§964. Public request for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of a rule; agency rule review

            A. An interested person may petition an agency requesting the adoption, amendment, or repeal of a rule. Each agency shall prescribe by rule the form for petitions and the procedure for their submission, consideration, and disposition. Within ninety days after submission of a petition, the agency shall either deny the petition in writing, stating reasons for the denial, or shall initiate rulemaking proceedings in accordance with this Chapter. Each agency with an appropriated operating budget of five million dollars or more shall include on its website a description of the procedure for submitting petitions in accordance with this Subsection.

            B.(1) At least once prior to January 1, 2020, and at least once during every six-year period thereafter, each agency subject to Subsection A of this Section which engages in rulemaking shall conduct a public hearing for the purpose of allowing any interested person the opportunity to comment on any rule of the agency which the person believes is contrary to law, outdated, unnecessary, overly complex, or burdensome. The agency shall publish notice of the meeting in the Louisiana Register, give notice of the meeting electronically to the appropriate legislative oversight committees, and provide notice of the meeting to all persons who have made timely request of the agency for notice of rule changes, all no later than thirty days prior to the meeting.

            (2) The notice of the meeting shall contain:

            (a) The name of the agency.

            (b) The purpose of the meeting.

            (c) The time and place of the meeting.

            (d) The process for requesting reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities.

            (e) The name and contact information of the person within the agency to whom interested persons should direct their views regarding the agency's rules, if in writing, and the deadline for submission of written comments.

            (3) The agency shall consider fully all written and oral comments and submissions concerning its rules. The agency shall advise persons who provide oral comments that in order to be submitted to the legislative oversight committees, comments must be submitted to the agency in writing. The agency shall issue a response to each submission describing the principal advantages and disadvantages of the rule changes suggested in the submission. In addition, the agency may prepare a statement explaining the basis and rationale for the rule in question identifying the data and evidence upon which the rule is based. All such statements and responses to submissions shall be furnished to the respective legislative oversight committees in the manner provided by R.S. 49:966(K) and shall be made available to interested persons as soon as possible but no later than one day following their submission to the appropriate legislative oversight committees.

            C. Any interested person may request review of an occupational regulation by submitting a petition to the occupational licensing board that issued the regulation. An occupational licensing board shall review a regulation provided for in the petition for full compliance with the least restrictive regulation as set forth in R.S. 37:43 or R.S. 49:260, as applicable.

            Acts 2022, No. 663, §1.

            NOTE: Former R.S. 49:964 redesignated as R.S. 49:978.1 by Acts 2022, No. 663, §1.