Substitute Senate Bill 221 Summary

• Establishes Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review with 5 House and 5 Senate members to oversee agency rulemaking; requires 6 concurrent votes to invalidate proposed rules and 7 votes to invalidate existing rules

• Creates new sections 101.352 and 101.353 allowing the joint committee to request agencies appear to explain why they rely on unwritten principles of law or policy instead of stated rules, with a 6-month deadline for agencies to commence rulemaking if recommended

• Enacts section 121.93 requiring agencies to review operations at reasonable intervals and restate unstated principles of law or policy in rules within 6 months if they meet statutory criteria; agencies must commence rulemaking or face restrictions on relying on those principles

• Enacts sections 121.931 and 121.933 allowing citizens who were parties to agency adjudications to petition agencies to restate principles of law or policy in rules, with agency response required within 30 days and hearings available if petition is denied

• Repeals section 121.76 and consolidates incorporation-by-reference standards; effective date is 6 months after enactment with electronic rule-filing system updates required within same timeframe