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Senate panel approves Department of Labor rules cleanup; agency plans to move many unemployment provisions into statute
Summary
The Idaho Senate Commerce Committee approved multiple pending rule dockets from the Idaho Department of Labor that streamline and delete redundant unemployment insurance rules. The department said it will seek legislation to move substantial portions of current rules into statute to make program requirements clearer to the public.
The Idaho Senate Commerce Committee on Feb. 1 accepted a series of pending rule dockets from the Idaho Department of Labor that the agency says will remove outdated language and duplicate statutory provisions from unemployment insurance rules.
"I'm Janie Revere, director of the Idaho Department of Labor. I'm here to present the rules for the Department of Labor," Director Janie Revere told the committee as she opened the department's presentation on the rules review. Revere said the work was done under the governor's 0-based regulation initiative and that the department plans legislation to move many rule provisions into statute.
Revere told senators the department expects to eliminate roughly 75% of its rules if the legislation passes, while keeping the program's structure intact. "The intent of the legislation is to ensure that the unemployment insurance program continues to operate as it is currently structured, but it's easier for the public to understand," she said. The department said the rule changes have no fiscal impact on general, dedicated, or federal funds and that negotiated rulemaking produced no negative feedback.
Committee members pressed for clarifications. Senator Guthrie asked what happens if the legislation fails; Revere responded that "if the legislation does not move forward, then the rules will stay as they are." Senator Lakey asked about a specific deletion described in the packet as striking a line on judicial review of wage-claim decisions; Revere and staff confirmed the deletions primarily remove language that restates statute or that the department views as unnecessary.
Several rule dockets were moved and approved by voice vote. A motion to adopt the first docket presented passed on the committee's voice vote. Subsequent dockets covering unemployment insurance benefit administration and unemployment insurance tax administration were also accepted; the committee approved one of the tax-related dockets while rejecting the agency's proposed deletion of a specific subsection (General Provisions, subsection 11.7) so that that provision remains in the rule set.
The department said the package is intended to simplify language, remove redundancy with state and federal law, and convert certain enduring program definitions into statute to avoid future uncertainty after recent changes in judicial deference law. The department also said it will continue to hold negotiated rulemaking and provide statutory cross-references where appropriate.
The committee held no recorded roll-call tallies in the transcript; actions were adopted by voice vote with the chair announcing "ayes have it" for each approved docket. Revere said the department will proceed with drafting the companion legislation and will return to the Legislature as required.
The changes affect Idaho's unemployment insurance procedures, including how benefits are defined, how employers are taxed, and the appeals process. The department told the committee it will present the legislative proposal to codify core program elements so the public can more easily find qualification rules and appeal rights.
A final set of rule dockets and the related legislation remain subject to the Legislature's review and any separate committee or floor action required for statute changes.
