Tips and Tricks
Tips, tricks, and other helpful information posted by the Office of Administrative Rules on our Twitter or Facebook pages are compiled here and sorted by year.
For traditional help documentation, including the Rulewriting Manual, visit Agency Resources.
Wondering when your next Five-Year Review is due? Visit the Administrative Rules Dashboard to view Five-Year Review due dates and rule filing stats from the Office. Filter by agency and title to easily locate specific rules.
eRules currently only allows an effective date to be set to the same date as the notice of effective date is filed. Emergency rule effective dates are being automatically assigned to the day the draft is created. While we are working on this, please contact us with any concerns.
eRules currently only allows an effective date to be set to the same date as the notice of effective date is filed. Emergency rule effective dates are being automatically assigned to the day the draft is created. While we are working on this, please contact us with any concerns.
All eRules filings, including Five-Year Reviews, must be submitted with a completed Rule Analysis Form. Form templates, as well as tutorial videos and other assistance, can be found on our Agency Resources page.
Please notify the Office of Administrative Rules of any changes in rulemaking staff within your agencies. Letting us know ensures that we can continue contacting the right people and efficiently work with filings.
Make sure that a filing's information is correct before submitting to eRules. We're unable to modify rule numbers or titles, so these changes will have to be done by withdrawing and resubmitting.
When filing in 2021, please double check that any submitted forms use the correct year and that the three years tracked on the fiscal analysis are FY2022, FY2023, and FY2024. Forms using the incorrect year will be sent back.
Received an email from eRules with ID91 in the subject line? This means that the filing has been codified and published in the Utah Administrative Code, viewable at adminrules.utah.gov. While we transition to the new site, expect a greater amount of these emails.
When submitting a filing, please make sure you have attached the correct form. Rule analysis forms for all filing types, as well as assistance on completing them, can be found on our Agency Resources page.
The Rulemaking Time Frames guide has been updated with 2021 dates and deadlines. Reference this chart when filing to target a specific bulletin issue or effective date.
We're aware of a bug in eRules where a submitted five-year review appears as the filing type of a previous filing. This does not impact the effectiveness or review status of a rule and if the five-year review was submitted and accepted, the rule will not expire.
Note: This Week at Rules - December 2, 2020 explains this bug in greater detail.
If someone with eRules access is leaving their position, please reach out to our office and let us know. To make sure all correspondence makes it to the agency, it's important that we deactivate unused accounts and have active users only.
Rulewriting agencies must maintain a copy of any Incorporations by Reference (IBRs) as well as provide a copy to the Office of Administrative Rules upon rule filing. Electronic copies are acceptable and may be emailed to the office.
When requesting eRules access, both a Petition for Access through eRules and the new Agency Access Form must be submitted. Find both of these on our Agency Resources page, and video and written guides on completing these steps.
Rule numbers cannot be reused. Even in the case of a rule expiring or being repealed, the eRules system will not allow another filing with the same number. Check your title's previous rules in eRules before filing to ensure a rule number is not repeated.
Let us know at rules@utah.gov if you're having troubles filing a Notice of Effective Date or have other questions about any of the filing timeframes and deadlines.
When filing, use our Filing Timeframes resource to view the required comment period and first possible effective date for your submission. This is an easy way to get an idea of when a rule filing can become effective.
Submitting a new filing? Make sure the Rule Analysis or Filing Form matches the submitted filing type. There are seven different Rule Filing Forms available, all for different filing types. Unsure on which to use? Reach out!
Wondering when to file in order to make a certain effective date? Follow the Rulemaking Time Frames guide to view filing and Bulletin publication deadlines as well as first and last possible effective dates.
If you're looking to have a rule effective by January 1, 2021, it must be filed no later than November 2, 2020 for the November 15 Bulletin.
Want access to eRules 3 to submit or view rule filings? Submit both a Petition for Access as well as an Agency Access Form. Both are required – only submitting one will not be enough to grant access. Here's where to find them:
First, submit a Petition for Access by logging into eRules with the UtahID that does not already have eRules access. Visit https://adminrules.utah.gov, select State Login on the top right, log in with your UtahID, and a pop-up box should ask if you would like access. Select yes.
Second, an Agency Access Form also is required and can be found on our Agency Resources page (https://rules.utah.gov/agency-resources/). Fill this out, making sure that the information between this and the earlier petition is the same, and send the completed form to rules@utah.gov
Once both are in, watch your email inbox for a message from us saying you have access. For extra help on gaining eRules 3 access, visit our Agency Resources page, which has tutorial videos under "When You File."
While filling out any of the Rule Analysis Forms, make sure to not change the size or formatting of any rows, columns, or tables. These are specifically formatted for Bulletin creation and changing them causes problems.
Hosting a hearing that would take too much space to fit in the Public Notice Information box? Instead of changing the Public Notice table formatting, add that extra information in the Summary box (Box 4) and add the phrase "See summary for hearing information" in the "At Place" column in the Public Notice table.
Update 9/30: A follow-up on yesterday's #TipTuesday. Please do not change any of the pre-existing content on the Rule Analysis Form. Items like the Revised Date are necessary for us to ensure that the proper form version was used. Changing this content might cause a delay with your filing.
The current version of the Rule Analysis Form is May 2020 for those requiring the Regulatory Impact Table or December 2019 for those who do not. Current versions of these forms are on our Agency Resources page. Form updates will be shared over the mailing list and social channels.
When rule liaisons and coordinators change, make sure to send out new contact information to rules@utah.gov. This is required to receive services and assistance and is mandated by executive order for agencies under the Governor.
Without a proper contact, rule expiration warnings could go unseen and rule filings could be delayed if correspondence is necessary. Having a current contact ensures that these alerts and emails are received on time by the agency and that rule filings and reviews are processed on time.
Received an email saying 180 Days to Expiration? We're required to give 180 days notice before a rule expires, giving time for the filing agency to review the rule and file either a Five-Year Review or Five-Year Review Extension.
As you're reviewing the rule, you may find changes that need to be made to the rule text. To make these changes, file either an Amendment or a Nonsubstantive change with our office along with your five-year review. If you find the rule is no longer necessary, you can simultaneously file a Five-Year Review and a repeal.
A new rule is filed when the rule text doesn't already exist in the Utah Administrative Code. New rules may come about by a Legislature-authorized agency implementing a new program or service, an agency reorganizing its rules, or a new agency being created by the Legislature.
Amendments are filed when a change is made to rule text that already exists in the administrative code, including adding or removing sections of a rule. Amendments can be a result of either an agency or public petition wanting to change the content of a rule.
For more information on the difference between these types of rules and other rulemaking procedures, see Utah Code 63G-3-3 at https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title63G/Chapter3/63G-3-P3.html.
1. A Five-Year Review continues a rule. Five-Year Review Extensions grant a one-time extra 120-day period to file a Five-Year Review. Extensions do not have any impact on a rule's effectiveness.
2. Five-Year Reviews and Five-Year Review Extensions have different forms that must be used when filing. Visit our Agency Resources page to find their separate forms.
3. Five-Year Reviews and Five-Year Review Extensions cannot be submitted after a rule has expired and been removed from the Administrative Code. At that point, the rule must be filed as if it were a completely new rule.
4. Neither of these can make changes to the content of a rule. To make changes, either a new Proposed Rule form or a Nonsubstantive Change form must be filed, depending on the change. More info on those forms and their downloads can be found on our Agency Resources page.
2. The zip codes should always match up with the rest of the address.
3. Avoid abbreviations like “SLC.” Rules are published internationally, and certain abbreviations might not be as well known outside of Utah and the U.S.
4. Both the “Department” and “Agency” fields should be accurate. Department refers to the high level “Department of…” like Health, Education, and so on. Agency refers to a “Division/Bureau/Office of…” and is under a department.
5. Mailing addresses can be different than street addresses. If they are different, make sure both are listed on the form.
