Any person or agency may file a petition for rule making with
the voter registration commission at the Secretary of State's Office, First
Floor, State Capitol Building, Des Moines, Iowa 50319, or the Secretary of
State's Office, Lucas State Office Building, Des Moines, Iowa 50319. A petition
is deemed filed when it is received in either office. The state registrar must
provide the petitioner with a file-stamped copy of the petition if the
petitioner provides the agency an extra copy for this purpose. The petition
must be typewritten or legibly handwritten in ink and must substantially
conform to the following form:
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The petition must provide the following information:
1. A statement of the specific rule-making
action sought by the petitioner including the text or a summary of the contents
of the proposed rule or amendment to a rule and, if it is a petition to amend
or repeal a rule, a citation to the particular portion or portions of the rule
proposed to be amended or repealed, together with a quotation of the relevant
language.
2. A citation to any law
deemed relevant to the commission's authority to take the action urged or to
the desirability of that action.
3.
A brief summary of petitioner's arguments in support of the action urged in the
petition.
4. A brief summary of any
data supporting the action urged in the petition.
5. The names and addresses of other persons,
or a description of any class of persons, known by petitioner to be affected
by, or interested in, the proposed action which is the subject of the
petition.
6. Any request by
petitioner for a meeting provided for by subrule 1.8(5).
(1) The petition must be dated and signed by
the petitioner or the petitioner's representative. It must also include the
name, mailing address, and telephone number of the petitioner and petitioner's
representative (if one is involved), and a statement indicating the person to
whom communications concerning the petition should be directed.
(2) The commission may deny a petition
because it does not substantially conform to the required form.
(3) The petitioner may attach a brief to the
petition in support of the action urged in the petition. The commission may
request a brief from the petitioner or from any other person concerning the
substance of the petition.
(4)
Inquiries concerning the status of a petition for rule making may be made to
the Deputy Secretary of State, Lucas State Office Building, Des Moines, Iowa
50319.
(5) Upon receipt of a
petition for rule making, the following steps shall be taken:
a. Within 30 days after the filing of a
petition, the state registrar must submit a copy of the petition and any
accompanying brief to the administrative rules coordinator and to the
administrative rules review committee. Upon request by petitioner in the
petition, the agency must schedule a brief and informal meeting between the
petitioner and a designee of the state registrar to discuss the petition. The
commission may request the petitioner to submit additional information or
argument concerning the petition. The commission may also solicit comments from
any person on the substance of the petition. Also, comments on the substance of
the petition may be submitted to the commission by any person.
b. Within 90 days after the filing of the
petition, or within any longer period agreed to by the petitioner, the
commission must, in writing, deny the petition, and notify petitioner of its
action and the specific grounds for the denial, or grant the petition and
notify petitioner that it has instituted rule-making proceedings on the subject
of the petition. Petitioner shall be deemed notified of the denial or grant of
the petition on the date when a designee of the commission mails or delivers
the required notification to petitioner.
c. Denial of a petition because it does not
substantially conform to the required form does not preclude the filing of a
new petition on the same subject that seeks to eliminate the grounds for the
agency's rejection of the petition.
