Idaho's Rulemaking Process
Idaho’s administrative rulemaking process is governed by the Idaho Administrative Procedure Act (Idaho Code Title 67, Chapter 52) and contains five stages: proposed, negotiated, temporary, pending, and final.
Proposed
Proposed rulemaking is the stage in which the agency proposes to amend or repeal an existing rule or to adopt a new rule. Prior to the adoption, amendment, or repeal of a rule, the agency is required to publish a notice and the text of the proposed rule in the Idaho Administrative Bulletin. During this stage, the public is invited to submit comments to the agency.
Negotiated
Negotiated rulemaking is an optional process in which all interested parties and the agency seek a consensus on the content of a rule. Agencies are encouraged to proceed through this informal stage whenever feasible. This stage is initiated with the publication of a Notice of Negotiated Rulemaking in the Idaho Administrative Bulletin. This process leads to the proposed and/or temporary rulemaking stages.
Temporary
If the Governor finds that temporary adoption of a rule (a) protects the public health, safety, or welfare; (b) complies with deadlines in amendments to governing law or federal programs; or (c) confers a benefit, the agency may proceed with temporary rulemaking.
A temporary rule may become effective immediately upon adoption and expires upon conclusion of the next succeeding regular legislative session unless extended by concurrent resolution. Once the temporary rule is adopted, the agency is required to publish a notice and the text of the temporary rule in the Idaho Administrative Bulletin. If the text of the temporary rule is the same as that of the proposed rule, the rulemaking can be combined and published in the Idaho Administrative Bulletin as a temporary/proposed rule.
Pending
A pending rule is a rule that has been adopted by an agency under the regular rulemaking process and remains subject to legislative review before becoming final and effective. Once the pending rule is adopted, the agency is required to publish a notice of pending rule in the Idaho Administrative Bulletin. If the rule varies in content from that which was initially proposed, the pending rule also must be printed in the Idaho Administrative Bulletin. A pending rule must be submitted to the legislature for review before it can become final and effective.
Final
Unless specified otherwise, a pending rule that has been submitted for review and approved by the legislature will become final and effective upon conclusion of that legislative session. Final rules are annually codified in the Idaho Administrative Code.