H.B. 503 Summary

• Reforms Ohio's administrative rule-making process by requiring agencies to identify and restate principles of law and policy that should be codified in rules, with a six-month deadline to commence rulemaking after identification.

• Establishes new provisions allowing the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review to request agencies to justify why unstated principles of law or policy have not been converted to rules, and permits the committee to recommend rules be adopted.

• Creates a petition mechanism allowing persons who were parties to agency adjudications or civil actions to petition agencies to restate principles of law or policy in rules, with agencies required to grant or deny petitions within specified timeframes.

• Expands the definition of "adverse impact on businesses" in agency rules and strengthens the common sense initiative office's role in evaluating business impacts during the rule-development process.

• Repeals section 121.76 of the Revised Code and modifies incorporation-by-reference standards in sections 121.71-121.75 to streamline how agencies can reference external materials in rules.