Any person may file a petition with the department of workforce
development for a declaratory order as to the applicability to specified
circumstances of a statute, rule, or order within the primary jurisdiction of
the department of workforce development at its offices at 1000 East Grand
Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa 50319. A petition is deemed filed when it is received
by that office. The department of workforce development shall 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:
8. Any request by
petitioner for a meeting provided for by subrule 26.2(6).
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 the petitioner's representative and
a statement indicating the person to whom communications concerning the
petition should be directed.
(1)
Notice of petition. Within 10 days after receipt of a petition
for a declaratory order, the department of workforce development shall give
notice of the petition to all persons not served by the petitioner pursuant to
subrule 26.2(5) to whom notice is required by any provision of law. The
department of workforce development may also give notice to any other
persons.
(2)
Interventions. Persons who qualify under applicable provision
of law as an intervenor and who file a petition for intervention within 20 days
of the filing of a petition for declaratory order shall be allowed to intervene
in a proceeding for a declaratory order. Any person who files a petition for
intervention at any time prior to the issuance of an order may be allowed to
intervene in a proceeding for a declaratory order at the discretion of the
department of workforce development. A petition for intervention shall be filed
at 1000 East Grand Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa 50319. Such petition is deemed
filed when it is received by that office. The department of workforce
development will provide the petitioner with a file-stamped copy of the
petition for intervention if the petitioner provides an extra copy for this
purpose. A petition for intervention must be typewritten or legibly handwritten
in ink and must substantially conform to the following form:
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The petition for intervention must provide the following
information:
1. Facts supporting the
intervenor's standing and qualification for intervention.
2. The answers urged by the intervenor to the
question or questions presented and a summary of the reasons urged in support
of those answers.
3. Reasons for
requesting intervention and disclosure of the intervenor's interest in the
outcome.
4. A statement indicating
whether the intervenor is currently a party to any proceeding involving the
questions at issue and whether, to the intervenor's knowledge, those questions
have been decided by, are pending determination by, or are under investigation
by, any governmental entity.
5. The
names and addresses of any additional persons, or a description of any
additional class of persons, known by the intervenor to be affected by, or
interested in, any governmental entity.
6. Whether the intervenor consents to be
bound by the determination of the matters presented in the declaratory order
proceeding.
The petition must be dated and signed by the intervenor or the
intervenor's representative. It must also include the name, mailing address,
and telephone number of the intervenor and intervenor's representative, and a
statement indicating the person to whom communications should be
directed.
(3)
Briefs. The petitioner or intervenor may file a brief in
support of the position urged. The department of workforce development may
request a brief from the petitioner, any intervenor or any other person
concerning the questions raised.
(4)
Inquiries. Inquiries
concerning the status of a declaratory order proceeding may be made to the
Director, Department of Workforce Development, 1000 East Grand Avenue, Des
Moines, Iowa 50319.
(5)
Service and filing of petitions and other papers.
a. Except where otherwise provided by law,
every petition for declaratory order, petition for intervention, brief, or
other paper filed in a proceeding for a declaratory order shall be served upon
each of the parties of record to the proceeding, and on all other persons
identified in the petition for declaratory order or petition for intervention
as affected by or interested in the questions presented, simultaneously with
their filing. The party filing a document is responsible for service on all
parties and other affected or interested parties.
b. All petitions for declaratory orders,
petitions for intervention, briefs, or other papers in a proceeding for a
declaratory order shall be filed with the Director, Department of Workforce
Development, 1000 East Grand Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa 50319. All petitions,
briefs, or other papers that are required to be served upon a party shall be
filed simultaneously with the department of workforce development.
c. Service upon a party represented by an
attorney shall be made upon the attorney and a copy will be sent to the
petitioner. Service is made by delivery or by mailing a copy to the person's
last-known address. Service by mail is complete upon mailing, except where
otherwise specifically provided by statute, rule, or order.
d. After the notice of hearing, all
pleadings, motions, documents or other papers that are required to be served
upon a party shall be filed simultaneously with the department of workforce
development.
e. Except where
otherwise provided by law, a document is deemed filed at the time it is
delivered to the department of workforce development, delivered to an
established courier service for immediate delivery to that office, or mailed by
first-class mail or state interoffice mail to that office, so long as there is
proof of mailing.
f. Proof of
mailing includes either: a legible United States Postal Service postmark on the
envelope, a certificate of service, a notarized affidavit, or a certification
in substantially the following form:
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I certify under penalty of perjury and pursuant to
the laws of Iowa that, on (date of mailing), I mailed copies of (describe
document) addressed to the Department of Workforce Development, 1000 East Grand
Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa 50319, and to the names and addresses of the parties
listed below by depositing the same in (a United States post office mailbox
with correct postage properly affixed or state interoffice mail).
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(Date)
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(Signature)
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(6)
Consideration. Upon
request by petitioner, the department of workforce development must schedule a
brief and informal meeting between the original petitioner, all intervenors,
and the department, a member of the department, or a member of the staff of the
department, to discuss the questions raised. The department may solicit
comments from any person on the questions raised. Also, comments on the
questions raised may be submitted to the department by any person.
(7)
Action on petition.
Within the time allowed by 1998 Iowa Acts, chapter 1202, section 13(5), after
receipt of a petition for a declaratory order, the director or designee shall
take action on the petition as required by 1998 Iowa Acts, chapter 1202,
section 13(5). The date of issuance of an order or of a refusal to issue an
order is the date of mailing of the decision or date of delivery if service by
another means unless another date is specified in the order. The administrative
rules committee of the workforce development board will be advised of the
disposition of all petitions.
(8)
Refusal to issue order. The department of workforce
development shall not issue a declaratory order where prohibited by 1998 Iowa
Acts, chapter 1202, section 13(1), and may refuse to issue a declaratory order
on some or all of the questions raised for the following reasons:
a. The petition does not substantially comply
with the required form.
b. The
petition does not contain facts sufficient to demonstrate that the petitioner
will be aggrieved or adversely affected by the failure of the department of
workforce development to issue an order.
c. The department of workforce development
does not have jurisdiction over the questions presented in the
petition.
d. The questions
presented by the petition are also presented in a current rule making,
contested case, or other agency or judicial proceeding, that may definitively
resolve them.
e. The questions
presented by the petition would more properly be resolved in a different type
of proceeding or by another body with jurisdiction over the matter.
f. The facts or questions presented in the
petition are unclear, overbroad, insufficient, or otherwise inappropriate as a
basis upon which to issue an order.
g. There is no need to issue an order because
the questions raised in the petition have been settled due to a change in
circumstances.
h. The petition is
not based upon facts calculated to aid in the planning of future conduct but
is, instead, based solely upon prior conduct in an effort to establish the
effect of that conduct or to challenge an agency decision already
made.
i. The petition requests a
declaratory order that would necessarily determine the legal rights, duties, or
responsibilities of other persons who have not joined in the petition,
intervened separately, or filed a similar petition and whose position on the
questions presented may fairly be presumed to be adverse to that of
petitioner.
j. The petitioner
requests the department of workforce development to determine whether a statute
is unconstitutional on its face.
A refusal to issue a declaratory order must indicate the
specific grounds for the refusal and constitutes final agency action on the
petition.
Refusal to issue a declaratory order pursuant to this provision
does not preclude the filing of a new petition that seeks to eliminate the
grounds for the refusal to issue an order.
(9)
Contents of declaratory
order-effective date. In addition to the order itself, a declaratory
order must contain the date of its issuance, the name of petitioner and all
intervenors, specific statutes, rules, policies, decisions, or orders involved,
the particular facts upon which it is based, and the reasons for its
conclusion.
A declaratory order is effective on the date of
issuance.
(10)
Copies of orders. A copy of all orders issued in response to a
petition for a declaratory order shall be mailed promptly to the original
petitioner and all intervenors.
(11)
Effect of a declaratory
order. A declaratory order has the same status and binding effect as a
final order issued in a contested case proceeding. It is binding on the
department of workforce development and the petitioner, and any intervenors who
consent to be bound and is applicable only in circumstances where the relevant
facts and the law involved are indistinguishable from those on which the order
was based. As to all other persons, a declaratory order serves only as
precedent and is not binding on the department of workforce development. The
issuance of a declaratory order constitutes final agency action on the
petition. The administrative rules committee of the workforce development board
will be advised of the disposition of all declaratory orders.
