Section 1041. Definitions.
As used herein, the term
1. “Adjudication” means a proceeding in which the legal rights, duties or privileges of named parties are required by law to be determined by an agency on a record and after an opportunity for a hearing.
2. “Agency” means any one or more of the elected or appointed officers provided for in this charter and any other official or entity which is acting (1) under the direction of one or more of such officers, (2) under the direction of one or more other officials who are appointed by, or appointed on the recommendation of, such officers, or (3) under the direction of a board, the majority of whose members are appointed by, or appointed upon the recommendation of, one or more of such officers, but shall not include the city council.
3. “Compilation” means the Compilation of city rules required to be published under section one thousand forty-five.
4. “Law” means federal, state and local law, this charter, and rules issued pursuant thereto.
5. “Rule” means the whole or part of any statement or communication of general applicability that (i) implements or applies law or policy, or (ii) prescribes the procedural requirements of an agency including an amendment, suspension, or repeal of any such statement or communication.
a. “Rule” shall include, but not be limited to, any statement or communication which prescribes (i) standards which, if violated, may result in a sanction or penalty; (ii) a fee to be charged by or required to be paid to an agency; (iii) standards for the issuance, suspension or revocation of a license or permit; (iv) standards for any product, material, or service which must be met before manufacture, distribution, sale or use; (v) standards for the procurement of goods and services; (vi) standards for the disposition of public property or property under agency control; or (vii) standards for the granting of loans or other benefits.
b. “Rule” shall not include any (i) statement or communication which relates only to the internal management or personnel of an agency which does not materially affect the rights of or procedures available to the public; (ii) form, instruction, or statement or communication of general policy, which in itself has no legal effect but is merely explanatory; (iii) statement or communication concerning the allocation of agency resources or personnel; (iv) statement or communication for guiding, directing or otherwise regulating vehicular and pedestrian traffic, including but not limited to any statement or communication controlling parking, standing, stopping or a construction detour, the contents of which is indicated to the public in signs, signals, markings and similar devices, the determination and installation of which is based on engineering or other technical considerations not involving substantial policy considerations; (v) statement or communication effecting a non-continuous closing of a street; or (vi) statement or communication adopted pursuant to sections fifty-one, one hundred ninety-seven-a except pursuant to the first sentence of subdivision b or the third sentence of subdivision c of section one hundred ninety-seven-a, one hundred ninety-seven-c except pursuant to subdivisions i and l of section one hundred ninety-seven-c, one hundred ninety-nine, two hundred, two hundred one, two hundred two and seven hundred five of this charter.
Section 1042. Regulatory agenda.
1. a brief description of the subject areas in which it is anticipated that rules may be promulgated during the next fiscal year, including a description of the reasons why action by the agency is being considered;
2. a summary, to the extent known, of the anticipated contents of each such proposed rule, its objectives and legal basis;
3. a description of the types of individuals and entities likely to be subject to the rule;
4. an identification, to the extent practicable, of all relevant federal, state, and local laws and rules, including those which may duplicate, overlap or conflict with the proposed rule; and
5. an approximate schedule for adopting the proposed rule, and the name and telephone number of an agency official knowledgeable about each subject area involved.
Section 1043. Rulemaking.
1. Each agency shall publish the full text of the proposed rule in the City Record at least thirty days prior to the date set for a public hearing to be held pursuant to the requirements of subdivision e of this section or the final date for receipt of written comments, whichever is earlier. A proposed rule amending an existing rule shall contain in brackets any part to be deleted and shall have underlined or italicized any new part to be added. A proposed rule repealing an existing rule shall contain in brackets the rule to be repealed, or if the full text of the rule was published in the Compilation required to be published pursuant to section one thousand forty-five, shall give the citation of the rule to be repealed and a summary of its contents. Such published notice shall include a draft statement of the basis and purpose of the proposed rule, the statutory authority, including the particular sections and subdivisions upon which the action is based, the time and place of public hearing, if any, to be held or the reason that a public hearing will not be held, and the final date for receipt of written comments. If the proposed rule was not included in the regulatory agenda, such notice shall also include the reason the rule was not anticipated, as required in subdivision c of section one thousand forty-two of this chapter.
2. Copies of the full text of the proposed rule shall be electronically transmitted to the office of the speaker of the council, the council’s office of legislative documents, the corporation counsel, each council member, the chairs of all community boards, the news media and civic organizations no later than the date the proposed rule is transmitted to the City Record for publication pursuant to paragraph one of subdivision b of this section; provided that an inadvertent failure to fully comply with the notice requirements of this paragraph shall not serve to invalidate any rule.
3. (a) News media, for the purposes of this subdivision, shall include (i) all radio and television stations broadcasting in the city of New York, all newspapers published in the city of New York having a city-wide or borough-wide circulation, and any newspaper of any labor union or trade association representing an industry affected by such rule, and (ii) any community newspaper or any other publication that requests such notification on an annual basis.
(b) Civic organizations, for the purposes of this subdivision, shall include any city-wide or borough-wide organization or any labor union, trade association or other group that requests such notification on an annual basis.
4. In addition to the requirements set forth in paragraph one of this subdivision, each agency shall provide information regarding the public hearing to be held with regard to a proposed rule in a prominent location on such agency’s website at least seven days prior to the date set for such hearing. Each agency shall further provide, in a prominent location on such agency’s website, a link to the NYC Rules online portal or any successor city website or page that is substantially similar in form or function. Each agency shall, to the greatest extent practicable, and in addition to the electronic transmissions required by paragraph two of this subdivision, publicize upcoming public hearings via electronic means that are likely to reach interested members of the public. This paragraph shall not be construed to create a private right of action to enforce its provisions. Inadvertent failure to comply with this paragraph shall not result in the invalidation of any rule.
2. After completing the review as set forth in paragraph one of this subdivision, the law department and the mayor’s office of operations shall certify that they have performed such review, and shall promptly transmit a copy of such certification, including the analysis performed by the mayor’s office of operations, to the relevant agency. Such agency shall annex such certification and analysis to the full text of the proposed rule as published in the City Record. Such certification and analysis shall also be made available to the public on the city’s website and transmitted to the speaker of the city council at the time of publication. In no event shall a proposed rule be submitted for initial publication in the City Record unless the law department and the mayor’s office of operations have issued such certification and analysis.
3. This subdivision shall not be construed to create a private right of action to enforce its provisions. Inadvertent failure to comply with this subdivision shall not result in the invalidation of any rule.
4. This subdivision shall not apply to rules that: (i) are promulgated pursuant to the emergency procedures set forth in subdivision i of this section; (ii) are solely concerned with the establishment or modification of the amount of a monetary penalty or penalties, and the underlying violation or a modification of the penalties associated with such violation has previously been analyzed in accordance with paragraph one of this subdivision; (iii) are solely concerned with the establishment or modification of the amount of a fee or fees or (iv) implement particular mandates or standards set forth in newly enacted federal, state, or local laws, regulations or other requirements with only minor, if any, exercise of agency discretion in interpreting such mandates or standards. If an analysis of a proposed rule is not performed pursuant to the exceptions noted in this paragraph, such fact shall be noted and the note annexed to the full text of the proposed rule as published in the City Record.
1. No rule shall be effective until
(a) the rule is filed by the agency with the corporation counsel for publication in the Compilation,
(b) the rule and a statement of basis and purpose is transmitted to the council for its information, and
(c) the rule and a statement of basis and purpose have been published in the City Record and thirty days have elapsed after such publication. The requirement that thirty days shall first elapse after such publication shall not apply where a finding that a substantial need for the earlier implementation of a program or policy has been made by the agency in writing and has been approved by the mayor prior to the effective date of the rule and such finding and approval is contained in the notice.
2. A rule shall be void if it is not published in the next supplement to the Compilation in which its publication is practicable; provided, however, that in the case of an inadvertent failure to publish a rule in such supplement, the rule shall become effective as of the date of its publication, if it is published within six months of the date the corporation counsel receives notice of its omission; and further provided that any judicial or administrative action or proceeding, whether criminal or civil, commenced under or by virtue of any provision of a rule voided pursuant to this section and pending prior to such voidance, may be prosecuted and defended to final effect in the same manner as they might if such rule had not been so voided.
1. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an agency may adopt a rule prior to the notice and comment otherwise required by this section if the immediate effectiveness of such rule is necessary to address an imminent threat to health, safety, property or a necessary service. A finding of such imminent threat and the specific reasons for the finding must be made in writing by the agency adopting such rule and shall be approved by the mayor before such rule may be made effective. In the event that an elected official other than the mayor has the authority to promulgate rules, such official may make such findings without prior mayoral approval. The rule and accompanying finding shall be made public forthwith and shall be published in the City Record as soon as practicable. Agencies shall also electronically transmit all emergency rules adopted pursuant to this paragraph to the office of the speaker of the council, the council’s office of legislative documents, the corporation counsel, each council member, the chairs of all community boards, the news media and civic organizations, as such term is defined in subdivision b of this section, no later than the date the emergency rules are transmitted to the City Record for publication pursuant to this paragraph.
2. A rule adopted on an emergency basis shall not remain in effect for longer than sixty days unless the agency has initiated notice and comment otherwise required by this section within such sixty day period and publishes with such notice a statement that an extension of such rule on an emergency basis is necessary for an additional sixty days to afford an opportunity for notice and comment and to adopt a final rule as required by this section; provided that no further such finding of an emergency may be made with respect to the same or a substantially similar rule.
Section 1044. Review of previously adopted rules.
1. By the tenth day of August, nineteen hundred eighty-nine, each agency shall send to the corporation counsel a copy of each rule, as defined in subdivision five of section one thousand forty-one, in force as of the first day of January of nineteen hundred eighty-nine. Each such rule shall be identified by the agency as one of the following:
(a) a rule which should be continued in its present form;
(b) a rule which should be continued with amendments; or
(c) a rule which should be repealed.
2. Any amendment or repeal of a rule described in paragraph one of this subdivision, shall be subject to the provisions set forth in section one thousand forty-three.
1. include such rules in the Compilation required to be published pursuant to section one thousand forty-five; provided, however, that each rule which the agency identifies as a rule which should be continued but with amendments, and each rule which the agency identifies as a rule which should be repealed, shall be published in the Compilation with an appropriate notation as to the agency’s comments and intentions. Such notations shall be provided for informational purposes only and such rule in its present form shall remain in full force and effect until and unless such rule is amended or repealed pursuant to the procedures set forth in section one thousand forty-three, and
2. submit to the City Record for publication by the first day of September, nineteen hundred ninety, a list of rules submitted pursuant to subdivisions a and e of this section, except for rules contained in the health code. Such list shall include for each rule a short descriptive title, as well as any available identifying names, numbers, adoption dates or similar information regarding such rule; and an indication of the agency’s intention to continue such rule without amendments, to continue it with amendments or to repeal it.
Section 1045. Compilation of city rules.
Section 1046. Adjudication.
Where any agency is authorized to conduct an adjudication, it shall act, at a minimum, in accordance with the provisions set forth below. The parking violations bureau shall not be subject to the requirements of this section.
1. a statement of the nature of the proceeding and the time and place it will be held, if applicable;
2. a statement of the legal authority and jurisdiction under which the hearing is to be held, and a reference to the particular sections of the law and rules involved; and
3. a short and plain statement of the matters to be adjudicated, including reference to the particular sections of law and rule involved.
1. All parties shall be afforded an opportunity for a hearing within a reasonable time. At the hearing the parties shall be afforded due process of law, including the opportunity to be represented by counsel, to issue subpoenas or request that a subpoena be issued, to call witnesses, to cross-examine opposing witnesses and to present oral and written arguments on the law and facts. Adherence to formal rules of evidence is not required. No ex parte communications relating to other than ministerial matters regarding a proceeding shall be received by a hearing officer, including internal agency directives not published as rules.
2. Findings of fact shall be based exclusively on the record of the proceeding as a whole. Except as otherwise provided for by state or local law, the party commencing the adjudication shall have the burden of proof.
3. The hearing shall be transcribed or recorded and a copy of the transcript or record, or any part thereof, shall be made available to any party to the hearing upon request therefor. A typed or recorded copy of such transcript shall be provided upon request for a reasonable cost.
Section 1047. Declaratory ruling.
On the written petition of any person, an agency may issue a written declaratory ruling on the applicability of any rule adopted by it, to any person, property, or state of facts. A declaratory ruling shall be binding only with respect to the person who makes the petition and only with respect to the stated facts contained in the petition.