Regulatory Comment Letter - Arizona

COMMENTS ON ARIZONA PROPOSED RULEMAKING

Filing Gate

This form assumes an ordinary proposed rulemaking governed by A.R.S. §§ 41-1022 through 41-1024. Do not use it without checking the Arizona Administrative Register notice and any statutory exemption or agency-specific procedure.

Section 41-1023(B) requires at least 30 days after publication of the notice of proposed rulemaking for written statements, arguments, data, and views. Section 41-1023(C) requires the Agency to schedule an oral proceeding if a written request is submitted to the identified agency personnel within 30 days after the published notice. The statute does not use a five-business-day-before-closing rule.

Date: [________________________________]

To: [AGENCY RULEMAKING PERSONNEL]

Agency: [________________________________]

Submission method/address: [________________________________]

Re: Comments on [RULE TITLE], A.A.C. [CITATION]

Register citation: [VOLUME] Ariz. Admin. Reg. [PAGE] ([DATE])

Dear [RULEMAKING CONTACT]:

[COMMENTER LEGAL NAME] submits these comments on the proposed rulemaking identified above. These comments are submitted by the deadline and method stated in the Arizona Administrative Register notice.

1. Commenter and Affected Interest

1. Commenter is a [resident / business / nonprofit / trade association / political subdivision / other] located at [address].

2. Commenter's relevant activities are [describe operations, license, program participation, regulated conduct, or other interest].

3. The proposal would affect Commenter by [identify the cost, duty, benefit, procedure, license, reporting requirement, or other direct effect].

4. [NAME AND TITLE] is authorized to submit these comments for Commenter.

2. Requested Action

Commenter asks the Agency to:

1. [Adopt / revise / withdraw] proposed A.A.C. [citation];
2. Replace [quoted proposed language] with [exact replacement language];
3. Address the evidence in Exhibits [____]; and
4. [Take another action within the Agency's authority].

3. Enabling Authority and Published Notice

The notice cites [STATUTE AND SECTION] as authority for the proposal. That provision authorizes the Agency to [quote or accurately summarize the delegation].

Section 41-1022(A) requires the notice of proposed rulemaking to include the preamble, the affected Code chapter and article, the proposed or current rule-section number, and the exact wording of the new, amended, renumbered, or repealed rule.

Commenter submits that proposed A.A.C. [citation]:

☐ Fits the cited authority because [________________________________].

☐ Should be narrowed because [compare the proposed text with the statutory delegation].

☐ Contains or depends on an issue that is not clear in the published text or preamble. The unclear item and its practical effect are [________________________________].

Identify the exact notice, statutory-authority, or proposed-text issue. Do not use federal rulemaking terminology in place of Arizona's statutory tests.

4. Section-by-Section Comments

Comment 1 — [Short descriptive heading]

The proposal states: "[quote the proposed text]".

Commenter recommends: "[provide replacement text]".

The revision is warranted because [enabling authority, factual evidence, technical feasibility, administrative effect, unintended consequence, or other grounded reason]. Supporting material appears at Exhibit [____], page [____].

Comment 2 — [Short descriptive heading]

The proposal states: "[quote the proposed text]".

Commenter recommends: "[provide replacement text]".

The revision is warranted because [________________________________].

5. Economic, Small-Business, and Consumer Evidence

Use this section to test the impact statement required by § 41-1055 unless the rulemaking falls within a statutory exemption or the Governor's Regulatory Review Council has made the determination described in § 41-1055(E).

The impact statement identifies directly affected persons and includes probable costs and benefits to the implementing and other affected agencies, political subdivisions, and businesses; employment effects; small-business impacts; State-revenue effects; less intrusive or less costly alternatives with monetized costs and benefits; and the data supporting the rule. Section 41-1055(B)(8) defines acceptable data as empirical, replicable, and testable data evidenced by supporting material.

Key assumptions: [wage rates, affected units, frequency, implementation period, data source, and uncertainty range].

Commenter asks the Agency to use [alternative assumption, method, or estimate] because [________________________________].

Small-Business Impact and Alternatives

The impact statement identifies affected small businesses, compliance costs, methods available under § 41-1035 to reduce impact, and probable costs and benefits to affected private persons and consumers.

Suggested alternative: [different reporting requirement / simplified form / performance standard / phased compliance / limited exemption / other].

Section 41-1055(C) permits qualitative characterization when adequate data are not reasonably available, but requires an explanation of the data limitations and efforts to obtain data. Section 41-1055(D) exempts an initial emergency rule and proposed or final expedited rulemaking from the impact-statement requirement. Section 41-1055(E) provides a separate Council-petition route when the rulemaking decreases specified burdens and does not increase burdens on regulated persons. Do not replace these rules with a generic “no significant impact” certification.

If Commenter submits an analysis comparing Arizona business competitiveness with other states, § 41-1055(I) requires the Agency to consider it. The analysis is attached as Exhibit [____].

6. Oral Proceeding Request — Optional

Delete this section if an oral proceeding is already scheduled or no request is desired.

Under § 41-1023(C), the Agency must schedule an oral proceeding if, within 30 days after publication of the notice of proposed rulemaking, a written request is submitted to the agency personnel identified under § 41-1021(B).

Register publication date: [________________________________]

Thirtieth day: [________________________________]

Commenter timely requests an oral proceeding concerning [rule and issues]. Oral presentation would assist discussion of [technical, economic, factual, or drafting issue]. Proposed speakers and subjects are [________________________________].

Section 41-1023(D) provides that an oral proceeding may not be held earlier than 30 days after notice of its location and time is published in the Register. Confirm the later proceeding notice before appearing.

7. Supplemental Rulemaking and Other Requests

Section 41-1022(E) provides that if public comments or internal review lead the Agency to determine that the proposal requires a substantial change under § 41-1025, the Agency must prepare and publish a notice of supplemental rulemaking containing the change and provide additional public comment under § 41-1023.

Commenter submits that the following anticipated or requested revision should be handled through supplemental rulemaking: [identify the change and explain].

Commenter also requests that the Agency:

1. Confirm receipt of these comments at [email];
2. After the rulemaking record closes and before submitting a rule package, consider the written and oral submissions and impact statement as provided in § 41-1024;
3. Publish any required supplemental notice and additional comment opportunity under § 41-1022(E); and
4. [State another request grounded in the notice, enabling act, or agency rule].

Do not demand an automatic 60-day supplemental comment period. Do not add ex parte-disclosure language or a generic judicial-review reservation without separate authority applicable to the agency, rulemaking, and commenter.

8. Conclusion

For the reasons above, Commenter asks the Agency to [adopt, revise, or withdraw specified provisions] and use the exact revisions stated in Sections [____].

Please direct questions concerning this submission to [name, title, telephone, and email].

Respectfully submitted,

Signature: ______________________________

[Name]

[Title / organization]

[Address]

[Telephone / email]

Exhibit List

Filing Checklist

☐ Read the complete Register notice, preamble, and proposed text

☐ Confirmed the rulemaking is ordinary or revised the form for the controlling procedure

☐ Verified the agency's enabling statute and any exemption

☐ Calculated the written-comment and oral-request deadlines from the publication date

☐ Followed the exact recipient, email, portal, delivery, format, and copy instructions

☐ Removed the false five-business-day oral-request rule

☐ Removed unsupported federal terminology, ex parte language, and generic litigation reservations

☐ Supported factual and economic claims with exhibits and reproducible calculations

☐ Supplied exact replacement text where possible

☐ Retained proof of timely submission and receipt

Current Arizona Rulemaking Notes

• Section 41-1023(B) provides at least 30 days after publication for written comments.
• One timely written request submitted within 30 days after publication triggers an oral proceeding under § 41-1023(C); the statute does not impose the copied five-business-day-before-closing deadline.
• Section 41-1022(E) uses a supplemental notice and additional comment under § 41-1023 when the Agency determines that a substantial change is required. It does not create an automatic 60-day supplemental period.
• Section 41-1055 requires detailed Arizona-specific impact analysis and supplies narrow exemptions and a Council-petition route. It is not a generic prepare-or-certify-no-impact framework.
• Do not add ex parte disclosures or a judicial-review route without separately verifying authority applicable to the particular agency and proposal.

Official Sources

• A.R.S. § 41-1022: https://www.azleg.gov/ars/41/01022.htm
• A.R.S. § 41-1023: https://www.azleg.gov/ars/41/01023.htm
• A.R.S. § 41-1024: https://www.azleg.gov/ars/41/01024.htm
• A.R.S. § 41-1055: https://www.azleg.gov/ars/41/01055.htm