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7 LONG TITLE
8 General Description:
9 This bill creates the Student Civil Liberties Protection Act.
10 Highlighted Provisions:
11 This bill:
12 ▸ upon the commissioner of higher education's recommendation, permits the Board of
13 Regents to hire legal staff;
14 ▸ requires a state institution of higher education to initiate rulemaking proceedings for
15 a policy under certain circumstances;
16 ▸ requires each state institution of higher education to:
17 • review each current policy for direct effects on the civil liberties of students; and
18 • repeal or initiate rulemaking proceedings for each policy that directly affects a
19 student's civil liberty;
20 ▸ permits a student at a state institution of higher education to submit a complaint
21 about a school policy to the State Board of Regents;
22 ▸ requires the State Board of Regents to:
23 • establish a complaint process; and
24 • report annually to the Administrative Rules Review Committee;
25 ▸ amends the Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act; and
26 ▸ makes technical and conforming changes.
27 Money Appropriated in this Bill:
28 None
29 Other Special Clauses:
30 None
31 Utah Code Sections Affected:
32 AMENDS:
33 53B-1-106, as enacted by Laws of Utah 1987, Chapter 167
34 63G-3-201, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2017, Chapter 181
35 ENACTS:
36 53B-27-301, Utah Code Annotated 1953
37 53B-27-302, Utah Code Annotated 1953
38 53B-27-303, Utah Code Annotated 1953
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40 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
41 Section 1. Section 53B-1-106 is amended to read:
42 53B-1-106. Appointment and hiring of staff -- Transfer of functions, personnel,
43 and funds.
44 Upon the commissioner's recommendation, the board appoints and hires a staff of
45 professional, legal, and administrative personnel to serve at [
46 [
47 service [
48 institution's own staff, the funds the institution budgeted [
49 functions are transferred to the board. Transferred personnel retain their retirement and other
50 benefits and seniority of term standing with the institution from which they are transferred.
51 Section 2. Section 53B-27-301 is enacted to read:
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53 53B-27-301. Definitions.
54 As used in this part:
55 (1) "Civil liberty" means a civil liberty enumerated in the United States Constitution or
56 the Utah Constitution.
57 (2) "Initiate rulemaking proceedings" means the same as that term is defined in Section
58 63G-3-601.
59 Section 3. Section 53B-27-302 is enacted to read:
60 53B-27-302. Policies requiring rulemaking -- Policy review.
61 (1) An institution may not make or amend a policy that directly affects a student's civil
62 liberty, unless the policy is made a rule in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah
63 Administrative Rulemaking Act.
64 (2) Each institution shall:
65 (a) before November 30, 2018, review the institution's policies current on May 11,
66 2018, and identify any policy that directly affects a student's civil liberty; and
67 (b) before August 1, 2019, for each policy identified under Subsection (2)(a), repeal the
68 policy or initiate rulemaking proceedings to make the policy a rule.
69 Section 4. Section 53B-27-303 is enacted to read:
70 53B-27-303. Complaint process -- Reporting.
71 (1) Before August 1, 2019, the board shall make rules in accordance with Title 63G,
72 Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, establishing a procedure whereby a student
73 enrolled in an institution may submit a complaint to the board alleging that a policy of the
74 institution directly affects one or more of the student's civil liberties.
75 (2) (a) When a student submits a complaint in accordance with the rules adopted under
76 Subsection (1), the board shall:
77 (i) examine the complaint and, within 30 days after the day on which the board
78 receives the complaint, determine whether the complaint is made in good faith; and
79 (ii) (A) if the board determines that the complaint is made in good faith, direct the
80 institution against which the complaint is made to initiate rulemaking proceedings for the
81 challenged policy; or
82 (B) if the board determines that the complaint is made in bad faith, dismiss the
83 complaint.
84 (b) Before November 30 of each year, the board shall submit a report to the
85 Administrative Rules Review Committee detailing:
86 (i) the number of complaints the board received during the preceding year;
87 (ii) the number of complaints the board found to be made in good faith during the
88 preceding year; and
89 (iii) each policy that is the subject of a good-faith complaint that the board received
90 during the preceding year.
91 (3) If the board directs an institution to initiate rulemaking proceedings for a
92 challenged policy in accordance with this section, the institution shall initiate rulemaking
93 proceedings for the policy within 60 days after the day on which the board directs the
94 institution.
95 Section 5. Section 63G-3-201 is amended to read:
96 63G-3-201. When rulemaking is required.
97 (1) Each agency shall:
98 (a) maintain a current version of its rules; and
99 (b) make it available to the public for inspection during its regular business hours.
100 (2) In addition to other rulemaking required by law, each agency shall make rules when
101 agency action:
102 (a) authorizes, requires, or prohibits an action;
103 (b) provides or prohibits a material benefit;
104 (c) applies to a class of persons or another agency; and
105 (d) is explicitly or implicitly authorized by statute.
106 (3) Rulemaking is also required when an agency issues a written interpretation of a
107 state or federal legal mandate.
108 (4) Rulemaking is not required when:
109 (a) agency action applies only to internal agency management, inmates or residents of a
110 state correctional, diagnostic, or detention facility, persons under state legal custody, patients
111 admitted to a state hospital, members of the state retirement system, or , except as provided in
112 Title 53B, Chapter 27, Part 3, Student Civil Liberties Protection Act, students enrolled in a
113 state education institution;
114 (b) a standardized agency manual applies only to internal fiscal or administrative
115 details of governmental entities supervised under statute;
116 (c) an agency issues policy or other statements that are advisory, informative, or
117 descriptive, and do not conform to the requirements of Subsections (2) and (3); or
118 (d) an agency makes nonsubstantive changes in a rule, except that the agency shall file
119 all nonsubstantive changes in a rule with the office.
120 (5) (a) A rule shall enumerate any penalty authorized by statute that may result from its
121 violation, subject to Subsections (5)(b) and (c).
122 (b) A violation of a rule may not be subject to the criminal penalty of a class C
123 misdemeanor or greater offense, except as provided under Subsection (5)(c).
124 (c) A violation of a rule may be subject to a class C misdemeanor or greater criminal
125 penalty under Subsection (5)(a) when:
126 (i) authorized by a specific state statute;
127 (ii) a state law and programs under that law are established in order for the state to
128 obtain or maintain primacy over a federal program; or
129 (iii) state civil or criminal penalties established by state statute regarding the program
130 are equivalent to or less than corresponding federal civil or criminal penalties.
131 (6) Each agency shall enact rules incorporating the principles of law not already in its
132 rules that are established by final adjudicative decisions within 120 days after the decision is
133 announced in its cases.
134 (7) (a) Each agency may enact a rule that incorporates by reference:
135 (i) all or any part of another code, rule, or regulation that has been adopted by a federal
136 agency, an agency or political subdivision of this state, an agency of another state, or by a
137 nationally recognized organization or association;
138 (ii) state agency implementation plans mandated by the federal government for
139 participation in the federal program;
140 (iii) lists, tables, illustrations, or similar materials that are subject to frequent change,
141 fully described in the rule, and are available for public inspection; or
142 (iv) lists, tables, illustrations, or similar materials that the executive director or the
143 executive director's designee determines are too expensive to reproduce in the administrative
144 code.
145 (b) Rules incorporating materials by reference shall:
146 (i) be enacted according to the procedures outlined in this chapter;
147 (ii) state that the referenced material is incorporated by reference;
148 (iii) state the date, issue, or version of the material being incorporated; and
149 (iv) define specifically what material is incorporated by reference and identify any
150 agency deviations from it.
151 (c) The agency shall identify any substantive changes in the material incorporated by
152 reference by following the rulemaking procedures of this chapter.
153 (d) The agency shall maintain a complete and current copy of the referenced material
154 available for public review at the agency and at the office.
155 (8) (a) This chapter is not intended to inhibit the exercise of agency discretion within
156 the limits prescribed by statute or agency rule.
157 (b) An agency may enact a rule creating a justified exception to a rule.
158 (9) An agency may obtain assistance from the attorney general to ensure that its rules
159 meet legal and constitutional requirements.