APA Comment Letter (General) - North Carolina

NORTH CAROLINA PERMANENT-RULE COMMENT LETTER

Notice, Hearing, Fiscal-Impact, and RRC Review Companion

The published notice controls the filing. Do not assume that every proposal has a scheduled public hearing. Section 150B-21.2 requires a hearing after one timely written request received within 15 days after publication; the agency may also hold one voluntarily.

1. RULEMAKING CONTROL SHEET

1.1 Notice and proposal

1.2 Comment and hearing calendar

Section 150B-21.2(f) requires at least 60 days of comments after publication or through the date of any public hearing, whichever is longer.

☐ A written hearing request will be filed by the 15-day deadline.

☐ No hearing request will be filed; written comments will be submitted by the controlling deadline.

☐ The notice or track is uncertain. Do not submit until counsel resolves it.

2. COMMENTER AND INTEREST

Describe the concrete effect of the proposed rule on Commenter:

[____________________________________________________________]

[____________________________________________________________]

3. PRE-SUBMISSION REVIEW

☐ Read the entire current proposed text, not only the notice summary.

☐ Compared the proposal with the current NCAC rule and marked every change.

☐ Read the organic authorizing statute and any cited federal requirement.

☐ Reviewed the agency website materials required by § 150B-19.1(c).

☐ Reviewed the fiscal note, methodology, assumptions, affected populations, time horizon, alternatives, and benefit claims.

☐ Checked whether staff or the agency posted a changed proposal or fiscal note.

☐ Separated legal objections, factual evidence, operational effects, and policy recommendations.

☐ Developed specific alternative text where feasible.

☐ Removed confidential, privileged, personal, or unsupported material.

4. COMMENT LETTER

[__/__/____]

[RULEMAKING CONTACT]

[AGENCY]

[ADDRESS / EMAIL / PORTAL]

Re: Comments on proposed [RULE TITLE], [____] NCAC [________________]; North Carolina Register [VOLUME / ISSUE / DATE]

Dear [________________]:

[COMMENTER] submits these comments on the proposed permanent rule identified above. Commenter requests that the Agency:

☐ adopt the proposal as published;

☐ adopt the modifications stated below;

☐ withdraw the proposal;

☐ republish substantially different text for a new comment period; or

☐ take other action: [________________].

I. Executive summary

1. [____________________________________________________________]
2. [____________________________________________________________]
3. [____________________________________________________________]

II. Comment on [RULE / SUBSECTION]

Proposed text:

[QUOTE THE CURRENT PROPOSED TEXT]

Commenter's position: ☐ Support ☐ Oppose ☐ Modify ☐ Clarify ☐ Technical correction

Legal or procedural issue:

[____________________________________________________________]

Factual and operational effect:

[____________________________________________________________]

Evidence and source:

[____________________________________________________________]

Recommended text:

[PROPOSED REPLACEMENT TEXT]

Reason the recommendation better fits the statutory objective:

[____________________________________________________________]

Repeat this section for each rule provision.

III. Organic statutory authority

Section 150B-19.1 permits only rules expressly authorized by law and necessary to serve the public interest. The Agency's cited substantive authority is [CITATION]. Commenter submits:

☐ The proposal is within the delegated authority because [________________].

☐ The proposal exceeds or conflicts with the delegated authority because [________________].

☐ The authority analysis is incomplete because [________________].

Do not cite § 150B-21.1 as the agency's organic rulemaking power; that section is the temporary-rule procedure.

IV. Clarity, necessity, burden, and evidence

Address the § 150B-19.1 principles with proposal-specific facts:

• unclear or ambiguous terms: [________________];
• unnecessary or redundant requirements: [________________];
• cumulative burden with related rules: [________________];
• available scientific, technical, economic, or other evidence: [________________];
• less burdensome or more cost-effective implementation: [________________]; and
• federal-law certification or excess beyond federal requirements: [________________].

V. Fiscal and regulatory impact

Section 150B-21.4 contains separate State-funds, local-government, DOT, and substantial-economic-impact routes. A substantial economic impact under subsection (b1) is currently at least $1,000,000 in aggregate financial impact over five years.

VI. Rules Review Commission standards

Section 150B-21.9 limits the Commission's review to whether the rule is within delegated authority, clear and unambiguous, reasonably necessary, and adopted in accordance with Part 2.

Commenter identifies these record-supported concerns:

☐ Delegated authority: [________________].

☐ Clarity: [________________].

☐ Reasonable necessity: [________________].

☐ Adoption procedure: [________________].

VII. Conclusion

For these reasons, Commenter requests [SPECIFIC ACTION]. Commenter asks the Agency to include these comments and exhibits in the rulemaking record and to consider them fully under § 150B-21.2(f).

Respectfully submitted,

Signature: ______________________________________

Printed name: [________________]

Title / organization: [________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

5. OPTIONAL PUBLIC-HEARING REQUEST

Use only if no hearing is already scheduled and the current notice and § 150B-21.2(e) route apply. File within 15 days after notice publication.

[__/__/____]

Re: Written request for public hearing on [RULE], [REGISTER CITE]

[REQUESTER] requests a public hearing on the proposed rule under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 150B-21.2(e).

Requester contact information: [________________]

Proposal: [________________]

Reasons a public hearing would assist the record: [________________]

Signature: ______________________________________

Date: [__/__/____]

Filing record

6. EXHIBIT AND SOURCE TABLE

7. SUBMISSION AND FOLLOW-UP

7.1 Comment filing record

7.2 Post-comment monitoring

☐ Monitor the agency website for changed text, fiscal notes, hearing notices, adoption materials, and explanations.

☐ Monitor the North Carolina Register and RRC agenda for the current rule version.

☐ Compare any adopted text against the noticed proposal and the § 150B-21.2(g) substantial-difference test.

☐ Preserve the complete comment record and proof of timely submission.

7.3 Qualifying legislative-review objections

Section 150B-21.3(b2) is not a general objection deadline during the comment period. If an unresolved objection remains after adoption and Commission approval, the current route requires:

• written objections from at least 10 persons;
• clear requests for legislative review;
• compliance with instructions posted on the agency website; and
• Commission receipt no later than 5:00 p.m. on the day after Commission approval.

Do not promise that an objection will stop or invalidate a rule; counsel must apply the current effective-date and legislative-review provisions to the actual rule.

8. FINAL CHECKLIST

☐ Current notice, proposed text, agency webpage, and fiscal note reviewed.

☐ Comment and hearing-request deadlines independently calculated.

☐ Hearing described as request-triggered or voluntary, not universally mandatory.

☐ Organic authority distinguished from procedural APA sections.

☐ Every legal, factual, scientific, and economic assertion sourced.

☐ Alternative language is precise and administrable.

☐ Confidential and privileged material reviewed.

☐ Submission receipt retained.

☐ Any later RRC objection uses the actual § 150B-21.3(b2) timing and instructions.

OFFICIAL CURRENT-SOURCE LINKS

• Permanent-rule procedure, § 150B-21.2: https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/PDF/BySection/Chapter_150B/GS_150B-21.2.pdf
• Agency rulemaking requirements, § 150B-19.1: https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/PDF/BySection/Chapter_150B/GS_150B-19.1.pdf
• Effective dates and objections, § 150B-21.3: https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/PDF/BySection/Chapter_150B/GS_150B-21.3.pdf
• Fiscal and regulatory analysis, § 150B-21.4: https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/PDF/BySection/Chapter_150B/GS_150B-21.4.pdf
• RRC standards, § 150B-21.9: https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/PDF/BySection/Chapter_150B/GS_150B-21.9.pdf
• North Carolina Register: https://www.oah.nc.gov/rules-division/north-carolina-register