DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE RULES

Agency History #29

CREATION

The Office of Administrative Rules, forerunner to the Division of Administrative Rules, was created within the Division of State Archives (Agency #11) in September 1984. The agency was called the Office of Administrative Rules from 1984-1987. It has gone by the current name since 1987.

"The mission of DAR is to promote state legal security and public access to government through publication of rules and enforcement of rulemaking requirements."

FUNCTIONS

Since its inception, DAR has been responsible for establishing procedures for administrative rulemaking, recording administrative rules, making administrative rules available to the public, publishing semimonthly the proposed administrative rules of the state (the Utah State Bulletin and the Utah State Digest ), compiling and codifying all current rules in an administrative code (the Utah Administrative Code), printing and distributing copies of the Code, Bulletin, and Digest, and enforcing the requirements of the Rulemaking Act.

ADMINISTRATION

DAR is administered by a division director, who is appointed by the executive director of DAS with the approval of the Governor.

A fourteen-member Administrative Rules Review Committee is charged with exercising continuous oversight of the process of rulemaking, of which ten memebers are permanent and four are ex officio. Permanent membership is comprised of five state senators, appointed by the president of the state senate, and five state representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house. No more than three senators (or three representatives) may be from the same political party. Prior to 1996, this Committee consisted of three senators and three representatives, of which no more than two of either could be from the same political party.

In addition, the Administrative Rules Review Section (a nonstatutory body from the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget, #762) has coordinated with DAR in reviewing rules since its creation in March 1988.

ORGANIZATIONAL HISTORY

In 1973 the Fortieth State Legislature established rulemaking oversight as a function of the State Archives through passage of the Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act. Recognizing a need to improve the rulemaking process, the State Archivist in September 1984 hired a coordinator who was charged with the responsibility to reform rulemaking and to bring Utah administrative rules up to date. Soon afterward, the Office of Administrative Rules was established. A reform program was developed and implemented.

In 1985, the Forty-sixth State Legislature revised the 1973 Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act and made DAR independent of the State Archives. Further amendments affecting rulemaking were passed by the Forty-seventh State Legislature in 1987, one of which elevated Administrative Rules to division status within the Department of Administrative Services (#270).

PRIOR NAMES

Office of Administrative Rules, 1984-1987

Division of Administrative Rules, 1987-present

DIRECTORS

William Stuart Callaghan, Ph.D., 1984-1992

Kenneth Hansen, 1993-ongoing

COMPILED BY: W. Glen Fairclough, Jr., October 1989

SOURCES

Appropriations Report, 1988-89, State of Utah, p. 89.

Callaghan, William S., DAR Director, personal interview, 20 October 1989.

Division of Administrative Rules, Mission Statement, 23 October 1989.

Governor's Executive Order, 22 March 1988, establishing the Administrative Rules Review Section.

Laws of Utah, 1973, (Chapter 172), Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act.

Laws of Utah, 1985, (Chapter 158), revision of 1973 Administrative Rulemaking Act. Administrative Rules made independent of Archives.

Laws of Utah, 1987, (Chapter 241), revision of 1985 version of the Administrative Rulemaking Act. Administrative Rules made independent of Archives.

Laws of Utah, 1997, (Chapter 33), revision of the Administrative Rulemaking Act. Increased the number of permanent members in the Administrative Rules Review Committee from six to ten.

Office of Administrative Rules, Utah Rulemaking: A Progress Report, William S. Callaghan, Administrative Rules Coordinator, 1 June 1985.