EXECUTIVE ORDER EO
94-07
ON REGULATORY REFORM
I.
Introduction
A. Purpose.
This executive order is adopted to increase public confidence in agency rule
making activities, to improve coordination among state agencies, to improve the
efficiency and effectiveness of regulatory programs, and to avoid imposing
undue burdens on business, the public, local governments, and state agencies.
Except as otherwise provided herein, this Executive Order supplements Executive
Order 93-06 and provides state agencies guidance in meeting their regulatory
objectives. It is the purpose of this Executive Order to:
1.
Reinforce the accountability of agency directors
to the Governor for the regulatory actions of their agencies.
2.
Provide better information to the Governor, the
Legislature, and the public about the implementation of agency regulatory
programs.
3.
Establish factors for agencies to consider
during the rule making process.
4.
Encourage voluntary compliance with statutes and
rules through the provision of technical assistance.
5.
Protect the public health and safety and the
environment, promote the state's economy, and maintain the quality of life of
the citizens of the state.
B. Philosophy
of Regulation. Agency regulation is intended to benefit both the public and
those who are affected by the rules. The effective use of regulation assures
equal treatment for the regulated community. The use of rules provides that
agency policies are made in a public setting. Ineffective regulation can result
in time-consuming and expensive procedures providing little public or private
benefit. In order to further the effective use of regulation, the following
principles shall guide agencies in their program implementation:
1. Agencies should focus, within the
constraints imposed by statutory requirements, on those issues posing greater
risks to the public or from which the public can expect to receive greater
benefits.
2. Agencies should attempt to use less
intrusive methods of achieving desired outcomes.
3. Agencies should be open to reasonable alternative
methods of achieving regulatory objectives.
4. Agencies should approach their
regulatory duties assuming that most individuals and businesses who are subject
to regulation will attempt to comply with the law, particularly when they are
given sufficient information. In this context, enforcement assures that the
majority of a regulated community who do intend to comply with the law are not
placed at a competitive disadvantage.
5. Agencies should develop methods to
determine whether regulatory programs are meeting program objectives.
6. In addition to an agency director's
legal responsibility over agency operations, each agency director shall be
responsible to the Governor for assuring that the spirit and intent of this
Executive Order are carried out.
C. Effect
on Quasi-judicial Boards, The provisions of this Executive Order do not
apply to a quasi-judicial board or commission as it relates to its adjudicatory
proceedings.
II. Planning
A. Each
state agency shall prepare an annual fiscal year agenda for significant rules
under development. The agenda shall be adopted not later than June 30. The agenda shall be made available upon
request to any person and shall be published by the agency in the Washington
State Register. The agenda shall also be submitted to the director of the
Office of Financial Management and to any other state agency which may
reasonably be expected to have an interest in the subject of rules which will
be developed.
B. Paragraph
A. of Section V. of EO 93-06, directing state agencies to adopt a list of
potential rule making activities, is rescinded.
III. Office of Financial Management Review Procedures
A. Quarterly
Reports to the Office of Financial Management. State agencies shall submit
to the Office of Financial Management each quarter a report of their rule
adoption activities for the prior quarter. The report shall be provided to the
Office of Financial Management in the manner and format required by the Office
of Financial Management and shall include at least the following information
for new, amended, and repealed rules:
1. The number adopted, proposed for
adoption, and proposals withdrawn.
2. The number adopted as emergency rules.
3. The number adopted in order to comply
with federal statute, with federal rules or standards, and with recently
enacted state statutes.
4. The number adopted at the request of a
non-governmental entity.
5. The number adopted on the agency's own
initiative.
6. The number adopted in order to clarify
streamline, or reform agency procedures.
7. The number of petitions for review of
rules received by the agency.
8. The number of rules appealed to
superior court.
9. The number adopted using negotiated
rule making, pilot rule making, or other alternative rule making mechanisms.
10. Any other summary information required by
the director of the Office of Financial Management.
11. For purposes of the report required by
this section, each Washington State Register filing shall be considered as a
separate rule.
B. When
an agency commences a significant rule making activity, as determined by the
agency, it shall provide a copy of its notice of intent, required by RCW
34.05.3 1 0(l), to the director of the Office of Financial Management and to
other state agencies that may have an interest in or be affected by the rule
making.
C. If
a state agency director believes that another state agency is engaging in rule
making activities which may potentially conflict with its rules or policies,
the agency director shall notify the other agency and the director of the Office
of Financial Management of his or her concern.
D. Agencies
shall attempt to resolve disputes among themselves using the procedures
established in EO 93-06 and RCW 34.05.310. If agencies are unable to resolve a
dispute within a reasonable period of time, the director of the Office of
Financial Management shall collect appropriate information concerning the dispute and, in the director's
discretion, either resolve the dispute or inform the Governor of the nature of
the dispute and provide a recommendation for resolution.
IV. Regulatory Fiscal Note
A. The
Office of Financial Management shall revise the fiscal note form to include the
following information on each bill for which a fiscal note is prepared: whether
new rules are required or existing rules must be amended in order to implement
the legislation, the approximate cost involved in developing those rules, the
types of entities which may potentially be affected by the legislation, and
whether other agencies have authority over the same subject matter.
B. In
its review of agency request legislation prepared for introduction in the 1995
legislative session, the Office of Financial Management shall review the
legislation to ensure that any proposed delegation of rule making authority is
clear in its intent.
V. Rule Adoption Factors.
A. As
early in the rule-development process as possible, but not later than the time
a rule is published for comment and adoption as a permanent rule. an agency,
based on reasonably available information, shall consider and prepare a written
analysis of the proposed rule addressing the following:
1. The objective of the rule.
2. Whether changes to other rules or
statutes would achieve the same objective.
3. How the provisions of the proposed rule
will be coordinated with other rules of the agency and rules of other state
agencies, local governments, and the federal government.
4. Whether it has chosen a reasonable,
cost-effective manner to achieve the regulatory objective.
5. The anticipated environmental and
fiscal consequences of adopting and not adopting the proposed rule, recognizing
the difficulty of quantifying some consequences.
B. The
agency shall identify and assess alternative forms of regulation and, where
appropriate, shall specify performance standards in addition to standards for
behavior and manner of compliance.
C. If
a rule proposed in order to comply with federal law contains significant
differences from a comparable federal rule or standard, or if a proposed rule
provides differences in application to pubic and private entities, the agency
shall provide a written analysis explaining the nature of the differences,
evaluating their consequences, and providing a rationale for adopting the rule
as drafted.
D. An
agency shall include the written analyses required by Part V in the rule making
file and shall make the analyses available to any person upon request. The
analyses shall be updated based on additional information received by the
agency during the rule making process.
E. An
agency is encouraged, but not required, to comply with this Part V when
adopting an emergency rule under RCW 34.05.350.
VI. Voluntary Compliance through Technical Assistance
A. To the maximum extent feasible, within the
limits of an agency's current budget and consistent with statutory requirements,
an agency with regulatory enforcement authority shall promote voluntary
compliance with state and federal law enforced by the agency and the agency's
rules through the provision of technical assistance, including technical
assistance visits.
B. For purposes of this Executive Order,
technical assistance includes:
1. Information on the laws, rules,
compliance methods, and technologies applicable to the agency's programs.
2. Information on methods to avoid
compliance problems;
3. Assistance in applying for permits; and
4. Information on the mission, goals, and
objectives of the program,
C. For
the purposes of this Executive Order, a technical assistance visit is a visit
of an agency employee to a facility, business, or other location that is declared
by the agency employee at the beginning of the visit to be a technical
assistance visit.
D. During
a technical assistance visit, an agency employee shall inform the owner or
operator of the facility of any violations of law- or agency rules and
provide technical assistance concerning compliance.
E. Except
as provided in Paragraph G:
1. A technical assistance visit shall not
be regarded as an inspection or investigation; and
2. The owner or operator shall be given a
reasonable period of time to correct violations before any penalty or sanction
is imposed for those violations.
F. An
agency may reinspect a facility within a reasonable period of time after a
technical assistance visit and take appropriate enforcement action for any
uncorrected violations.
G. An
agency employee who observes a violation during a technical assistance visit
may take immediate enforcement action if
1. The violation places a person in danger
of death or bodily harm, is causing or is likely to cause more than minor
environmental harm, presents a risk to worker or public health and safety, or
is causing or is likely to cause physical damage to the property of others in
an amount exceeding one thousand dollars; or
2. The person has previously been subject
to an enforcement action for the same violation.
VII. Effective Dates
A. The
application of this Executive Order is prospective only.
B. For
fiscal year 1995, the agenda required by Part III shall be adopted not later
than August 31, 1994.
C. An
agency is encouraged, but is not required, to comply with the provisions of
Part V of this Executive Order for any rule which is proposed for adoption by
filing in the Washington State Register prior to July 31, 1994.
D. Agencies
shall report the information required by Part III., Paragraph A, beginning with
the calendar quarter ending September 30, 1994.
This order shall take effect immediately.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto
set my hand and caused
the seal of the State
of Washington to be
affixed at Olympia
this 6th day of June
A.D., Nineteen hundred and ninety-four.
MIKE LOWRY
Governor of Washington
BY THE GOVERNOR:
_________________________________
Secretary of State
Back to Executive Orders Archive