Sec. 511-402. - Procedures.
Before a regulation, an amendment to a regulation or a repeal of a regulation becomes effective, the board and office shall comply with the following procedures:
(1) The board shall preliminarily adopt the regulation, appoint a hearing officer or officers and schedule the matter for public hearing.
(2) At least ten (10) days before the public hearing, the office shall publish a notice in a newspaper of general circulation printed and published in Marion County. The notice shall state the time and place of the hearing, the subject matter of the proposed regulation and that copies of the proposed regulation are available for public examination at the office, and the office of the clerk of the city-county council.
(3) On or before the publication date of the notice, the office shall place five (5) copies of the proposed regulation on file at the office of the clerk of the city-county council and shall keep five (5) copies on file at the office. The copies shall be available for public examination until the proposed regulation becomes effective. Any interested person may examine the proposed regulation during regular business hours. The clerk of the city-county council shall provide each member of the city-county council a copy of the proposed regulation.
(4) Written comments may be submitted to the board prior to the public hearing. Any interested party may present oral or written data, facts, comments or argument at the public hearing either in person or by a duly authorized representative or attorney. Unless the board determines for good cause to close the comment period at the conclusion of the public hearing, written comments may be submitted up to and including seven (7) days after the conclusion of the public hearing. At the hearing the board or its hearing officer or officers may further extend the period for submitting written comments. After the conclusion of the public comment period and before the board adopts the proposed regulation, the administrator shall submit to the board written responses to the public comments. The board or its hearing officer or officers may continue the public hearing without publishing further notice if the date and time of the continued hearing is announced concurrently with the decision to continue the hearing.
(5) Except as provided in paragraph (6) of this section, the board shall not vote on a proposed regulation until at least ten (10) days after the conclusion of the public comment period.
(6) Upon concurrence of at least seven (7) members, the board may waive the ten-day requirement in paragraph (5) of this section.
(7) The board shall vote on a regulation in accordance with section 511-207 of this chapter.
(8) After the board has adopted a regulation, the office shall publish a notice, once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks, in a newspaper of general circulation printed and published in Marion County. The notice shall state that the board adopted a regulation, state the number of the regulation, describe the subject matter of the regulation, state that copies of the regulation are available for public examination at the office, and the clerk of the city-county council and state when the regulation becomes effective.
(9) The office shall file two (2) copies of the adopted regulation, along with proof of publication, with the clerk of the city-county council and keep five (5) copies on file at the office. The clerk of the city-county council shall provide a copy of the adopted regulation to each member of the city-county council.
(10) A regulation shall not become effective or enforceable until forty-five (45) days after the date of first publication required under section 511-402(8), unless the mayor proclaims an emergency effective date. During such forty-five-day period, the city-county council may by resolution stay, up to a maximum of ninety (90) days from the date of first publication required under section 511-402(8), the taking effect of a regulation. Before it becomes effective, the city-county council may by resolution reject a regulation. If a regulation is rejected, the regulation which was previously in effect before the rejected regulation was adopted shall remain in effect. Unless preempted by applicable law, the city-county council may also adopt ordinances on the same subject matter, thereby abrogating the agency's authority to adopt the proposed regulation. If the city-county council has not rejected a regulation or adopted an ordinance on the same subject matter within forty-five (45) days, or up to ninety (90) days if the city-council by resolution stayed the taking effect of the regulation within the forty-five (45) day period, the regulation shall become effective.
(11) If the board amends or repeals an existing regulation, the procedures in paragraphs (1) through (10) of this section shall apply.
(12) If the board makes substantive revisions to a proposed regulation after preliminary adoption and before final adoption, the board shall preliminarily adopt the revised proposal and follow the procedures in paragraphs (1) through (10).
(Code 1975, § 4-41; G.O. 150, 1999, § 3; G.O. 15, 2001, § 42)
