House Bill 592 seeks to enhance the rulemaking process for state agencies in Montana by implementing new requirements under the Administrative Procedure Act. Key provisions include a mandate for agencies to contact the primary sponsor of any related legislation at least 10 days prior to issuing a proposal notice. If an agency fails to comply, the proposal notice will be considered ineffective. Additionally, if the agency disagrees with comments from the primary sponsor, it must publish the sponsor's unredacted comments in the proposal notice along with an explanation for not incorporating them. The bill also introduces a rebuttable presumption that a board action is approved if the commissioner does not provide written notice within 30 days.

The bill amends several sections of the Montana Code Annotated, including the deletion of certain obligations regarding the consideration of comments from the primary sponsor and the addition of requirements for summarizing and responding to public comments during the rulemaking process. It also specifies that the economic affairs interim committee must notify the commissioner if it intends to provide an opportunity for public comment on the commissioner's actions. The bill is set to take effect immediately upon passage and will apply to rule proposals published on or after the effective date, aiming to improve transparency, stakeholder involvement, and the overall integrity of the rulemaking process in Montana.

Statutes affected:
LC Text: 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_1(1): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_1(2): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_1(3): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_1(4): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_1(5): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_1: 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_2(1): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_2(10): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_2(11): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_2(12): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_2(13): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_2(14): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_2(2): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_2(3): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_2(4): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_2(5): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_2(6): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_2(7): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_2(8): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_2(9): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_2: 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_3(1): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_3(10): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_3(11): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_3(12): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_3(13): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_3(14): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_3(15): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_3(16): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_3(2): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_3(3): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_3(4): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_3(5): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_3(6): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_3(7): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_3(8): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_3(9): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_3: 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_X(1): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_X(2): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_X(3): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_X(4): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_X(5): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_X(6): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_X(7): 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122
HB0592_X: 2-3-301, 2-4-110, 2-4-111, 2-4-302, 2-4-305, 2-4-306, 2-4-406, 37-1-122