As used in the State Rules Act:

A. "agency" means any agency, board, commission, department, institution or officer of the state government except the judicial and legislative branches of the state government;

B. "person" includes individuals, associations, partnerships, companies, business trusts, political subdivisions and corporations;

C. "proceeding" means a formal agency process or procedure that is commenced or conducted pursuant to the State Rules Act;

D. "proposed rule" means a rule that is provided to the public by an agency for review and public comment prior to its adoption, amendment or repeal, and for which there is specific legal authority authorizing the proposed rule;

E. "provide to the public" means for an agency to distribute rulemaking information by:

(1) posting it on the agency website, if any;

(2) posting it on the sunshine portal;

(3) making it available in the agency's district, field and regional offices, if any;

(4) sending it by electronic mail to persons who have made a written request for notice from the agency of announcements addressing the subject of the rulemaking proceeding and who have provided an electronic mail address to the agency;

(5) sending it by electronic mail to persons who have participated in the rulemaking and who have provided an electronic mail address to the agency;

(6) sending written notice that includes, at a minimum, an internet and street address where the information may be found to persons who provide a postal address; and

(7) providing it to the New Mexico legislative council for distribution to appropriate interim and standing legislative committees;

F. "rule" means any rule, regulation, or standard, including those that explicitly or implicitly implement or interpret a federal or state legal mandate or other applicable law and amendments thereto or repeals and renewals thereof, issued or promulgated by any agency and purporting to affect one or more agencies besides the agency issuing the rule or to affect persons not members or employees of the issuing agency, including affecting persons served by the agency. An order or decision or other document issued or promulgated in connection with the disposition of any case or agency decision upon a particular matter as applied to a specific set of facts shall not be deemed such a rule, nor shall it constitute specific adoption thereof by the agency. "Rule" does not include rules relating to the management, confinement, discipline or release of inmates of any penal or charitable institution, the New Mexico boys' school, the girls' welfare home or any hospital; rules made relating to the management of any particular educational institution, whether elementary or otherwise; or rules made relating to admissions, discipline, supervision, expulsion or graduation of students from any educational institution; and

G. "rulemaking" means the process for adoption of a new rule or the amendment, readoption or repeal of an existing rule.

History: 1953 Comp., § 71-7-2, enacted by Laws 1967, ch. 275, § 2; 1969, ch. 92, § 1; 2017, ch. 137, § 1.

The 2017 amendment, effective July 1, 2017, defined "proceeding", "proposed rule", "provide to the public", and "rulemaking", and revised the definitions of certain terms, as used in the State Rules Act; in Subsection B, after "business trusts", added "political subdivisions", and deleted "and" at the end of the subsection; added new Subsections C through E and redesignated former Subsection C as Subsection F; in Subsection F, after "regulation", deleted "order" and added "or", after "standard", deleted "statement of policy", after "including", added "those that explicitly or implicitly implement or interpret a federal or state legal mandate or other applicable law and", after "repeals", added "and renewals", after "the issuing agency", added ", including affecting persons served by the agency", deleted "Such term shall" and added "'Rule' does", after "charitable institution, the", deleted "Springer" and added "New Mexico", after "welfare home", deleted "of" and added "or", after "any hospital", deleted "nor to", after "elementary or otherwise", deleted "nor to", after the semicolon, added "or", and after "graduation of students", deleted "therefrom" and added "from any educational institution; and"; and added Subsection G.

A standard is a rule, if the proper procedure has been followed in promulgating it. Bokum Resources Corp. v. New Mexico Water Quality Control Comm'n, 1979-NMSC-090, 93 N.M. 546, 603 P.2d 285.

Prison rules. — The Legislature could not have made it more clear that rules relating to the management, confinement, discipline or release of inmates are not subject to filing under the State Rules Act since, although the Corrections Department Act requires that all rules be filed in accordance with the State Rules Act, the latter clearly excludes certain rules relating to inmates from its definition of rules, in 14-4-2 NMSA 1978. Johnson v. Francke, 1987-NMCA-029, 105 N.M. 564, 734 P.2d 804.

"Rules" and "standards". — The terms "rule" and "standard" include procedural standards, manuals, directives and requirements if they purport to affect one or more agencies besides the issuing agency or persons other than the issuing agencies' members or employees. 1993 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 93-01.

Museum resolution. — A resolution of the Museum of New Mexico permitting only Indians to sell handicrafts under the portal of the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe was a rule within the meaning of the State Rules Act. Livingston v. Ewing, 1982-NMSC-110, 98 N.M. 685, 652 P.2d 235; State v. Joyce, 1980-NMCA-086, 94 N.M. 618, 614 P.2d 30.

Orders and decisions excluded by definition from class of rules to which State Rules Act applies are not subject to the provisions of those sections and, in particular, are not governed by 14-4-3 and 14-4-5 NMSA 1978. 1979 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 79-32.

Law reviews. — For article, "Survey of New Mexico Law, 1979-80: Administrative Law," see 11 N.M. L. Rev. 1 (1981).