Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 9, September, 2024
Copies of all forms used by the Committee, written statements of
policy and written interpretive memoranda, and all grants issued by the
Committee may be obtained from the Operations and Programs Officer, Arkansas
Municipal League or the State Aid Engineer, State Aid Division of the Arkansas
Highway and Transportation Department, 10324 Interstate 30, P. O. Box 2261,
Little Rock, AR 72203-2261. Phone: 501-569-2346.
III.
GENERAL ORGANIZATION
A. Election of officers will held annually at
the Committee's first meeting in January of each year. These officers shall
perform the duties prescribed by applicable law, this rule, and the
parliamentary authority adopted by the Committee.
B. The business of the Committee will be
conducted in public meetings pursuant to Robert's Rules of Order. All meetings
will be conducted in conformity with the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.
Regular meetings will be held at least twice each year. Special meetings will
be held on the call of the Chairman or Vice-Chairman or at the request of any
member of the Committee.
C. A
quorum for the transaction of business is a majority of the members entitled to
vote.
D. The Committee may create
standing and ad hoc committees. The Committee Chairman will select members of
committees. A quorum for the transaction of committee business is a majority of
the number of voting members of the committee.
E. The Committee will prepare the agenda for
regular and special meetings. The agenda will be distributed to Committee
members and made available to the public in advance of the meeting. The agenda
should state with specificity the items that will be considered at a meeting or
workshop. The agenda should include the following topics as applicable:
1. The call to order;
2. Review of minutes;
3. Old business;
4. New business;
5. Other business;
6. Rule-making hearings; and
7. Public comment.
The order of the agenda items is intended to be flexible and may
be adjusted to meet the needs of the Committee. Additionally, the agenda may be
amended by appropriate motion.
IV.
RULE-MAKING
A.
Authority
The Committee, subject to the rule making authority of the State
Aid Engineer pursuant to A.C.A. §
27-72-405, has been authorized by the
Legislature to promulgate rules. A.C.A. §
27-72-413(d). The Committee
follows the procedural requirements of the Arkansas Administrative Procedure
Act, in particular A.C.A. §
25-15-203 and §
25-15-204, as amended.
Additionally, the Committee is required to abide by the provisions of A.C.A.
§
10-3-309, as amended.
B.
Initiation of Rule-Making
The process of adopting a new rule or amending or repealing an
existing rule (hereinafter referred to "rule-making") may be initiated by
request of the Committee or third parties outside the Committee may petition
for the issuance, amendment, or repeal of any rule.
C.
Petition to Initiate
Rule-Making
Third parties may initiate rule-making to adopt, amend, or repeal
a rule by filing a petition with the Committee to initiate rule-making. The
petition must contain the name, address, and telephone number of the
petitioner, the specific rule or action requested, the reasons for the rule or
action requested, and facts showing that the petitioner is regulated by the
Committee or has a substantial interest in the rule or action requested.
The petition to initiate rule-making shall be filed with the
Committee in care of the Operations and Programs Officer, Arkansas Municipal
League with a copy to the State Aid Engineer, State Aid Division of the
Arkansas Department of Transportation.
Within thirty (30) days after submission of the petition, the
Committee will either deny the petition, stating its reasons in writing, or
will initiate rule-making. A special meeting will be called if necessary to
meet this time frame.
D.
Pre-filing with the Bureau of Legislative Research
Thirty (30) days before the public-comment period ends, the
Committee will file with the Bureau of Legislative Research the text of the
proposed rule or amendment as well as a financial impact statement and a Bureau
of Legislative Research questionnaire as provided by A.C.A. §
10-3-309.
E.
Public
Input1. Before finalizing language of
a proposed new rule or an amendment to, or repeal of, an existing rule, the
Committee will receive public input through written comments and/or oral
submissions. The Committee will designate in its public notice the format and
timing of public comment.
2. Any
public hearing will provide affected persons and other members of the public a
reasonable opportunity for presentation of evidence, arguments, and oral
statements within reasonable conditions and limitations imposed by the
Committee to avoid duplication, irrelevant comments, unnecessary delay, or
disruption of the proceedings.
3.
The Committee chair, any member of the Committee, or any person designated by
the Committee may preside at the public hearing. The Committee must ensure that
the personnel responsible for preparing the proposed rule or amendment are
available, and will notify third parties initiating rule changes to be
available to explain the proposal and to respond to questions or comments
regarding the proposed rule.
4. The
Committee must preserve the comments made at the public hearing by a certified
court reporter or by recording instruments.
5. Any person may submit written statements
within the specified period of time. All timely, written statements will be
considered by the Committee and be made a part of the rule-making
record.
F.
Notice
of Rule-making
The Committee will give notice of proposed rule-making to be
published pursuant to A.C.A. §
25-15-204. The notice will set any written
comment period and will specify the time, date, and place of any public
hearing.
G.
The
Decision to Adopt a Rule1. The
Committee will not finalize language of the rule or decide whether to adopt a
rule until the period for public comment has expired.
2. Before acting on a proposed rule, the
Committee will consider all of the written submissions and/or oral submissions
received in the rule-making proceeding or any memorandum summarizing such oral
submissions, and any regulatory analysis or fiscal impact statement issued in
the rule-making proceedings.
3. The
Committee may use its own experience, specialized knowledge, and judgment in
the adoption of a rule.
H.
Variance Between Adopted Rule and
Published Notice of Proposed Rule1.
The Committee may not adopt a rule that differs from the rule proposed in the
published notice of the intended rule-making on which the rule is based unless:
a. The final rule is in character with the
original scheme and was a logical outgrowth of the notice and comments stemming
from the proposed rule, or
b. The
notice fairly apprised interested persons of the subject and the issues that
would be considered so that those persons had an opportunity to
comment.
2. In
determining whether the final rule is in character with the original scheme and
was a logical outgrowth of the notice and comments, and that the notice of
intended rule-making provided fair warning that the outcome of that rule-making
proceeding could be the rule in question, the Committee must consider the
following factors:
a. The extent to which
persons who will be affected by the rule should have understood that the
rule-making proceeding on which it is based could affect their interests;
and
b. The extent to which the
subject matter of the rule or issues determined by the rule are different from
the subject matter or issues contained in the notice of intended rule-making;
and
c. The extent to which the
effects of the rule differ from the effects of the proposed rule contained in
the notice of intended rule-making.
I.
Concise Statement of Reasons
1. When requested by an interested person,
either prior to the adoption of a rule or within thirty (30) days after its
adoption, the Committee shall issue a concise statement of the principal
reasons for and against its adoption of the rule. Requests for such a statement
must be in writing and be delivered to the Committee in care of the Operations
and Programs Officer, Arkansas Municipal League with a copy to the State Aid
Engineer, State Aid Division of the Arkansas Department of Transportation. The
request should indicate whether the statement is sought for all or only a
specified part of a rule. A request will be considered to have been submitted
on the date on which it is received by the Operations and Programs Officer,
Arkansas Municipal League.
2. The
concise statement of reasons must contain:
a.
The Committee's reasons for adopting the rule;
b. An indication of any change between the
text of the proposed rule and the text of the rule as finally adopted, with
explanations for any such change; and
c. The principal reasons urged in the
rule-making procedure for and against the rule, and the Committee's reasons for
overruling the arguments made against the rule.
J.
Contents
The Committee shall cause its rules to be published and made
available to interested persons. The publication must include:
1. The text of the rule; and
2. A note containing the following:
(a) The date(s) the Committee adopted or
amended the rule;
(b) The effective
date(s) of the rule;
(c) Any
findings required by any provisions of law as a prerequisite to adoption for
effectiveness of the rule; and
(d)
Citation to the entire specific statutory or other authority authorizing the
adoption of the rule;
3.
The publication of the rule(s) must state the date of publication.
K.
FORMAT
The published rules of the Committee will be organized
substantially in the following format:
I. Statement of Organization and
Operations
II. Information for
Public Guidance
III. General
Organization
IV.
Rule-making
V. Emergency
Rule-making
VI. Declaratory
Orders
VII. Et seq. Substantive
rules and other rules of the Committee.
L.
Incorporation by Reference
By reference in a rule, the Committee may incorporate all or any
part of a code, standard, rule, or other matter if the Committee finds that
copying the matter in the Committee's rule would be unduly cumbersome,
expensive, or otherwise inexpedient. The reference in the Committee rule must
fully and precisely identify the incorporated matter by title, citation, date,
and edition, if any; briefly indicate the precise subject and general contents
of the incorporated matter; and state that the rule does not include any later
amendments or editions of the incorporated matter. The Committee may
incorporate such a matter by reference in a proposed or adopted rule only if
the Committee makes copies of the incorporated matter readily available to the
public. The rules must state how and where copies of the incorporated matter
may be obtained at cost from the Committee, and how and where copies may be
obtained from an agency of the United States, this state, another state, or the
organization, association, or persons originally issuing that matter. The
Committee must retain permanently a copy of any materials incorporated by
reference in a rule of the Committee.
M.
Filing
1. After the Committee formally adopts a new
rule or amends a current rule or repeals an existing rule, and after the rule
change has been reviewed by the Legislative Counsel, the Committee will file
final copies of the rule with the Secretary of State, the Arkansas State
Library, and the Bureau of Legislative Research, or as otherwise provided by
A.C.A. §
25-15-204(d).
2.
Proof of filing a copy of the rule, amendment, or repeal with the Secretary of
State, the Arkansas State Library, and the Bureau of Legislative Research will
be kept in a file maintained by the Committee.
3. Notice of the rule change will be posted
on the Committee Web page.
V.
EMERGENCY RULE-MAKING
A.
Request for Emergency
Rule-making
The proponent of a rule may request the Committee to adopt an
emergency rule. In addition to the text of the proposed rule or amendment to an
existing rule and any other information required by Rule IV(C), the proponent
will provide a written statement setting out the facts or circumstances that
would support a finding of imminent peril to the public health, safety, or
welfare.
B.
Finding
of an Emergency
Upon receipt of the written statement requesting an emergency
rule-making and documents or other evidence submitted in support of the
assertion that an emergency exists, the Committee will make an independent
judgment as to whether the circumstances and facts constitute an imminent peril
to the public health, safety, or welfare requiring adoption of the rule upon
fewer than 30 days notice. If the Committee determines that the circumstances
warrant emergency rule-making, it will make a written determination that sets
out the reasons for the Committee's finding that an emergency exists. Upon
making this finding, the Committee may proceed to adopt the rule without any
prior notice or hearing, or it may determine to provide an abbreviated notice
and hearing.
C.
Effective Date of Emergency Rule
The emergency rule will be effective immediately upon filing, or
at a stated time less than ten (10) days thereafter, if the Committee finds
that this effective date is necessary because of imminent peril to the public
health, safety, or welfare. The Committee will file with the rule its written
findings justifying the determination that emergency rule-making is appropriate
and, if applicable, the basis for the effective date of the emergency rule
being less than ten days after the filing of the rule pursuant to A.C.A. §
25-15-204(e). The Committee will take appropriate measures to make emergency
rules known to persons who may be affected by them.
VI.
DECLARATORY ORDERS
A.
Purpose and Use of Declaratory
Orders
A declaratory order is a means of resolving a controversy or
answering questions or doubts concerning the applicability of statutory
provisions, rules, or grants over which the Committee has authority. A petition
for declaratory order may be used only to resolve questions or doubts as to how
the statutes, rules, or grants may apply to the petitioner's particular
circumstances. A declaratory order is not the appropriate means for determining
the conduct of another person or for obtaining a policy statement of general
applicability from the Committee. A petition or declaratory order must describe
the potential impact of statutes, rules, or grants upon the petitioner's
interests.
B.
The
Petition
The process to obtain a declaratory order is begun by filing with
the Committee in care of the Operations and Programs Officer, Arkansas
Municipal League, with a copy to the State Aid Engineer, State Aid Division of
the Arkansas Department of Transportation, a petition that provides the
following information:
1. The caption
shall read: Petition for Declaratory Order Before the State Aid Street
Committee.
2. The name, address,
telephone number, and facsimile number of the petitioner.
3. The name, address, telephone number, and
facsimile number of the attorney of the petitioner.
4. The statutory provision(s), Committee
rule(s), or Committee grant(s) on which the declaratory order is
sought.
5. A description of how the
statutes, rules, or grants may substantially affect the petitioner and the
petitioner's particular set of circumstances, and the question or issue on
which petitioner seeks a declaratory order.
6. The signature of the petitioner or
petitioner's attorney.
7. The
date.
8. Request for a hearing, if
desired.
C.
Agency
Disposition1. The Committee may hold a
hearing to consider a petition for declaratory order. If a hearing is held, it
shall be conducted in accordance with A.C.A. §
25-15-208 and §
25-15-213.
2. The Committee may
rely on the statements of fact set out in the petition without taking any
position with regard to the validity of the facts. Within ninety (90) days of
the filing of the petition, the Committee will render a final order denying the
petition or issuing a declaratory order.
VII.
SUBSTANTIVE RULES
A.
Project Criteria
1. In order to qualify for funding roadway
conditions for overlays must be fair, fair to poor or poor.
2. Construction funding for overlay projects
will be capped at $300,000. If bids exceed the cap, then the City must agree to
pay the overage amount or scale back the project.
3. Projects requiring design work will be
granted preliminary approval but not considered for construction funding until
the engineering has been completed. For these projects, a $400,000 cap will
apply for construction funding and a $160,000 cap will apply for engineering
costs (the total cost of engineering design and inspection). The City will be
responsible to pay any overage of the engineering costs and/or construction
costs.
4. As part of the Chairman's
day-to-day operations, the Committee has authorized the Chairman to concur in
the routine award of construction contracts administered by the Arkansas
Department of Transportation and for both the contract award and during
construction, approve construction funding increases of more than 10% over a
project's initial approved amount not to exceed the maximum capped amount for
the type of project. At the request of any Committee member, a special meeting
will be held to approve the funding increases and/or concur in the contract
awards. When requesting concurrence in award and/or approval for funding
increases, the State Aid Engineer will email the request to the Chairman and
copy the Committee members. After the construction contracts are awarded, the
projects' approved amounts will be adjusted to match the appropriate share of
the award amount.
5. Municipalities
may submit to the Committee one project request per year on a calendar year
basis.
6. Municipalities that have
had a project approved for funding must wait until the following calendar year
to submit another project.
7. In
the event of an emergency, as determined by the Committee, the restrictions set
out in Rules 2, 5, and 6 above may be suspended by a two-thirds vote of a
quorum at a regular or special meeting called for that purpose.
