Legislative Rule-Making Review Committee approves 42 agency rules; amends UIC permit durations

The Legislative Rule-Making Review Committee met in the Senate Judiciary Committee Room on Nov. 13, 2024, and approved 42 proposed agency rules covering public health, environmental standards, licensing and elections.

Senator Woodrum, Chair, called the meeting to order at 9 a.m. and recognized Delegate Smith, who moved routine procedural items including approval of the Oct. 1, 2024 minutes and successive motions to consider abstracts and take action on agency rules presented by committee counsel.

Joint Committee Counsel Phillip Childs and House and Senate counsels summarized each proposed rule and, where noted, agency representatives agreed to written or verbal modifications. On motions by Delegate Smith the committee adopted agency‑agreed modifications in many cases and approved rules either "as filed" or "as modified," depending on the item. Items considered ranged from the State Treasurer’s Hope Scholarship rule (112 CSR 18) and Department of Agriculture rules on raw milk (61 CSR 41) and plant‑based derivatives (61 CSR 30), to several Bureau for Public Health medical cannabis rules (64 CSR 109–113), and multiple environmental rules from the Department of Environmental Protection (45 CSR and 47 CSR series).

A substantive amendment was moved by Delegate Fehrenbacher to the Underground Injection Control rule (47 CSR 13). The amendment replaced subsection 14.13 to specify permit duration limits: Class 1 and 5 UIC permits shall be issued for a fixed term not to exceed 10 years; Class 2 and 3 permits may be issued for a period up to the operating life of the facility; and Class 6 permits shall be issued for the operating life of the facility and the post‑injection site care period. The amendment also directs the Director to review each issued Class 2, 3 and 6 well UIC permit at least once every five years to determine whether modification, revocation and reissuance, termination or a minor modification is appropriate. On motion of Delegate Smith the committee approved that rule as amended.

Other measures approved included regulatory items on licensure and practice standards (for example, respiratory care licensure criteria, 30 CSR 01; speech‑language pathology and audiology assistants, 29 CSR 02), public‑health system rules (statewide trauma and emergency care, 64 CSR 27), alcohol beverage administration rules (175 CSR series), and the State Election Commission’s campaign finance regulation (146 CSR 03). Where the committee record notes agency‑agreed modifications, the committee adopted those modifications prior to approving the rules.

By unanimous procedural motion the committee directed staff to prepare the committee’s report, submit it to each chamber’s clerk, draft a Bill of Authorization for each rule contained in the report, and cause those bills to be introduced in each chamber with the chairs of the committee as sponsors. With no further business, the committee adjourned.

Votes at a glance: The transcript record indicates the committee approved each of the 42 numbered proposed rules on the agenda; many were approved "as modified" after agency‑agreed changes and several were approved "as filed" where no modifications were adopted. The Underground Injection Control rule (47 CSR 13) was approved with the Fehrenbacher amendment specifying permit durations and review intervals.

Officials and counsel who appeared in the record include Senator Woodrum (Chair); Delegate Smith (mover on recorded motions); Joint Committee Counsel Phillip Childs; House Counsels Charlie Roskovensky, Will Valentino, Joe Altizer, Robert Akers; Senate Counsels Liz Schindzielorz, Carl Fletcher, Cindy Dellinger; Adair Burgess, Director, Legislative Rule‑Making Review Committee; and Felisha Sutherland, Committee Clerk. The transcript does not record individual roll‑call vote tallies for each rule; approvals are recorded as committee actions following motions.