Certified Final Objection No. 95 of the
Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules
At its meeting on June 20, 1997, the Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules (Committee) voted, pursuant to RSA 541-A:13, IV, to enter a preliminary objection to Final Proposal 97-048 of the Insurance Department relative to insurance holding companies. The Department responded by letter dated July 15, 1997, and the letter was received by the Office of Legislative Services on July 16, 1997.
At its special meeting on September 5, 1997, the Committee voted, pursuant to RSA 541-A:13, V(d), to enter a final objection to the objection response for Final Proposal 97-048. The final objection has been filed with the Director of the Office of Legislative Services for publication in the New Hampshire Rulemaking Register. The effect of a final objection is stated in RSA 541-A:13, VI:
After a final objection by the committee to a provision of a rule is filed with the director under subparagraph V(d), the burden of proof thereafter shall be on the agency in any action for judicial review or for enforcement of the provision to establish that the part objected to is within the authority delegated to the agency, is consistent with the intent of the legislature, is in the public interest, or does not have a substantial economic impact not recognized in the fiscal impact statement. If the agency fails to meet its burden of proof, the court shall declare the whole or portion of the rule objected to invalid. The failure of the committee to object to a rule shall not be an implied legislative authorization of its substantive or procedural lawfulness.
Due to the nature of the bases for objection, the precise aspects of the provisions to which the Committee objected have not been identified in the discussion below. The specific rules and the specific violations have been identified in the annotations to the rules made by the Committee’s staff. Copies of the rules can be obtained from the Office of Legislative Services, Division of Administrative Rules, Room 219 in the State House Annex, 25 Capitol Street, Concord, New Hampshire 03301.
The following summarizes the bases for objection to rules specifically referenced by the Committee in its motion to enter the final objection:
Ins 1501.20(c), (d), (f), (i)(2), and Ins 1501.21(c)
The Committee objected that Ins 1501.20(c), (d), (f), (i)(2), and Ins 1501.21(c) are, pursuant to Committee Rule 402.02(a) and (b)(2), contrary to legislative intent, and are, pursuant to Committee Rule 403.01(d) and Committee Rule 403.02(c), contrary to the public interest by not being clear and understandable and capable of uniform enforcement by the Department, respectively.
Pursuant to 1994, 412:52, agencies are required to comply with the uniform system of numbering and drafting specified in Ls-A 400 and contained in the New Hampshire Rulemaking Manual. The Committee determined that the provisions cited above contain a significant number of violations of the provisions of Ls-A 400. These violations range from ones that can be corrected editorially without affecting the substance of the provisions, to those requiring extensive substantive changes. The violations include: