S.B. 158, one of five Administrative Rules Review Committee (ARRC) bills, passed the House on February 16, 2006. This bill restores explicit rulewriting authority to the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) and the Department of Administrative Services (DAS).
Last year, legislative staff drafted H.B. 318 (2004) to exclude rulemaking authority. After a year, the ARRC recognized that GOED was handling issues that needed the full view provided by the rulemaking process with its corresponding opportunity for legislative oversight.
Two years ago, H.B. 31 (2004) removed provisions for the DAS Advisory Committee. Unintentionally, this bill also removed explicit rulemaking authority from the DAS Executive Director.
S.B. 158 will now be enrolled and sent to the Governor for signature. More information about S.B. 158 is available at http://www.le.state.ut.us/~2006/htmdoc/sbillhtm/SB0158.htm.