Section 745.5a - Final-form regulations and final-omitted regulations; procedures for review(a) The agency shall review and consider public comments and the comments of the committees and commission pursuant to this section. Within five business days of receipt of a public comment, the agency shall notify the commentator of the agency's address and telephone number where the commentator may submit a request for the information concerning the final-form regulation under subsection (b). Upon completion of the agency's review of comments, the agency shall submit to the commission and the committees a copy of its response to the comments received, the names and addresses of commentators who have requested additional information relating to the final-form regulation and the text of the final-form regulation which the agency intends to adopt. If an agency does not submit or withdraws and does not resubmit the final-form regulation within two years of the close of the public comment period but still desires to promulgate the final-form regulation, the agency shall republish the regulation as a proposed regulation with a new public comment period in accordance with the Commonwealth Documents Law. If the agency is prevented from delivering its final-form regulation to the commission and the committees within the time period provided for in this subsection because of the adjournment sine die or expiration of the legislative session in an even-numbered year, the agency shall deliver its final-form regulation in accordance with subsection (f).(b) On the same date that the agency submits the material required in subsection (a) to the commission and the committees, the agency shall send a notice of submission and a copy of the text of the final-form regulation or a copy of all changes to the proposed regulation which are incorporated into the final-form regulation to each commentator who requested this information pursuant to subsection (a). The agency is not responsible for notifying each party whose name appears on petitions or membership lists who did not present individual comments on the regulation.(c) The agency shall submit final-omitted regulations to the commission and the committees for review under this section on the same date that the agency submits the regulations to the Attorney General for review as provided in section 204(b) of the Commonwealth Attorneys Act. The requirements of section 5, except for the requirements for holding a public comment period and for notifying commentators, are applicable to final-omitted regulations. If the agency makes revisions pursuant to subsection (g), the agency shall deliver copies of the revisions to the Attorney General on the same date that the agency delivers the revisions to the commission and the committees.(d) Deleted by 2002, Dec. 6, P.L. 1227, No. 148, § 2, effective in 60 days.(e) The commission may have until its next scheduled meeting which occurs no less than 30 days after receipt of the final-form or final-omitted regulation, to approve or disapprove the final-form or final-omitted regulation. The commission shall notify the agency and the committees of its approval or disapproval. If the commission does not disapprove the final-form or final-omitted regulation within the time allotted in this subsection, the commission shall be deemed to have approved the final-form or final-omitted regulation.(f) An agency may not deliver a final-form or final-omitted regulation to the commission and the committees after the adjournment sine die or expiration of the legislative session in an even-numbered year. The agency may not deliver the final-form or final-omitted regulation until the fourth Monday in January of the next year. On that date, the agency shall resubmit the final-form or final-omitted regulation and required material to the committees and the commission. If either committee has not been designated by the fourth Monday in January, the agency may not deliver the final-form or final-omitted regulation and required material to the committees and the commission until both committees are designated.(g) Except as provided in this subsection, the agency may not make any changes to a final-form or final-omitted regulation after the agency submits the final-form or final-omitted regulation to the commission and the committees.(1) Prior to the expiration of the date on which either of the committees takes action on the final-form or final-omitted regulation, pursuant to subsection (j.2) or (j.3) or the expiration of the commission's review period prescribed in subsection (e), whichever occurs first, the agency may, unless the commission shall object, toll the time for the commission's and the committees' review of the final-form or final-omitted regulation in order to allow time for the agency to consider revisions to the final-form or final-omitted regulation recommended by the commission or a committee.(2) Tolling under paragraph (1) may last for up to 30 days. If within 30 days the agency does not submit revisions to the committees and the commission or does not notify the commission and the committees in writing that it will not submit revisions but wishes the commission and the committees to resume their review, the agency shall be deemed to have withdrawn the final-form or final-omitted regulation.(3) The committees shall have the remainder of the 20-day review period or ten days from the date of receipt of the revised final-form or final-omitted regulation or written notification under paragraph (2), whichever is longer, to take action pursuant to subsection (j.2) or (j.3), and the commission may have until its next scheduled meeting which occurs after the expiration of the committee review period but not less than 15 days after receipt of the revised final-form or final-omitted regulation or written notification under paragraph (2) to review the final-form or final-omitted regulation. If the commission does not disapprove the final-form or final-omitted regulation or a committee does not notify the commission and the agency that it has disapproved the regulation or that it intends to review the regulation pursuant to subsection (j.2), within the respective time periods, the regulation shall be deemed approved.(4) The agency may not toll the time for review of any final-form or final-omitted regulation more than one time.(5) The agency may not submit revisions or notification that the regulation will not be revised after the adjournment sine die or the expiration of the legislative session in an even-numbered year. If the committees and the commission are prevented from completing their review pursuant to this subsection because of the adjournment sine die or the expiration of the legislative session in an even-numbered year, the agency shall resubmit the final-form or final-omitted regulation and review shall proceed in accordance within subsection (j.3).(h), (i) Deleted by 2002, Dec. 6, P.L. 1227, No. 148, § 2, effective in 60 days.(j) The commission shall accept public comments only up to 48 hours prior to the commission's public meeting unless the comments are submitted at the request of the commission. The commission shall receive comments from the agency or members of the General Assembly until the commission acts on the regulation. The commission shall transmit comments received during the 48-hour period prior to the commission's public meeting to the agency and the committees upon receipt. The commission shall accept additional public comments only after the public meeting has been called to order.(j.1) A committee shall have at least 20 days from receipt of the information required under subsection (a) or receipt of the information required under subsection (c) to take action pursuant to subsection (j.2). If the committees are prevented from completing their 20-day review because of the adjournment sine die or expiration of the legislative session in an even-numbered year, their review of the final-form or final-omitted regulation shall automatically be suspended until the fourth Monday in January of the next year. On that date, the agency shall resubmit the final-form or final-omitted regulation and required material to the committees and the commission. If either committee has not been designated by the fourth Monday in January, the agency may not deliver the final-form or final-omitted regulation and required material to the commission and the committees until both committees have been designated. If the agency does not deliver the final-form or final-omitted regulation and required material to the commission and the committees by the second Monday after the date by which both committee designations have been published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, the agency shall be deemed to have withdrawn the regulation. In computing the remaining time for committee review, the number of days in which the committees have had the final-form or the final-omitted regulation under review as of the adjournment sine die or expiration of the prior session shall be subtracted from the 20-day committee review period, but the committee review period in the next succeeding legislative session shall not be less than ten days. The commission shall not act on a regulation until the committee review period has expired. This section shall not apply to emergency-certified regulations adopted pursuant to the provisions of section 6(d). (j.2) At any time during the commission's review period up to 24 hours prior to the opening of the commission's public meeting, a committee may notify the commission and the agency that it has approved or disapproved a final-form or final-omitted regulation or that it intends to review the regulation. If the commission approves a regulation and a committee has not notified the commission and the agency that it has disapproved the regulation or that it intends to review the regulation, the agency may promulgate the regulation. If the commission approves a regulation and a committee has notified the commission and the agency that it has disapproved the regulation or that it intends to review the regulation, the agency may not promulgate the regulation for 14 days after the committee has received the commission's approval order. During this 14-day period, the committee may take action on the regulation pursuant to section 7(d) . If at the expiration of the 14-day period the committee has not taken action on the regulation pursuant tosection 7(d), the agency may promulgate the regulation.(j.3) If the committees are prevented from completing their 14-day review because of adjournment sine die or expiration of the legislative session in an even-numbered year, their review of the final-form or final- omitted regulation shall automatically be suspended until the fourth Monday in January of the next year. On that date, the agency shall resubmit the final-form or final-omitted regulation and required material to the committees and the commission. If either committee has not been designated by the fourth Monday in January, the agency may not deliver the final-form or final-omitted regulation and required material to the committees and the commission until both committees are designated. If the agency does not deliver the final-form or final-omitted regulation and required material to the commission and the committees by the second Monday after the date by which both committee designations have been published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, the agency shall be deemed to have withdrawn the final-form or final-omitted regulation. In determining the remaining time for committee review, the number of days in which the committees have had the final-form or the final-omitted regulation under review as of the adjournment sine die or expiration of the prior session shall be subtracted from the 14-day committee review period, but the committee review period in the next succeeding legislative session shall not be less than ten days. An agency may not submit a final-form or final-omitted regulation to the commission or the committees for review during the period from the adjournment sine die or expiration of the legislative session of an even-numbered year to the date by which both committees have been designated in the next succeeding legislative session. This subsection shall not apply to emergency-certified regulations adopted pursuant to the provisions of section 6(d).(j.4) If the commission disapproves a final-form or final-omitted regulation, the commission, the committees and the agency will proceed in accordance with section 6.(k) The commission shall note and shall make a part of the public record all comments which it receives relating to a regulation and shall retain the comments for four years after the promulgation of the regulation.(l) Except for emergency-certified regulations adopted under section 6(d), an agency may not promulgate a regulation until completion of the review provided for in this act.1982, June 25, P.L. 633, No. 181, § 5, effective 3/1/1983. Amended 1982, Dec. 9, P.L. 1023, No. 238, § 1, imd. effective. Reenacted and amended 1986, Feb. 21, P.L. 47, No. 16, § 1, imd. effective; 1989, June 30, P.L. 73, No. 19, § 1, retroactive effective 12/31/1988. Renumbered in part as § 5.1 and amended 1997, June 25, P.L. 252, No. 24, § 2, imd. effective. Amended 2002, Dec. 6, P.L. 1227, No. 148, § 2, effective in 60 days.