SB 995: Administrative Procedures Act; proposed permanent rules; requiring legislative approval for final rule adoption. Emergency. - Oklahoma

Floor (House) → Floor (Senate) · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was converted from the House version to the Senate floor version, with substantive changes to the legislative review timeline and rule adoption procedures. The Senate version adds a new provision allowing agencies to withdraw rules from legislative review before final adoption, and modifies the deadlines for submitting proposed permanent rules to the Legislature. These changes affect how quickly rules become effective and when legislative oversight occurs.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on the Administrative Procedures Act, but the Senate version expands agency flexibility by allowing rule withdrawal from legislative review and adjusts submission deadlines for permanent rules.

REQUIREMENT

Added provision allowing agencies to withdraw rules from legislative review before final adoption, requiring notice to the Governor, Speaker, Senate President Pro Tempore, and Secretary.

Changed the legislative review period for rules received after the April 1 deadline from the current session to the next legislative session.

Added new subsections D, E, F, G, and H to Section 308 regarding legislative cutoff dates, final adoption criteria, rule withdrawal procedures, emergency rule authority, and protection of rights gained under emergency rules.

TIMELINE

Modified deadlines for submitting proposed permanent rules: rules received on or before April 1 must be reviewed during the current legislative session, while rules received after that date must be submitted by February 1 of the next year.

DEFINITION

Removed several definitions from Section 250.3 including 'Administrative head', 'Adopted', 'Agency', 'Emergency rule', 'Final rule', 'Final agency order', 'Hearing examiner', 'Individual proceeding', 'License', 'Office', 'Order', 'Party', 'Permanent rule', 'Person', 'Political subdivision', 'Promulgated', and 'Rule'.

House Committee Substitute for Senate Bill → Floor (House) · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill text was reformatted from a committee substitute version to a House floor version, with page headers updated from 'Req. No. 13549' to 'SB995 HFLR'. The substantive legislative content regarding the Administrative Procedures Act definitions remains unchanged, though some formatting adjustments were made to align with House floor presentation standards.

TECHNICAL

Page headers changed from 'Req. No. 13549' to 'SB995 HFLR' to reflect House floor version identification

Header text updated from 'STATE OF OKLAHOMA' to 'HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - FLOOR VERSION' to indicate document type

Line spacing and indentation adjusted throughout the document for House floor formatting consistency

Some definition text formatting was adjusted with additional spacing between clauses, but no substantive meaning changed

Proposed Committee Substitute (full committee) 1 → House Committee Substitute for Senate Bill · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill amends the Oklahoma Administrative Procedures Act to clarify definitions of key terms like 'final rule' and 'agency,' update rule adoption procedures, and eliminate references to a technical legal defect in existing statutes. The changes aim to streamline how state agencies create and adopt rules while ensuring legislative oversight.

Scope change

The bill modifies the scope of rule-making authority by updating definitions and procedures for final rules and agency orders under the Administrative Procedures Act.

DEFINITION

Updated definitions of 'final rule' and 'final agency order' to clarify when rules require legislative approval versus gubernatorial approval.

Expanded the definition of 'agency' to include various state-created bodies while maintaining specific exclusions for legislative and judicial bodies.

Clarified the definition of 'rule' to exclude specific items like license sanctions and rate approvals from rule-making requirements.

REQUIREMENT

Modified rule adoption procedures to require legislative approval for certain final rules, replacing previous references to repealed statutes.

TECHNICAL

Eliminated references to a technical legal defect in the existing administrative procedures statute.

Enrolled (final version) → Proposed Committee Substitute (full committee) 1 · 2 edits

MINOR

The bill was completely rewritten by the House Committee, replacing the original Senate version with new language that reorganizes the Administrative Procedures Act definitions. The substantive policy content regarding rule definitions, agency powers, and legislative approval processes remains largely the same, though the formatting and structure have been altered.

Scope change

No substantive change to the bill's scope or applicability; the entire bill text was replaced with a committee substitute version.

TECHNICAL

The entire bill text was replaced with a House Committee Substitute version, changing the formatting and structure but not the substantive policy content.

Minor reorganization of definitions and statutory language while maintaining the same legal requirements and procedures.

Engrossed → Enrolled (final version) · 6 edits · May 19, 2025

MODERATE

This bill significantly rewrites the Administrative Procedures Act by updating definitions, changing rule submission deadlines, and clarifying how rules are adopted and disapproved. The changes affect how agencies propose permanent rules, when the legislature must review them, and what constitutes a 'final rule' versus an emergency rule.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope by adding new definitions for key terms like 'final rule' and 'technical legal defect', and modifies the timeline for rule submission from April 1 to February 1 for future legislative sessions.

TIMELINE

Changed the deadline for submitting proposed permanent rules from April 1 to February 1 for legislative sessions after the first one.

DEFINITION

Added comprehensive definitions for terms including 'Administrative head', 'Agency', 'Emergency rule', 'Final rule', 'Final agency order', 'Hearing examiner', 'Individual proceeding', 'License', 'Office', 'Order', 'Party', 'Permanent rule', 'Person', 'Political subdivision', 'Promulgated', 'Rule', 'Rulemaking', 'Secretary', and 'Small business'.

Added a specific definition for 'Technical legal defect' to clarify what errors do not invalidate court actions.

Modified the definition of 'Rule' to explicitly exclude individual licenses, rates, internal management statements, declaratory rulings, and press releases.

REQUIREMENT

Updated the criteria for when a rule is considered 'finally adopted' to include approval by the Legislature, Governor, or disapproval with veto.

Removed references to Section 308.3 in the main text and repealed the entire section regarding rule adoption procedure.

Amended And Engrossed → Engrossed · 5 edits · May 15, 2025

MODERATE

The bill was renumbered from an amended House bill to an Engrossed Senate bill, and substantive changes were made to the Administrative Procedures Act. The most significant change is the addition of a legislative review timeline for proposed permanent rules, requiring agencies to submit them by specific dates (March 1 for the 2nd Session of the 59th Legislature, or February 1 for subsequent sessions). The bill also repeals Section 308.3, which previously governed rule adoption procedures, and clarifies the definition of 'final rule' to include rules approved by the Legislature or Governor through joint resolutions.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include a mandatory legislative review timeline for proposed permanent rules, which was not explicitly detailed in the previous version. The repeal of Section 308.3 removes the prior rule adoption procedure, shifting authority to the new timeline-based review process.

TIMELINE

Added specific submission deadlines for proposed permanent rules: March 1 for the 2nd Session of the 59th Legislature, and February 1 for subsequent legislative sessions.

REQUIREMENT

Added a requirement that the Legislature must act on proposed permanent rules by the last day of the regular legislative session, with rules not acted upon deemed disapproved.

Repealed Section 308.3, which previously governed rule adoption procedures, removing the prior framework for legislative review.

Added a provision that agencies may not resubmit an identical rule for 60 calendar days after a rule is disapproved, except during the first 60 days of the next regular legislative session.

DEFINITION

Modified the definition of 'final rule' to clarify that it includes rules approved by the Legislature or Governor through joint resolutions, and added provisions for disapproval of rules.

Introduced → Amended And Engrossed · 5 edits · May 15, 2025

MODERATE

The bill was amended to add House coauthors and significantly revise the bill's text, changing the focus from amending Section 308 to also amending Section 250.3, which contains key definitions for the Administrative Procedures Act. The revised bill now includes updated definitions for terms like 'final rule' and 'adopted', and removes references to certain legal defects while maintaining the core requirement for legislative approval of permanent rules.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include amendments to Section 250.3 in addition to Section 308, broadening the changes to the Administrative Procedures Act to include definition updates alongside rule adoption procedures.

DEFINITION

Added House coauthors Williams, Cornwell, Crosswhite Hader, and Duel to the bill

Changed the bill to amend both Section 308 and Section 250.3 of the Administrative Procedures Act

Updated definition of 'final rule' to clarify approval requirements and remove references to technical legal defects

REQUIREMENT

Revised legislative approval procedures for permanent rules while maintaining the core requirement for legislative oversight

TECHNICAL

Removed references to certain sections of law and updated statutory citations throughout the document

Administrative Procedures Act; proposed permanent rules; requiring legislative approval for final rule adoption. Emergency.

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