Category:151 Administrative Rule Creation or Modification Process
This article outlines the process to create or modify administrative rules, per Senate Bill 504 and RSMo 536.016.
Rule Impetus
Examples of the impetus for a new, amended or rescinded rule(s) include, but are not limited to, a change in federal law or rule, a change in state statute or rule, a directive of the Commission, a business need identified by MoDOT or a request from industry, customers or business partners;
Meeting
The responsible division director initiates a meeting with the Chief Engineer, Chief Financial Officer, Assistant Chief Engineer and a representative from the Chief Counsel’s Office (CCO) to review the impetus, desired outcomes, potential impacts and to seek approval to review this information with the Commission;
Backup
A closed backup Commission item is prepared for the Chief Engineer or Chief Financial Officer to review with the Commission the impetus, desired outcomes, and potential impacts of the needed administrative rulemaking;
Drafting
Following Commission review, a draft of the proposed new or amended rules is prepared by the division in collaboration with other affected divisions and CCO assistance to ensure proper rule format is followed, citations are to the correct federal/state statutory references and no legal issues are triggered by the new or amended rules;
Outside Input
The draft new or amended administrative rules are vetted with industry, customers and business partners;
Revisions
Comments and concerns are collected and addressed from the above-mentioned outside interests and revisions made to the draft rules, if necessary;
Meeting
The draft new or amended administrative rules are reviewed a second time by the division and the Chief Engineer, Chief Financial Officer, Assistant Chief Engineer and a representative of CCO. Also, a detailed explanation of every provision in the new rule, or every change to an existing rule, shall be prepared and presented at this meeting. The decision to be made at this stage is to either: (1) further revise the rules, and perhaps meet again with industry, customers and business partners if appropriate; or (2) approve the draft rules and determine the Commission meeting at which to submit such rules for Commission approval;
Backup
A draft Commission item is prepared for the proposed administrative rules that shall include detailed back up information explaining every provision in the new rule, or every change to an existing rule. The division is also responsible to complete the other documents required to accompany the proposed rulemaking (e.g., Small Business Impact Statement, public and private fiscal notes, etc.);
E-book
The draft Commission item is added to the Commission E-book for review;
Review
Commission E-book Review comments addressed;
Submission
Commission item submitted;
Action
Commission action is taken;
Filing
Chief Counsel’s Office will file the rules (typically referred to as Notice of Proposed Rulemaking) with the Secretary of State’s Office and the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules for required publication in the Missouri Register to obtain public comments;
Website Posting
The proposed rules shall be posted to MoDOT’s website pursuant to Section 536.016.3 RSMo. The responsible division director initiating the proposed rule will need to coordinate with the Communications Division to ensure the proposed rule is posted to the MoDOT’s website within one business day of publication in the Missouri Register. The posting shall include: (1) the text of the proposed rule, (2) a summary of the proposed rule not exceeding 100 words, and (3) a direct hyperlink to the portable document format (PDF) file on the Secretary of State’s website which contains the pages of the Missouri Register in which the proposed rule is printed;
Notification
Governmental Relations submits a bi-weekly report to the Governor’s Office alerting of the Commission’s approval of the proposed new, amended or rescinded rules.
Final Order of Rulemaking After Public Comment
Publication
Upon publication of the rule in the Missouri Register, the public has 30 days to provide comments to the Commission Secretary on the new, amended or rescinded rule(s);
Comments
At the expiration of the 30-day public comment period, the division shall contact the Commission Secretary’s Office to gather all comments;
Drafting/No Comments
If there are no comments, the division shall draft the Final Orders of Rulemaking with CCO’s assistance to ensure proper rule format is followed that will meet all statutory requirements and no legal issues are triggered;
Drafting/Comments
If there are comments, the division shall draft the Final Orders of Rulemaking that addresses each of the comments with CCO’s assistance to ensure proper rule format is followed that will meet all statutory requirements and no legal issues are triggered . MoDOT staff may accept the comment and amend the rule consistent with such comment or decline to accept the comment and state why the rule shall not be amended pursuant to such comment. NOTE: A decision not to include a change to the rules recommended by the public comment(s) should be made carefully as that may result in MoDOT being required to appear before the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules to defend MoDOT’s decision;
Meeting
The Final Orders of Rulemaking will be reviewed by the division and the Chief Engineer, Chief Financial Officer, Assistant Chief Engineer and a representative from CCO to compare the changes, if any, from the new or amended rules that were previously approved by the Commission. A detailed explanation of every change in the Final Order of Rulemaking shall be prepared and presented at this meeting. The decision to be made at this stage is to either: (1) meet again with the specific industry, customer or business partner if appropriate to ensure the Final Orders will not be subjected to a challenge by the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules; or (2) approve the Final Orders for submission to the appropriate Commission meeting;
Backup
A draft Commission item is prepared for the Final Orders of Rulemaking that shall include detailed, back up information stating: (1) if there are no comments, that there were no public comments and that the text of the Final Orders of Rulemaking are the same as that presented previously to the Commission; or (2) if there are comments, setting out a summary of each comment and the response to each such comment, whether accepting the comment and making a change or not accepting the comment;
E-book
The draft commission item is added to the commission E-book for review;
Review
Commission E-book review comments addressed;
Submission
Commission item submitted;
Action
Commission action is taken;
Filing
CCO will file the Final Order of Rulemaking with the Secretary of State’s Office and the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules for required publication in the Missouri Register;
Communication and Implementation Plan
The responsible division will develop and utilize a comprehensive communication and implementation plan to ensure all stakeholders are informed and educated on the new or amended rules;
Website Posting
The proposed rule shall be removed from MoDOT’s website since it has now become final. The responsible division director initiating the proposed rule will need to coordinate with the Communications Division to ensure the proposed rule is removed from MoDOT’s website.
