POSTMARK ACKNOWLEDGMENT ACT S.B. 921: COMMITTEE SUMMARY
Senate Bill 921 (as introduced 12-1-05)
Sponsor: Senator Jason E. Allen
Committee: Commerce and Labor
Date Completed: 2-7-06
CONTENT
The bill would create the "Postmark Acknowledgment Act" to specify that, except as otherwise provided for by law or as otherwise required by a rule promulgated before the bill's effective date, a regulatory agency would have to accept and acknowledge the postmark date as the date of receipt of an "information submission" made by a "regulated person". Except as otherwise provided for by law, a "regulatory agency" could promulgate rules or amend existing rules to implement the proposed Act.
"Information submission" would mean information required to be submitted by a regulated person to a regulatory agency through the use of the United States postal service. "Regulated person" would mean an individual or legal entity subject to the authority of a regulatory agency. "Regulatory agency" would mean a department, bureau, or agency of the State that has statutory regulatory authority over activities of an individual, business, profession, or industry.
The bill would take effect on October 1, 2006.
Legislative Analyst: Patrick Affholter
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would have an indeterminate impact on State government. The extent to which the bill would affect the permitting process, licensing, renewals, late fees, and other issues involving regulatory agencies is not determinable. The bill also would have an administrative impact on the workload of regulatory agencies. Various State departments, including the Department of Labor and Economic Growth and the Department of Environmental Quality, are subject to statutory time requirements for processing certain types of applications. If the Departments used the postmark date, instead of the actual date received, that review period would be affected.
Fiscal Analyst: Bill Bowerman
Analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent. sb921/0506