been prepared and are posted on the Legislature’s web site.

Additional information about H.B. 32 is available from the Legislature’s web site at http://le.utah.gov/~2009/htmdoc/hbillhtm/HB0032.htm .

“Administrative Rule Penalty Amendments” Bill — H.B. 80 — Released

Posted by on January 29, 2008 Comments Off

For months, the Administrative Rules Review Committee discussed changes to statutes throughout the Utah Code that assign criminal penalties for violating administrative rules. Today, H.B. 80 was publicly released. H.B. 80, sponsored by Rep. Ben Ferry, is the culmination of those discussions. The bill addresses many of the remaining statutes that were not dealt with in S.B. 138 (2007). A few statutes, like those that if changed could threaten primacy in federal programs, were excluded from the bill.

Information about H.B. 80 is available on the Legislature’s web site at http://le.utah.gov/~2008/htmdoc/hbillhtm/hb0080.htm.

Criminal Penalties and Rules, Part III

Posted by on October 24, 2007 Comments Off

The Legislature’s Administrative Rules Review Committee (ARRC) met on October 23. Toward the end of the meeting (2:21:00 on the audio recording of the meeting), Rep. Ben Ferry announced that he had opened a bill file to address the criminal penalties issue. For background, see “Statutes Imposing a Criminal Penalty for Violating a Rule, Part II”.

The ARRC’s efforts to have interim committees review this issue have met with mixed results. Now, it appears, that the ARRC will end up addressing the issue after all.

Rep. Ferry indicated his bill will say to agencies, “you cannot incarcerate by rule, and you can

Statutes Imposing a Criminal Penalty for Violating a Rule, Part II

Posted by on June 15, 2007 Comments Off

In 2005, the Administrative Rules Review Committee looked at statutes that authorized criminal penalties for violating a rule. Back then, the Committee decided that to tackle the issue in two parts. With input from agencies, the Committee identified those provisions for which the criminal penalties could be eliminated without creating major concern or disruption. This bill finally passed during the 2007 General Session (see “Legislation Which Affects Rulemaking” in this newsletter).

At its 06/12/2007 meeting, the Administrative Rules Review Committee voted to take a different approach with the remaining provisions. With a unanimous motion, the Committee directed its chairs to send a letter to the appropriate interim committee chairs. The letter will express concern for statutory provisions that impose a criminal penalty, especially those that provide for a felony, for violating a rule.

Below is a list of statutes with which the committee still has concerns.

Title 19, Environmental Quality Code

Sections 19-1-303, 19-2-115, 19-3-110, 19-4-109, 19-5-115, and 19-6-113.

Title 23, Wildlife Resources Code of Utah

Sections 23-13-11, and 23-25-3.

Title 26, Health Code

Sections 26-21-6, 26-23-6, and 26-39-107.

Title 31A, Insurance Code

Section 31A-2-308.

Title 34, Labor in General

Section 34-23-402.

Title 34A, Labor Code

Section 34A-6-307.

Title 54, Public Utilities

Sections 54-7-26, and 54-7-28.

Title 61, Securities Division – Real Estate Division

Section 61-1-21

Title 63, State Affairs in General

Section 63-11-17.3

Title 72, Transportation Code

Sections 72-7-211, 2-7-302, 72-7-402, 72-7-407, 72-7-409, 72-9-701, and 72-10-120.

Title 73, Water and Irrigation

Sections 63-18-21, 73-18a-14, and 73-18b-3.

1st Sub. S.B. 138 Passed

Posted by on February 28, 2007 Comments Off

1st Substitute S.B. 138 passed during the last hours of the 2007 General Session, thanks to a substitute motion by the House sponsor. S.B. 138, entitled Administrative Rule Criminal and Civil Penalty Amendments, amends sections throughout the Utah Code. In some cases, sections that provided criminal penalties for violating rules were amended to provide for civil penalties. In other instances, provisions that had previously appeared in rule were incorporated into statute and the criminal penalty was maintained.

Pending the Governor’s signature, 1st Sub. S.B. 138 will go into effect on April 30, 2007. More information about 1st Sub. S.B. 138 is available on the Legislature’s web site at http://le.utah.gov/~2007/htmdoc/sbillhtm/sb0138s01.htm.

Substitute for S.B. 138

Posted by on February 2, 2007 Comments Off

Sen. Howard Stephenson presented S.B. 138 to the Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee on February 2, at which time he recommended a substitute bill. The committee gave a favorable recommendation to the substitute bill.

The substitute bill amends Section 63A-5-103. It adds civil penalties for violating certain rules adopted by the Building Board, and permits the Board to take other action allowed by law. This change makes the Building Board’s statute consistent with the Capitol Preservation Boards statute also found in the bill.

S.B. 138. Administrative Rule Criminal Penalty Amendments.

Posted by on January 18, 2007 Comments Off

This bill, an Administrative Rules Review Committee bill, addresses the criminal penalties issues discussed during the 2005 Interim. It is similar to H.B. 317 (2006). The bill was discussed at the committee’s January 11, 2007, meeting. During 2005, several agencies submitted alternative statutory language that satisfied the committee’s concerns. This bill proposes to make those changes to the respective statutes. The bill affects the following sections: Sections 4-38-7, 9-4-612, 32A-12-104, 40-6-12, 40-8-9, 41-3-210, 41-3-701, 41-3-702, 41-6a-1115, 51-7-22.4, 53-7-226, 59-14-212, 63C-9-301, 65A-3-1, 76-10-1233, and 76-10-1234. More information about S.B. 138 is available at http://www.le.state.ut.us/~2007/htmdoc/sbillhtm/sb0138.htm.

Bills Approved by Administrative Rules Review Committee

Posted by on December 20, 2006 Comments Off

In its December 20, 2006, meeting, the Administrative Rules Review Committee approved two bills as committee bills. These are the “Administrative Rule Criminal Penalty Amendments” and the “Filings of Administrative Rules, Orders, and Regulations” bills.

The “Administrative Rule Criminal Penalty Amendments” will be substantially similar to Substitute H.B. 317 (2006). The bill amends sections throughout the Utah Code that prescribed a criminal penalty for the violation of a rule. A few items have been added. Provisions affecting the Capitol Preservation Board have also been added. Those provisions have replaced the criminal penalties with civil penalties. Sponsorship of this bill is yet to be decided.

The “Filings of Administrative Rules, Orders, and Regulations” has been numbered as S.B. 32. Sen. Stephenson is sponsoring the bill. This bill amends Section 63-5a-7 changing the location at which an order, rule, or regulation must be filed for those documents to have affect during an emergency from the Division of Archives to the Division of Administrative Rules. This bill makes Section 63-5a-7 consistent with changes make to the Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act in 1987.

Questions about these bills may be directed to Ken Hansen (801-538-3777).

Return of “Administrative Rule Criminal Penalty Amendments”

Posted by on December 7, 2006 Comments Off

During the 2006 General Session, the Legislature considered H.B. 317, entitled “Administrative Rule Criminal Penalty Amendments” (see http://www.le.state.ut.us/~2006/htmdoc/hbillhtm/HB0317S01.htm for more information). This bill amended statutes throughout the Utah Code removing criminal penalties for violations of administrative rules. Time ran out before the bill could be passed.

Based on information available from the Legislature’s web site, it appears that a similar bill will be filed for the upcoming 2007 General Session. The index of Bill Requests currently available on the Legislature’s web site shows that Sen. Stephenson has opened a bill request. If this bill is to proceed as a committee bill, as last year’s bill did, it is likely that the committee will discuss it at their next meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, December 13, 2006, at 9 AM in Room W135.

Contact Ken Hansen if you have questions about his issue — 801-538-3777.