Title 42, Title 42 Affairs and Government

Any final order adverse to a party in a contested case shall be in writing or stated in the record. Any final order shall include findings of fact and conclusions of law, separately stated. Findings of fact, if set forth in statutory language, shall be accompanied by a concise an…

Unless required for the disposition of ex parte matters authorized by law, members or employees of an agency assigned to render an order or to make findings of fact and conclusions of law in a contested case shall not, directly or indirectly, in connection with any issue of fact,…

(a) Whenever the grant, denial, or renewal of a license is required to be preceded by notice and opportunity for a hearing, the provisions of this chapter concerning contested cases apply. (b) Whenever a licensee has made timely and sufficient application for the renewal of a lic…

(a) Any person, including any small business, who has exhausted all administrative remedies available to the person within the agency, and who is aggrieved by a final order in a contested case is entitled to judicial review under this chapter. This section does not limit utilizat…

(a) Appeals from decisions by administrative agencies of the state or officers thereof shall be taken to the superior court or to the district court as provided by the general laws in respect to each agency; provided, however, the time limits for the taking of steps necessary to …

Any party in interest, if aggrieved by a final judgment of the superior, family, or district court rendered in proceedings brought under § 42-35-15, may, within twenty (20) days from the date of entry of the judgment, petition the supreme court of the state of Rhode Island for a …

If any provision of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the chapter which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the p…

(a) This chapter shall take effect upon January 1, 1964, and thereupon all acts and parts of acts inconsistent herewith shall stand repealed; provided, however, that except as to proceedings pending on June 30, 1963, this chapter shall apply to all agencies and agency proceedings…

(a) An agency shall: (1) Publish and make available for public inspection a description of its organization, stating the general course and method of its operations and the methods by which the public may obtain information or make submissions or requests; (2) Publish and make av…

Each agency shall, by January 2, 2002, designate a rules coordinator, who shall have knowledge of the subjects of rules being proposed, maintain the records of any rules action including the rulemaking record required by § 42-35-2.3, and respond to public inquiries about proposed…

If an agency finds that an imminent peril to the public health, safety, or welfare or the loss of federal funding for an agency program requires the immediate promulgation of an emergency rule and publishes in a record with the secretary of state and on its agency website reasons…

If an agency proposes to promulgate a rule that is expected to be noncontroversial, it may use direct final rulemaking authorized by this section and must comply with §§ 42-35-2.6 and 42-35-2.7. The proposed rule must be published in the state register and on the agency’s website…

(a) An agency may issue a guidance document without following the procedures set forth in §§ 42-35-2.6 through 42-35-2.9. (b) An agency that proposes to rely on a guidance document to the detriment of a person in any administrative proceeding shall afford the person an adequate o…

(a) Unless the record is exempt from disclosure under law of this state other than this chapter, an agency shall publish and make available for public inspection, and on request and for a reasonable charge, make available through regular or electronic mail: (1) Each notice of a p…

(a) An agency shall maintain the rulemaking record for each proposed rule, which will be the official rulemaking record. Unless the record, and any materials incorporated by reference, are privileged or exempt from disclosure under law of this state other than this chapter, the r…

In addition to all other requirements imposed by law, all agencies and authorities (as defined in this chapter) shall be required to electronically submit their annual reports to the general assembly for posting on the general assembly website in lieu of a printed copy. However, …

(a) An agency may gather information relevant to the subject matter of a potential rulemaking proceeding and may solicit comments and recommendations from the public by publishing an advance notice of proposed rulemaking in the state register and on its agency website, and indica…

At the time an agency files the final rule with the secretary of state, the agency shall issue a concise, explanatory statement, in a form prescribed by the secretary of state, which contains: (1) The agency’s reasons for creation of the rule, including the agency’s reasons for n…

(a) At least thirty (30) days before the filing of a final rule with the secretary of state, an agency shall publish the notice of the proposed rulemaking on the agency’s website. The agency shall file notice of the proposed rulemaking with the secretary of state, in accordance w…

(a) An agency proposing a rule shall specify a public comment period of at least thirty (30) days after publication of notice of the proposed rulemaking, during which a person may submit information and comment on the proposed rule. The information or comment may be submitted in …

(a) An agency shall prepare a regulatory analysis for a proposed rule. The analysis must be completed before notice of the proposed rulemaking is published. The summary of the analysis prepared under subsection (c) must be published with the notice of proposed rulemaking. (b) A r…

In addition to all other requirements imposed by law, all agencies shall be required to electronically submit their annual reports to the general assembly for posting on the general assembly website in lieu of a printed copy. However, an agency shall produce a printed copy on dem…

(a) An agency may incorporate the following by reference in its rules without publishing the incorporated material in full: (1) Federal rules, codes, or standards published in full in the Federal Register or the Code of Federal Regulations; (2) Federal rules, codes, or standards …

(a) Any state agency with regulatory or permitting authority over a business shall not require prior approval of one or more state or municipal agencies before beginning its review and approval process. Such state agencies shall establish a process whereby the agency will conduct…

(a) An agency shall file each final rule with the secretary of state. An agency may not file a final rule until the public comment period has ended. In filing a final rule, an agency shall use a standardized form and process for submission determined by the secretary of state. Th…

(a) Each agency shall, on or before January 2, 2002, according to a schedule specified by the secretary of state, file with the secretary of state an electronic list of all its lawfully adopted rules that are in force on the date of the filing. (b) Each agency shall give notice t…

All rules on file with the secretary of state pursuant to § 42-35-4.1 shall be refiled on the first Tuesday in January 2007 and on the first Tuesday in January of every successive fifth year.

(a) The secretary of state may promulgate rules or guidance documents governing the filing, codification, and publication of the rules and other rulemaking documents of state agencies submitted to the secretary of state under this chapter. The secretary of state shall be the codi…

(a) An agency shall maintain a current rulemaking agenda for all pending rulemaking proceedings that are indexed. The agency shall publish on its agency website the current and updated rulemaking agenda. The agency shall provide the secretary of state a copy of each current and u…

Any person may petition an agency to promulgate a rule. An agency shall prescribe, by rule, the form of the petition and the procedure for its submission, consideration, and disposition. Not later than thirty (30) days after submission of a petition, the agency shall: (1) Deny th…

An agency may not file a rule that differs from the rule proposed in the notice of proposed rulemaking unless the final rule is consistent with, and a logical outgrowth of, the rule proposed in the notice.

An action taken under this chapter is not valid unless taken in substantial compliance with this chapter.

The validity or applicability of any rule may be determined in an action for declaratory judgment in the superior court of Providence County, when it is alleged that the rule, or its threatened application, interferes with or impairs, or threatens to interfere with or impair, the…

(a) A person may petition an agency for a declaratory order that interprets or applies a statute administered by the agency or states whether, or in what manner, a rule, guidance document, or order issued by the agency applies to the petitioner. (b) An agency shall promulgate rul…

(a) In any contested case, all parties shall be afforded an opportunity for a hearing after reasonable notice. (b) The notice shall include: (1) A statement of the time, place, and nature of the hearing; (2) A statement of the legal authority and jurisdiction under which the hear…