T1403 Bid Solicitation Revised Version 03.25.2021.docx

Bid Solicitation #21DPP00611

Vendor’s {Bidder’s} Electronic Question Due Date (Refer to Bid Solicitation Section 1.3.1 for more information.)

Optional Pre-Quote Submission Conference (Refer to Bid Solicitation Section 1.3.5 for more information.)

Mandatory/Optional Site Visit (Refer to Bid Solicitation Section 1.3.4 for more information.)

NOT APPLICABLE

Quote Submission Date (Refer to Bid Solicitation Section 1.3.2 for more information.)

Dates are subject to change. All times contained in the Bid Solicitation refer to Eastern Time. All changes will be reflected in Bid Amendments to the Bid Solicitation posted on www.njstart.gov.

☒ Small Business Set-Aside Category For Goods and Services:

☒ I ☒ II ☒ III

For Construction:

☐ IV ☐ V ☐ VI

Status

☐ Not Applicable

☐ Entire Blanket P.O.

☐ Partial Blanket P.O.

☒ Subcontracting Only

☒ Disabled Veteran-Owned Business Set-Aside

Bid Solicitation Issued By:

State of New Jersey Department of the Treasury Division of Purchase and Property Trenton, New Jersey 086250230 Using Agency/Agencies:

State of New Jersey Office of Administrative Law

March 25, 2021 Table of Contents

List of Appendices

Appendix 1: Administrative Procedure Act

Appendix 1A: OAL Rules on Agency Rulemaking

Appendix 2: New Jersey Rulemaking Agencies

Appendix 3: New Jersey Register

Appendix 4: Sample Code Pages

Appendix 5: Code Titles and Prices

Appendix 6: Pages per Title

Appendix 7: Notice of Proposal as Filed with OAL

Appendix 8: 2018 New Jersey Register Publication Schedule

Appendix 9: APO Memorandum

Appendix 10: Notice of Proposal as worked-up by OAL ((T) version)

Appendix 11: Notice of Proposal – final as approved for publication ((F) version)

Appendix 12: Certificate of Proposal, Adoption and Promulgation

Appendix 13: Published Notice of Proposal

Appendix 14: Notice of Adoption as Filed with OAL

Appendix 15: Notice of Adoption as worked-up by OAL ((T) version)

Appendix 16: Notice of Adoption – final as approved for publication ((F) version)

Appendix 17: Published Notice of Adoption

Appendix 18: Full Code Index Sample Page

Appendix 19: Full Code Definition Table Sample Page

Appendix 20: Full Code Statute-to-Rule Table Sample Page

Appendix 21: Full Code Rule-to-Statute Table Sample Page

Appendix 22: Annual Register Pages 2007- 2017

Appendix 23: 2018 New Jersey Register Production Schedule

Appendix 24: Rule Tracking and Recordkeeping Database Input Forms and Reports List

Appendix 25: Sample Expired Rules Code Page

Appendix 26: New Jersey Documents Depository Libraries

Appendix 27: Complimentary Subscription List

INFORMATION FOR VENDORS {BIDDERS}

NOTICE: This Bid Solicitation is part of the NJSTART Procurement Program. The Vendor {Bidder} is advised to thoroughly read all sections, as many have been revised, and follow all instructions contained in this Bid Solicitation, including the instructions on the Bid Solicitation’s Offer and Acceptance Page and read through all Quick Reference Guides (QRGs) located on the NJSTART Vendor Support Page , before preparing and submitting its Quote.

PURPOSE AND INTENT

This Bid Solicitation is issued by the Procurement Bureau, Division of Purchase and Property (Division), Department of the Treasury on behalf of the State of New Jersey, Office of Administrative Law (OAL). The purpose of this Bid Solicitation is to solicit Quotes for the New Jersey Register (Register) and the New Jersey Administrative Code (Code). The OAL seeks a comprehensive approach to achieve the following:

Official Publication of the Register and Code under a Blanket P.O. in which the Vendor {Contractor} is responsible for production and customer service;

Enable the electronic transmission, receipt, and exchange of rulemaking documents between the OAL and the Vendor {Contractor};

Create and maintain an automated logging and tracking system of rulemaking documents;

Create and maintain the Code and Register on an electronic database;

Create electronic databases of the Register and Code for archival purposes, and to provide Internet access to the public and State agencies, on subscription/transaction fee and limited free access bases, and through a public access portal as described in this Bid Solicitation;

Explore innovative ways to achieve wider and quicker dissemination of the Register and Code with the intent to increase public participation in the rulemaking process;

Provide Register and Code publication and supplementation through on-demand printing and through various electronic media including on-line services for the Register and Code;

Provide for indexing, cross-referencing, and annotation of the Code;

Minimize the delay, inherent in the use of traditional print technology, in the publication of supplements to the Code;

Maintain effective cost control of the Register and Code to enhance public accessibility of these publications;

Increase the Register and Code subscriber base through improved, aggressive, and innovative marketing techniques;

Establish and maintain an interactive subscription fulfillment/accounts receivable system; and Maintain continued support of the OAL rule promulgation function through licensure fees.

The required services are described in the Bid Solicitation Section 3.0

The intent of this Bid Solicitation is to award a Master Blanket Purchase Order (Blanket P.O.) to that responsible Vendor {Bidder} whose Quote, conforming to this Bid Solicitation is most advantageous to the State, price and other factors considered. The State may award any and all price lines. The State, however, reserves the right to separately procure individual requirements that are the subject of the Blanket P.O. during the Blanket P.O. term, when deemed by the Director of the Division of Purchase and Property (Director) to be in the State’s best interest.

The Blanket P.O. will be awarded in accordance with the criteria in Section 6.7 of this Bid Solicitation.

The State of New Jersey Standard Terms and Conditions (SSTCs) accompanying this Bid Solicitation will apply to all Blanket P.O.s made with the State of New Jersey. These terms are in addition to the terms and conditions set forth in this Bid Solicitation and should be read in conjunction with them unless the Bid Solicitation specifically indicates otherwise.

BACKGROUND

The OAL is an agency within the Executive Branch of New Jersey State government. A primary responsibility of the OAL is to oversee the rulemaking process in New Jersey, which begins with the filing and review of administrative rules, publication of the Register and Code, and the servicing of Register and Code subscribers.

On December 28, 1993, Public Law 1993, chapter 343 was enacted amending the Administrative Procedure Act (N.J.S.A. 52:14B-1 et seq.), specifically section 7 concerning the publication of the Register and Code. Pertinent provisions of the amended law clarify that the Register and Code are under the control and direction of the OAL regardless of the method or medium chosen to store, maintain, and distribute them. The amendments also require the publication, sale, and distribution of these publications by contractual or licensing arrangements to ensure the widest dissemination possible (see Appendix 1, New Jersey Administrative Procedure Act, and Appendix 1A, OAL Rules on Agency Rulemaking).

Vendors {Bidders} are cautioned that this new Bid Solicitation addresses current requirements. Vendors {Bidders} should not rely upon or use data from the prior Blanket P.O.

1.1 1.2

NEW JERSEY REGISTER

The Register is the official Journal of State Agency Rulemaking in New Jersey. All Executive Branch agencies are required to publish notice of rule promulgations in the Register (see Appendix 2, New Jersey Rulemaking Agencies). With the exception of emergency rules or rules effective upon filing with the OAL pursuant to specific statutory authorization, a new or amended rule is not effective until public notice of the rule or amendment’s adoption is first published in the Register.

All State agency rulemaking activities are required to be submitted to the OAL for review of technical, substantive, and legal conformance with the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act, N.J.S.A. 52:14B-1 et seq., and the Office of Administrative Law Rules for Agency Rulemaking, N.J.A.C. 1:30 (see Appendices 1 and 1A). Thus, rulemaking activities such as petitions for a rule, pre-proposals for a rule, and all rulemaking proceedings to promulgate a rule are submitted to the OAL.

The Register is published semi-monthly and contains all proposals and adoptions of rules promulgated pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act. The contents of the Register are divided into three (3) main sections: Rule Proposals, which includes the full text of all proposals, arranged by agency name; Rule Adoptions, which includes the full text of all adoptions, arranged by agency name; and Public Notices, which includes the full text of notices of petitions for rulemaking and non-rulemaking notices, such as notices for grant availability, arranged by agency name. The Register also contains Executive Orders, Reorganization Plans, and Rulemaking Calendars, each type of which is included in a separate, appropriately titled section of the Register. Each Register includes a Table of Rulemaking in that issue (see Appendix 3, New Jersey Register).

The Register also provides a cumulative Register Index of Rule Proposals and Adoptions, which lists all rule proposals from the preceding 12 months that have not been adopted by the agency and all adoptions that have not yet been integrated into the New Jersey Administrative Code. The introductory text of the Index includes the date of the current update to the Code. Proposals that are not adopted within one (1) year of publication expire and are deleted from the index. This listing is arranged by agency, and therein by N.J.A.C. citation order. The listing include a brief description of the rule, the volumes and pages of the Register in which the proposal and adoption were published, and a document citation. The entries of adopted rules in the cumulative Index, together with the contents of the Code, constitute all effective, adopted rules. The Index is published in each issue of the Register.

1.2.1.1

NEW JERSEY ADMINISTRATIVE CODE

In addition to being the statutorily designated means of rule promulgation, the New Jersey Register is an integral part of the Code. Cited as N.J.A.C., the Code is an ongoing compilation of all administrative rules adopted by State executive agencies required to promulgate rules pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act. Public notice in the Register of impending rule changes is the first step toward changing the Code. Judicial notice is taken of both the Register and the Code. Accuracy is imperative.

The Code is the official publication of rules promulgated by New Jersey State agencies. Published in a double column, 8½ inch by 11 inch loose leaf page format (see Appendix 4, Sample Code Pages), the 40-volume Code is updated twice monthly with the rule changes published in the preceding issue of the New Jersey Register. 24 supplements are issued each year that consist of replacement pages for those rules that have been added, amended, or deleted. Each agency’s body of rules is codified in a Title of the Code (see Appendix 5, Code Titles and Prices; Appendix 6 lists the number of pages in each Title). Each Title contains a chapter table of contents and an index. Each individual chapter, likewise, contains a table of contents. The Code is annotated to provide the reader with complete context in which to analyze the rules. Annotations include:

Legislative authority for the rulemaking;

Source and effective date of the rules;

Chapter expiration dates;

Historical notes that discuss prior chapter-wide regulatory activity;

Section annotations that discuss prior regulatory activity for each section; and

Case notes of salient New Jersey court cases and quasi-judicial administrative decisions, and Formal Attorney General Opinions. The case notes reflect decisions rendered beginning September 1, 1969, which cite the Administrative Code; and law review and journal commentary notes.

The Code is divided and cited by title, chapter, subchapter, section, subsection, and subparagraph. As an example, N.J.A.C. 1:1-1.1(a)1i denotes title 1, chapter 1, subchapter 1, section 1, subsection (a), paragraph 1, subparagraph i. Although the number is undetermined, there are rules in the Code that are broken down further than the basic codification scheme. Ideally, the section (N.J.A.C. 1:1-1.1) is the basic unit of a rule and addresses a single regulatory concern. One or more sections constitutes a subchapter (N.J.A.C. 1:1-1). The subchapter addresses a broader area of regulation and is generally a major subdivision of a particular agency program or statutorily-designated power. The chapter (N.J.A.C. 1:1) is the unit of authority for all the rules promulgated for a specific agency program or regulatory area.

RULE PROMULGATION PROCESS IN NEW JERSEY

PROPOSAL PROCESS

Rulemaking is a two-step process. The first step requires publication of a notice of proposal (proposal) in the New Jersey Register, which affords opportunity for public input by mandating a minimum of 30 days to comment upon proposed new rules, proposed amendments to existing rules, and proposed repeals. A 30-day comment period is permitted for a proposal published in keeping with an agency’s current rulemaking calendar published in the Register or if the proposal qualifies for one of four statutory exceptions to inclusion in a rulemaking calendar; a fifth exception, providing 60-day comment period on a proposal, has come to be used by agencies for almost all proposals. Agencies on occasion provide comment periods greater than 60 days or extend a previously announced comment period. Accompanying each proposal is a Summary statement explaining the proposed changes or new rules; Social, Economic, Jobs, Agriculture Industry, and Racial and Ethnic Community Criminal Justice Public Safety Impact statements; Housing Affordability Impact and Smart Growth Development Impact Analyses; a Federal Standards Statement or Analysis; a Regulatory Flexibility Statement or Analysis regarding the proposal’s impact upon small business within New Jersey; and, in the case of the Department of Environmental Protection proposals, an Environmental Impact statement. Publication of this information provides full and meaningful notice to the public and is required by the Administrative Procedure Act. The New Jersey Legislature is often concerned that the regulated public be provided adequate notice of agency rulemaking actions and occasionally introduces bills requiring additional, more comprehensive statements to accompany rulemaking notices.

The proposal process begins with an agency submitting a notice of proposal to the OAL for filing (see Appendix 7, Notice of Proposal as Filed with OAL). The rule activity may consist of a proposed new rule, a proposed amendment to revise an existing rule, a proposed repeal of an existing rule, or a proposed read option of a chapter of existing rules with non-technical amendments. In all instances, the proposal procedure is required. The OAL receives between 300 and 400 proposals a year. The size of such proposals can range from a few pages to several hundred pages in length. It is through the proposal process that those affected by a possible rule, and the public in general, are given the opportunity to comment on the rule and its effects.

The public is encouraged to submit written comments on proposed rulemaking that affects its interests. In some cases, State agencies hold public hearings to elicit the widest possible range of public input. At these hearings, any interested person may ask questions about, or give testimony for or against, a proposed rulemaking. Deadlines for written comments and dates, places, and times of public hearings, if any, accompany the notices of proposal.

Certain procedures must be followed in the submission of proposals to the OAL and certain requirements met in the preparation of the notice of proposal. All material to be deleted must be bracketed and all material to be added must be in boldface. Proposals must be submitted by 12:00 noon on the proposed deadline established by the OAL as a Microsoft Word document (double-spaced, with one-inch margins, justified left), attached to an e-mail addressed to the OAL’s dedicated Register submission address, NJRfilings@oal.nj.gov.

The notice of proposal includes:

A. The Code Title affected (by name) and the name of the proposing agency;

B. A descriptive caption of the subject(s) of the rulemaking;

C. The N.J.A.C. citation of any proposed read option, amendment, repeal, or new rule;

D. The name of the authorizing agency head or promulgating entity executive officer;

E. A citation to the specific legal authority authorizing the proposed rulemaking;

F. A rulemaking calendar reference;

G. A proposal number (PRN) assigned by the OAL;

H. An announcement concerning the public’s opportunity to be heard. The announcement must include: when, where, how, and to whom persons may present their views; whether comments and inquiries will be accepted orally or in writing; where, when, and how persons may attend public hearings, if any; and a method of electronic submission of public comments (e-mail address or website portal). Additionally, the notice must provide a comment period of at least 30 days from the date of publication. The agency may provide a longer comment period if necessary to qualify for a rulemaking calendar exception or if it otherwise wishes;

I. A Summary statement that includes: a summary of the proposed rule’s subject matter; a clear and concise explanation of the rule’s purpose and effect; why this action (amendment, repeal, new rule, or read option) is necessary; and additional information regarding the regulatory history of the proposal;

J. A Social Impact statement that includes: an explanation of the social effect of the proposal; who is affected (public, agency, specific population); how large a group is affected; the nature of the social impact; the projected reaction to the rule; an explanation of the positive or negative consequences to various parties involved; and the social conditions that may have precipitated the rule;

K. An Economic Impact statement that includes: an explanation of who the proposal affects economically; statistical information wherever possible; how the proposal may affect funding sources; a clear economic effect on the public, if any; an economic effect on implementing agencies or other agencies, such as any administrative cost; and any social or monetary savings;

L. A Federal Standard Statement or Analysis that includes: a discussion of whether there are any Federal standards or requirements applicable to the rulemaking subject and, if so, whether such standards or requirements are exceeded; if the standards or requirements are exceeded, an explanation of the policy basis for exceedance and a cost-benefit analysis supporting the exceedance are provided;

M. A Jobs Impact statement providing an assessment of the number of jobs to be generated or lost if the proposed rule takes effect;

N. An Agriculture Industry Impact statement setting forth the nature and effect of the impact of the proposed rule on the agriculture industry;

O. A Regulatory Flexibility Statement or Analysis: Rules that impose reporting, recordkeeping, or other compliance requirements on small businesses include a regulatory flexibility analysis, which describes the requirements imposed, the costs of compliance, whether compliance requires the employment of any professional services, and the methods used to minimize any adverse economic impact on small businesses;

P. A Housing Affordability Impact Analysis describing the types and estimated the number of housing units to which the proposed rule would apply, and the estimated increase or decrease in the average cost of housing affected by the proposed rule;

Q. A Smart Growth Development Impact Analysis describing the types and estimating the number of housing units to which the proposed rule would apply, the estimated increase or decrease in the average cost of housing affected by the proposed rule, and whether the proposed rule will affect in any manner new contraction within Planning Areas 1 or 2, or within designated centers, under the State Development and Redevelopment Plan;

R. A Racial and Ethnic Community Criminal Justice and Public Safety Impact statement describing whether the rulemaking will have any impact on pretrial detention, sentencing, probation, or parole policies concerning juveniles and adults in the State; and

S. The properly prepared text of the proposed rule.

The Summary and statements are not part of the rule but are integral parts of the proposal and as such may be used in interpreting the rule. The text of the rule must be coherent, understandable, detailed, and specific enough to identify who or what will be affected; how or when the effect will occur; what is being prescribed or mandated; and what, if any, enforcement mechanisms and/or sanctions may be involved. The text of any existing rule that is being amended must specifically indicate what provisions are being added or deleted and must identify any rule being repealed or codified. If the rules are being extensively codified, a cross-reference table of old and new citations must also be submitted for publication.

The text of the rule must contain either the current New Jersey Administrative Code (N.J.A.C.) citation or a proposed Code citation. The citation “N.J.A.C. 1:30-2.2(a) 8” represents the following information: title 1, chapter 30, subchapter 2, section 2, and subsection (a), paragraph 8.

If charts, maps, diagrams, forms, graphs, or technical/chemical listings are to be published as a part of the proposal, these items are submitted in digital form as part of the body of the notice; if inclusion within the Word document is not possible, the digital item is submitted separately and incorporated into the notice in the Register by the publishing contractor. There are approximately 600 pages in the Code containing charts, maps, diagrams, forms, etc.

Appendices include only material that clarifies, illustrates, or explains a rule. For example:

A. Technical requirements or specifications;

B. Instructions:

C. Formulas;

D. Forms;

E. Examples of hypothetical cases;

F. Reprints of regulations, statutes, forms, or other matter originating elsewhere;

G. Lists of offices, with addresses and hours of business; and

H. Analyses or explanatory material regarding a rule, which may contain a rationale or derivation of the rule.

The OAL determines whether appendices are regulatory or non-regulatory. If an appendix is regulatory, it must be incorporated by reference into the text of the rule. If the appendix is non-regulatory, but informational, the appendix may simply be cross-referenced in the text of the rule. All appendices are published in both the Register and Code.

Additional Format Requirements for Specific Proposals

A. Proposed amendments: The copy for publication includes the entire section of the rule proposed for amendment. If changes are not proposed for any subsection, paragraph, or subparagraph within the section, “(No change)” is indicated. Deletions of current text are shown in brackets [thus]; new text is shown in boldface thus.

B. Proposed new rules: Proposed new rules made up of whole subchapters or chapters are submitted without boldface text, if no amendments to other existing rules are included in the proposal. All other proposed new text, such as sections or subsections, is submitted in boldface thus.

C. Proposed read option pursuant to N.J.S.A. 52:14B-5.1: For a proposed read option without amendments, the chapter where one can find the existing rules in the Code is referenced. For a proposed read option with amendments, proposed changes are indicated by bracketing and/or boldfacing and only those rules being amended are submitted, in the format under 1.2.2.1.A.1 or 1.2.2.1.A.2 above.

Procedural Requirements for the Proposal Process

A. The Register Publication Schedule is prepared annually, in October, by the OAL, and includes the proposal deadline for each issue of the Register (see Appendix 8). The proposal deadline is approximately one month before Register publication. The listing of proposal deadlines by issue of publication allows an agency to schedule rulemakings for specific Registers.

B. A proposal must be submitted to the OAL, Division of Administrative Rules, by 12:00 noon of the appropriate proposal deadline in order to ensure publication in the desired issue of the Register. Unless a late submission is approved by the Division Manager, untimely submissions are published in a subsequent Register, and proposals that do not satisfy OAL procedural or publication requirements will be held pending resolution of deficiencies.

C. A proposal must be adopted and filed with the OAL within one year of the proposal’s publication in the Register. If the proposal is not adopted and filed within the one-year period, the proposal expires. If the agency seeks to pursue rulemaking activity on this subject after the one-year period, it must resubmit the proposed rule and comply again with Administrative Procedure Act notice and opportunity to be heard requirements.

D. Notices of correction to a published proposal, withdrawal of a published proposal, a formal extension of a comment period for a proposal, a public hearing on a published proposal, and pre-proposals are all published in the proposal section of the Register, and, therefore, must be received by the proposal deadline.

Publication of Proposals in the New Jersey Register

Proposals are reviewed and edited by a Rules Analyst in digital Microsoft Word from using Word’s track changes feature. Once the Rules Analyst review is compete and, if necessary, the Division Manager has reviewed and approved the proposal notice, significant changes are listed on a cover memorandum to the Administrative Practice Officer (APO) who submitted the proposal (See Appendix 9), a “filed” date is added to the header of the first page of the proposal, and the proposal is considered accepted for publication. The acceptance is reflected by a date entry in the Proposal Registry maintained by the OAL. The reviewing Rules Analyst creates two versions of the reviewed accepted proposal, both of which are password protected from unauthorized editing: a “(T)” version showing all revisions to the submitted proposal, using the Microsoft Word track changes feature, and an “(F)” version in which all changes are accepted and saved and the proposal appears in final as-will-be-published form.

A copy of the (F) version of the proposal is then forwarded to the Editor for transmittal to the current contractor for publication in the Register. The proposal is transmitted to the current contractor through Microsoft SharePoint. Once review of all notices approved for publication in a Register issue has been completed by the OAL’s editors and the current contractor’s editors, the OAL sends a copy of the (T) and (F) versions of the proposal to the agency APO with the APO cover memorandum indicating changes made by the OAL to the proposal notice and a date upon which the proposal may be adopted by the agency (see Appendices 10 and 11). A copy of the (T) and (F) versions of the proposal, along with documents related to changes and Rules Analyst or Division Manager review notes, if any, and the original proposal and submission documents are retained in electronic from as the official proposal file. Proposal files are maintained electronically as part of the record for the issue of the Register in which the proposal is published, and retained permanently. A Certificate of Proposal, Adoption, and Promulgation is prepared by the OAL in Microsoft Word (see Appendix 12). The first part of the certificate is completed and sent in digital Word form to the agency APO with a copy of the proposal, in Adobe Acrobat PDF form, as published in the Register (see Appendix 13). The agency compares the published text with the (T) and (F) copies of the proposal and contacts the OAL regarding inconsistencies, errors, or questions. If the errors are substantial, preproposal is necessary. If it is determined that the errors are not substantial, the text may be corrected upon adoption.

ADOPTION PROCESS

The second step in the rulemaking process is the adoption phase. After the public comment period on a proposed rule has ended, the agency is required to fully consider all comments received. The agency must summarize and respond to the comments and prepare for publication in the Register, an adoption notice containing the comments, responses, and text of the adopted rule. The adopted rule is effective upon publication in the Register.

The adoption of a rule is the final agency action on the proposed rule, whereby the rule is officially approved and authorized for promulgation by the agency. To promulgate means to proclaim officially and, thereby, render effective a new rule, amendment, or repeal. The promulgation date of a rule is its effective date. The OAL receives between 250 and 350 adoption notices per year. The size of such adoption notices varies from a few pages to several hundred pages in length.

A proposed rule cannot be adopted by an agency or filed with the OAL until the end of the minimum comment period required under the Administrative Procedure Act, or any longer comment period provided by the proposing agency.

The list of adoption deadlines is prepared annually, in October, by the OAL and sent to each agency APO (see Appendix 8). An adoption notice must be submitted to the OAL, Division of Administrative Rules, by 12:00 noon on the adoption deadline date as a Microsoft Word document (double-spaced, with one-inch margins, justified left), attached to an e-mail addressed to the OAL’s dedicated Register submission address, NJRfilings@oal.nj.gov. The adoption deadline is approximately three (3) weeks before Register publication. Unless a late submission is approved by the Division Manager, untimely submissions are published in a subsequent Register and adoptions that do not satisfy OAL procedural or publication requirements are held pending resolution of deficiencies. For each adopted rule, the agency submits the digital Word form of the Certificate of Proposal, Adoption, and Promulgation previously forwarded, with Part II completed, and a notice of adoption in digital Word form (see Appendix 14) which includes the following:

A. The Code Title affected and the name of the adopting agency;

B. The subject of the rule;

C. The N.J.A.C. citation of the adopted read option, amendment, repeal, or new rule;

D. The date and Register citation of the proposal;

E. The date the agency head or promulgating entity adopted the proposed rule and the name of the agency head or promulgating entity executive officer;

F. The filing date and whether or not the proposal has been filed with changes upon adoption;

G. A citation to the specific legal authority authorizing the adopted rulemaking;

H. The effective date(s):

A. For amendments, new rules, or repeals, the effective date is the date of publication in the Register;

B. For read options that have been filed prior to their expiration, the effective date is the filing date;

C. For read options that have been filed after their expiration, the effective date is the date of publication;

A. The operative date of the rule, if later than the date of promulgation in the Register;

I. The expiration date pursuant to N.J.S.A. 52:14B-5.1 of the chapter of which the adopted rule is a part, or if a new chapter, a date calculated at no more than seven (7) years from the effective date of the rule;

J. If a public hearing was held on the proposal, a Summary of Hearing Officer’s Recommendations and Agency Responses;

K. A Summary of Public Comments and Agency Responses, which describes the issues, questions, and points of controversy raised by the public and other agencies during the public comment period. The comments and the agency’s responses are summarized, and if the agency has made changes in the rule as a result of the comments, the reasons for doing so. The comments and responses may be numbered;

L. A summary of changes made between proposal and adoption with reasons for the changes and why the changes are not so substantial as to require preproposal or, if the process for public comment on possible substantial changes permitted under the Administrative Procedure Act was utilized, a discussion of such changes in the context of that process. If changes upon adoption are discussed in the responses to comments, this summary may be limited to agency-initiated changes;

M. A Federal Standards Statement or Analysis (see Section 1.2.3.1 above); and

N. The rule text of only those sections in which a change occurs between proposal and adoption. The proposed section is reproduced by the agency in abbreviated form, showing codified elements of the section not changed upon adoption notated as “(No change from proposal.)” and, for codified elements of the section being changed upon adoption including the original proposed changes as adopted, eliminating the original bracketed text and the boldfacing of proposed new text. The changes being made upon adoption are bracketed with asterisks *[thus]* (for deletions from the proposal) and boldfaced with asterisks *thus* (for additions to the proposal), where applicable. In the course of the typesetting process for the Register issue, the current contractor adds to the adoption those portions of the proposed rule text not changed upon adoption, eliminating the original bracketed text and the boldfacing of proposed new text.

Adoptions are reviewed and edited by a Rules Analyst in Microsoft Word using Work’s track changes feature. Once the Rules Analyst review is complete and, if necessary, the Division Manager has reviewed and approved the adoption notice, a “filed” date is added to the header of the first page of the adoption and the adoption is considered accepted for publication. This acceptance is reflected by a date entry in the Adoption Registry maintained by the OAL. The reviewing Rules Analyst creates two versions of the reviewed accepted adoption, both of which are password protected from unauthorized editing: a “(T)” version showing all revisions to the submitted adoption, using the Microsoft Word track changes feature, and an “(F)” version in which all changes are accepted and saved and the adoption appears in final as-will-be-published form.

A copy of the (F) version of the adoption and a copy of the Adobe Acrobat PDF version of the published proposal, from the proposal file for the adopted rule, is then forwarded to the Editor for processing to the current contractor for publication in the Register. The adoption is transmitted to the current contractor through Microsoft SharePoint. Once review of all notices approved for publication in a Register issue has been completed by the OAL’s editors and the current contractor’s editors, the OAL also sends a copy of the (T) and (F) versions of the adoption to the agency (see Appendices 15 and 16). All documents relating to the notice of adoption, including memoranda, notes, etc., and a copy of the complete proposal file, are maintained in digital form in the original document file (Rd file), and permanently retained.

Once the adoption is approved for publication, the rule is considered officially filed as of the date the notice of adoption was originally received by the OAL.

After the adoption is published in the New Jersey Register (see Appendix 17), the OAL completes Part III of the Certificate of Proposal, Adoption, and Promulgation. The completed Certificate is retained in the Rd file, and a copy is sent to the promulgating agency for its records. The agency proofreads the Register notice published text and consults with the OAL regarding the correction of errors or questions, if any. The agency also proofreads the twice-monthly Code updates and advises the OAL of any errors, which are corrected through a notice in a future Register. Amended code pages as a result of the adoptions are issued in the following Code update.

Adoption of Part of a Rule Proposal with Portions Pending

On occasion, an agency wishes to partially adopt a proposal. If the agency wishes to adopt part of a proposal and leave part of the proposal still pending, it is necessary to cite all sections that are being adopted and those sections that are not adopted but still pending. The adoption with parts pending is explained in the Summary of Public Comments and Agency Responses or elsewhere in the notice and the pending portions cited in the notice heading.

Non-Adoption of Part of a Rule Proposal

If the agency has decided that it will not adopt part of a proposal, this is explained in the Summary of Public Comments and Agency Responses or elsewhere in the notice and the un-adopted portions cited in the notice heading.

Adoptions and Proposals to the Same Text

When an agency has, within a short period of time, adopted one or more proposals dealing with the same specific subject matter or affecting the same provisions of a recent proposal, the agency must identify in the notice of adoption, the New Jersey Register issue and citation to the previous adoption(s). This information is critical when an agency adopts a rule and concurrently proposes amendments to that rule.

Other Noteworthy Activity

In order to ensure that all rulemaking activity is included in the notice of adoption, the agency must note in the notice any extensions of comment periods, public hearings, corrections to the proposed rulemaking published in the Register prior to adoption, pre-proposal notices, and gubernatorial waivers of chapter expiration dates. All of these activities are a part of the rulemaking record and are annotated in the Code.

HYBRID RULEMAKINGS

Emergency Adoptions

An emergency adoption departs from the normal rulemaking requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act in that the comment period is suspended and an agency may adopt the rule without prior notice if the agency finds, and the Governor concurs in writing, that an imminent peril to the public health, safety, or welfare exists that warrants suspension of the requirement for prior notice. An emergency adoption is effective for 60 days upon filing with the OAL.

If an agency wishes to render the provisions of the emergency rule effective beyond the 60-day period, it can concurrently propose the rule at the time the emergency adoption is filed. This procedure is in conformance with the normal rulemaking process, and thereby triggers the “opportunity to be heard” feature of the Administrative Procedure Act. Proposals concurrent with an emergency adoption are subject to a 30-day comment period, as a statutory exception to the rulemaking calendar requirements. Most emergency rule adoptions are submitted with a concurrent proposal.

The concurrent proposal must be adopted and filed with the OAL no later than the 60th day after the emergency adoption is filed in order to continue in effect the provisions of the emergency rule. If an agency decides not to adopt the concurrent proposal prior to the expiration of the emergency rule, the “pre-emergency” text of the rule, if any, automatically revives, provided that the pre-emergency text has not expired. The adoption of the concurrent proposal is effective upon filing with the OAL, unless it is filed after the expiration date of the emergency adoption, in which case, the adoption of the concurrent proposal is effective upon publication of the notice of adoption of the concurrent proposal in the Register. Any changes to the adopted concurrent proposal are effective upon publication.

As with proposal notices, an emergency adoption and concurrent proposal takes the form of a notice and includes a Summary; Social, Economic, Jobs, Agriculture Industry, and Racial and Ethnic Community Criminal Justice and Public Safety Impact statements; Housing Affordability Impact and Smart Growth Development Impact Analyses; a Federal Standard Statement or Analysis; a Regulatory Flexibility Statement or Analysis; and the text of the rule. The adoption of the concurrent proposal must also comply with the requirements of the adoption procedure. The filing, logging, review, and recording procedures for proposal and adoption notices discussed above apply to emergency adoptions filed with concurrent proposals.

Notices of emergency adoption are published in a separate section of the Register entitled “Emergency Adoptions.”

Special Adoptions

From time to time, the Legislature provides statutory authorization for an agency to promulgate rules “notwithstanding the provisions of the Administration Procedure Act.” These rulemakings, which the OAL has termed “special adoptions,” are effective upon filing with the OAL, and are usually of fixed duration by statute (for example, six months, one year, and 18 months). For special adoptions of less than one year duration, the notice of special adoption usually also includes a concurrent proposal so that the rulemaking can have permanent effect. A notice of special adoption and concurrent proposal is very similar to a notice of emergency adoption and concurrent proposal as discussed in 1.2.2.3.A above.

Notices of special adoption are published in a separate section of the Register entitled “Special Adoptions.”

Sunset or Expiration of Rules – Executive Order No. 66 (1978)/N.J.S.A. 52:14B-5.1

Executive Order No. 66 (1978) provides that all rules adopted after May 15, 1978,…