Beard proposes citizen complaints, governor oversight after agencies enforce rules not found in code

Senator Todd Beard, sponsor of Senate Bill 22-58, told the committee he introduced the bill after discovering a childcare licensing practice that agencies had been enforcing although no corresponding rule existed.

Beard described the example in which training hours for licensed child care providers were not counted during a 90‑day renewal window; he said he could not find a rule supporting that enforcement and told the committee, "They just made it up out of thin air." His bill would require agencies to specify any rule or law they are enforcing, allow citizens to file complaints with the governor's office, and require the governor's office to investigate and maintain records of violations. The Administrative Rules Committee would receive periodic reports listing the number and agency source of complaints.

The sponsor suggested an optional amendment to exempt agencies overseen by elected officials from the governor's investigative route, arguing those officials are already directly accountable to voters. Committee members asked whether the proposal only provides transparency or whether it would create a mechanism to compel correction; Beard said the bill primarily increases transparency and gives the governor latitude to intervene or direct agencies to correct course.

Lawmakers questioned whether the measure might duplicate existing processes and whether the governor’s office had been consulted; Beard said he had not reached out to the governor's office before introducing the bill but that he was open to drafting clarifying language about reporting and investigative pathways.

The committee closed testimony on SB 22-58 that day without a recorded final vote.