2-4-110. Departmental review of rule notices. - Montana Statutes

     2-4-110. Departmental review of rule notices. (1) The head of each department of the executive branch shall appoint an existing attorney, paralegal, or other qualified person from that department to review each departmental rule proposal notice, adoption notice, or other notice relating to administrative rulemaking. Notice of the name of the person appointed under this subsection and of any successor must be given to the secretary of state and the appropriate administrative rule review committee within 10 days of the appointment.
     (2) The person appointed under subsection (1) shall review each notice by any division, bureau, or other unit of the department, including units attached to the department for administrative purposes only under 2-15-121, for compliance with this chapter before the notice is filed with the secretary of state. The reviewer shall pay particular attention to 2-4-302 and 2-4-305. The review must include but is not limited to consideration of:
     (a) the adequacy of the statement of reasonable necessity for the intended action and whether the intended action is reasonably necessary to effectuate the purpose of the code section or sections implemented;
     (b) whether the proper statutory authority for the rule is cited;
     (c) whether the citation of the code section or sections implemented is correct;
     (d) whether the intended action is contrary to the code section or sections implemented or to other law; and
     (e) for a rule that initially implements legislation, whether the intended action is contrary to any comments submitted to the department by the primary sponsor of the legislation for the purposes of 2-4-302.
     (3) The person appointed under subsection (1) shall sign each notice for which this section requires a review. The act of signing is an affirmation that the review required by this section has been performed to the best of the reviewer's ability. The secretary of state may not accept for filing a notice that does not have the signature required by this section.

     History: En. Sec. 1, Ch. 8, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 3, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 19, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 210, L. 2001; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 21, L. 2009.