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Board updates petition-for-rulemaking policy to clarify screening and timing
Summary
The Board adopted revisions to Policy 2005-001 to improve preliminary petition screening, clarify how staff will request and handle petitioner clarifications, and state that petitions lacking requested clarification will not be scheduled for review.
The Washington State Board of Health adopted revisions to its petition-for-rulemaking policy on March 12, clarifying preliminary screening steps and how staff will handle petitions that lack necessary detail.
Staff presented proposed updates to Policy 2005-001, originally adopted in 2005 and last revised in 2014, to add a preliminary screening that ensures petitions fall within the Board’s authority and suggestions to reference RCW 34.05.330. Members discussed how staff should handle incomplete petitions, whether to set a petitioner response deadline, and the specific language to deem petitions incomplete if petitioners fail to provide requested clarifications.
Vice Chair Kelly Oshiro and others asked staff to include explicit language that a petition will not be scheduled for review until clarification is received. The Assistant Attorney General reviewed the proposed edits and indicated the recommended changes were legally acceptable. The Board moved to adopt the proposed revisions with the amendments discussed and directed staff to update the policy and public materials to explain the process.
The motion (moved by Kelly Oshiro; second noted in the record) passed unanimously. Board members confirmed the policy can be revisited in the future if staff implementation identifies needed adjustments.
