Section 1 [Rules Impacting Residential Construction or Remodeling; Legislative Notice and Review] establishes steps in the rulemaking process for rules that apply to residential construction or remodeling.

Subdivision 1 [Definition] defines “residential construction.”

Subdivision 2 [Impact on housing cost; agency determination] requires an agency to determine, during a specified period, if a proposed rule will increase the cost of residential construction or remodeling by $1,000 or more per unit. The agency’s determination is subject to review by an administrative law judge.

Subdivision 3 [Notice to legislature; legislative approval] requires an agency to notify the legislature if the costs of a proposed rule exceed $1,000, as determined by the agency or by the administrative law judge.  The agency may not adopt the rule, if a legislative committee with jurisdiction over the subject matter of the rule advises the agency that the rule should not be adopted as proposed. By cross-reference to existing statute, the committee’s vote must be by majority, occur between publication of the rulemaking notice and before the notice of adoption is published in the State Register, and the committee must notify the agency, revisor of statutes, and the chief administrative law judge.

Subdivision 4 [Severability] permits an agency to adopt a severable portion of a proposed rule that does not exceed the cost threshold, even though a legislative committee has voted to advise the agency not to adopt the proposed rule that does exceed the cost threshold.