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Committee member urges mandatory public‑hearing summary forms to clarify agency rule comment records
Summary
A committee member praised agencies that file public‑hearing summary reports and urged making the optional summary‑form mandatory so members can know whether agencies received public comment during rule hearings.
A member of the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review on Tuesday urged that agencies consistently complete the optional public‑hearing summary form so committee members do not have to guess whether comments were received.
"I just wanna say thank you to the different departments that complete the public hearing summary reports. Whether there's no comment or all, that is just really helpful," the committee member said. "I kind of wish it were a mandatory form. Even if there's no comments, there's the checkbox on there that says no comments. That's just helpful. Otherwise, you're kept kinda guessing."
The committee member cited the Environmental Protection Agency as an example, saying the EPA submitted a summary that showed no comments had been received. The remark followed the committee's reading of several no‑change and regular agenda items.
Representative Callender, serving as co‑chair, acknowledged the comment during the meeting but the committee did not vote or adopt any rule to require the form. The issue was presented as a request for consistent practice rather than a formal proposal.
No further action was recorded on the matter during the session. The committee's next meeting is tentatively scheduled for Aug. 14 at 1:30 p.m.
