Oklahoma Administrative Code
Title 655 - Secretary of State
Chapter 10 - Administrative Rules on Rulemaking
Subchapter 1 - General Provisions
Section 655:10-1-2 - Definitions

Current through Vol. 42, No. 1, September 16, 2024

In addition to terms defined in 75 O.S., Section 250.3, the following words or terms, when used in this Chapter, shall have the following meaning, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"APA" means the Administrative Procedures Act, 75 O.S., Sections 250 et seq.

"ARR" means the Administrative Rules on Rulemaking, OAC 655:10.

"Adopted rule" means a proposed emergency [or preemptive] rule which has been approved by the agency but has not been approved or disapproved by the Governor . . ., or a proposed permanent rule that has been approved by the agency and has not been disapproved by the Governor pursuant to [75 O.S., Section 303(A)(6)], but has not been finally approved or disapproved by the Legislature or the Governor [75:250.3(2)]. [See also definitions of "proposed rule" and "Governor's declaration" in this Section].

"Agency" means any constitutionally or statutorily created state board, bureau, commission, office, authority, public trust in which the state is a beneficiary, or interstate commission [75:250.3(3)] with authority for rulemaking. Except, "agency" does not include the Legislature or any branch, committee or officer thereof, and . . . the courts [75:250.3(3)]. [See also definition of "rulemaking entity" in this Section]

"Amendment" means a revision which adds, modifies, or deletes characters, numbers, letters, words, phrases, sentences, spaces, or punctuation in an existing section.

"Appendix" means a division of the OAC which contains one or more "graphics" (as defined in this Section). Appendices are placed at the end of a Chapter. [See 655:10-3-37]

"Attestation" means certification by an agency as to the correctness of copies of any rule. . . and that such rules were made and adopted if the rules are emergency [or preemptive] rules or finally adopted if the rules are permanent rules in substantial compliance with the Administrative Procedures Act [75:254]. [See 655:10-7-16 (relating to attestations)]

"Chapter" means a division of the OAC which designates a broad area of regulatory control within an agency's Title. [See also 655:10-3-22 (relating to Chapter numbers and headings)]

"Code" means the publication authorized in 75 O.S., Section 256 and known as The Oklahoma Administrative Code, or, prior to its publication, the compilation of codified rules authorized by 75 O.S., Section 256(A)(1)(a) and maintained in the OAR. [See also definition of "OAC" in this Section]

"Codification date" means the date a rule was accepted for inclusion in the first official compilation of codified rules authorized by 75 O.S., Section 256(A)(1)(a); except, the date of codification for subsequently promulgated new rules is the effective date of the permanent rulemaking action which establishes the rules.

"Docket number" means the identification number assigned to a document upon its receipt in the OAR. [See 655:10-15-4 (relating to docket numbers)]

"Document" means the total body of information required by the APA and ARR to be submitted for each rulemaking action, Governor's declaration, or executive order to be published in the Register. [See also Part 9 of Subchapter 7 of this Chapter (relating to scope of a document)]

"Document heading" means the two-part heading required at the beginning of each notice document or rule document submitted to the OAR. [See 655:10-7-3 (relating to document headings)]

"Emergency rule" means a "rule," as defined in the APA, which must be approved by the Governor under the special provisions of 75 O.S., Section 253 prior to promulgation of the rule.

"Enacting clause" means the portion of a rule document which proclaims the agency's rulemaking action and introduces the finally adopted (if permanent) or adopted (if emergency or preemptive) regulatory text. [See 655:10-7-13 (relating to enacting clauses)]

"Existing rule" means an effective rule.

"Finally adopted" or "final adoption" means the approval of a proposed permanent rule upon the occurrence of one of the following:

"Governor's declaration" means an action the Governor may take to declare the approval and final adoption, or disapproval, of proposed permanent rules that were:

"Graphics" means tabular material, forms, illustrations, diagrams, maps, charts, graphs, figures, or other pictorial material published in a compressed image format (JPG). [See 655:10-3-37 (relating to graphics and appendices)]

"Notice document" means a "document," as defined in this Section, which contains one of the following notices:

"OAC" means the publication authorized by 75 O.S., Section 256 and known as The Oklahoma Administrative Code, or, prior to its publication, the compilation of codified rules authorized by 75 O.S., Section 256(A)(1)(a) and maintained in the OAR. [See also definition of "Code" in this Section]

"OAC number" means a Title, Chapter, Subchapter, Part, or Section number, or Appendix letter designation.

"OAR" means the Office of Administrative Rules. [See also definition of "Office of Administrative Rules" in this Section]

"Office of Administrative Rules" means the office, created pursuant to 75 O.S., Section 250.9 within the Office of the Secretary of State, with the primary responsibility for publishing "The Oklahoma Register" and the "Oklahoma Administrative Code" and otherwise implementing the provisions of Article I of the Administrative ProceduresAct [75:250.9]. [See also definition of "OAR" in this Section]

"Paragraph" means the second level of subdivision in a Section; a paragraph is a subdivision of a subsection in a Section. [See 655:10-3-25 (relating to Section subdivisions)]

"Part" means a division of the OAC which contains a group of Sections related to the same subject within a Subchapter. [See also 655:10-3-23 (relating to Part numbers and headings)]

"Permanent rule" means a "rule," as defined in the APA, which must be reviewed by the Governor and the agency's Cabinet Secretary prior to adoption pursuant to 75 O.S., Section 303(6), and finally adopted pursuant to 75 O.S., Sections 250.3 (5) and 308(E) prior to promulgation of the rule. [See also 655:10-7-10 (relating to types of rules)]

"Preamble" means the portion of a rule document that summarizes the rule(s) and the history of the rulemaking action, cites legal authority, and functions as a preface to the rule(s). [See 655:10-7-11 (relating to preambles)]

"Preemptive rule" means a "rule," as defined in the APA, which is adopted by the Commission for Human Services and which must be approved by the Governor under the special provisions of 75 O.S., Section 250.6 prior to promulgation of the rule.

"Proposed rule" means an emergency or preemptive rule prior to approval by the Governor, or a proposed permanent rule prior to final adoption as defined in 75O.S., Section 250.3(5) and this section, or an expedited rule repeal prior to approval by the Legislature as set forth in 75 O.S., Section 303a.

"Register" means the publication authorized in 75 O.S., Section 255 and known as The Oklahoma Register, successor publication to The Oklahoma Gazette.

"Regulatory text" means the language of any "rule," as defined in 75 O.S., Section 250.3(17) and this Section; any text, including graphics, which requires promulgation.

"Revocation" or "revoke" means the repeal of an existing rule (i.e., Section or Appendix) in its entirety.

"Rule" means a Section or Appendix [see also definition of "rule" in 75 O.S., Section 250.3(17)].

"Rule document" means a "document," as defined in this Section, which contains new rules or amendments to or revocations of existing rules adopted by emergency or preemptive action or finally adopted by permanent action.

"Rulemaking action" means any procedure, act, or occurrence, except executive orders, which must be announced in or published in the Register or Code under APA or ARR provisions, including:

"Rulemaking entity" means the board, commission, officer, or other person or entity legally authorized to adopt and promulgate "rules," as defined in 75 O.S., Section 250.3(17).

"Section" means a "rule," as defined in 75 O.S., Section 250.3(17); a division of the OAC which contains an agency statement(s) about a specific regulatory topic within a Chapter, Subchapter, or Part. [See 655:10-3-24 (relating to Section numbers and taglines)]

"Section subdivision" means any one of five possible levels into which a Section may be separated. A maximum of five levels of Section subdivisions may be used in a Section [see 655:10-3-25 (relating to Section subdivisions)]:

"Section text" means the "regulatory text" (as defined in this Section) which follows the Section number and tagline in a Section.

"Source note" means the record of rulemaking history which follows a Section, an Appendix, or a Subchapter or Chapter table of contents in the Code. Source notes track the administrative history of a rule. [See 655:10-17-6 (relating to Chapter, Subchapter, and Section/Appendix source notes)]

"Strikeout" means a solid, horizontal line through deleted regulatory text.

"Subchapter" means a division of the OAC which contains a group of Sections related to the same general subject area within a Chapter. [See 655:10-3-23 (relating to Subchapter numbers and headings)]

"Subparagraph" means the third level of subdivision within a Section; a subparagraph is a subdivision of a paragraph in a Section. [See 655:10-3-25 (relating to Section subdivisions)]

"Subsection" means the first level of subdivision in a Section. [See 655:10-3-25 (relating to Section subdivisions)]

"Subunit" means the fifth level of subdivision within a Section; a subunit is a subdivision of a unit in a Section; it is the smallest possible subdivision of a Section. [See 655:10-3-25 (relating to Section subdivisions)]

"Technical legal defect" means an error [in a joint resolution approving and/or disapproving proposed permanent rules, as set forth in 75 O.S., Section 308.3(C)] that would otherwise invalidate an action by a court of law [75:250.3(23)]

"Title" means the broadest division of the OAC; a Title contains the rules of one agency. [See 655:10-3-21 (relating to Title numbers and headings)]

"Unit" means the fourth level of subdivision within a Section; a unit is a subdivision of a subparagraph in a Section. [See 655:10-3-25 (relating to Section subdivisions)]

"Working day" means any day except Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday for state employees as proclaimed by the Governor.