(a) Authority.

1. (1) The Arkansas Fair Housing Commission has been authorized by the General Assembly to promulgate rules, Section 5(a) of Acts 2001, No. 1785.
2. (2) The commission follows the procedural requirements of the Arkansas Administrative Procedure Act, Arkansas Code § 25-15-201 et seq., in particular Arkansas Code §§ 25-15-203 and 25-15-204.
3. (3) Additionally, the commission is required to abide by the provisions of Arkansas Code § 10-3-309.

(b) Initiation of rulemaking.

1. (1) The process of adopting a new rule or amending or repealing an existing rule (hereinafter referred to as “rulemaking”) may be initiated by request of the governing body that the staff or commission committee submit proposed drafts.
2. (2) Additionally, staff of the commission may request permission of the commission to initiate rulemaking.
3. (3) Third persons outside the agency may petition for the issuance, amendment, or repeal of any rule.

(c) Petition to initiate rulemaking.

1. (1)

   1. (A) Third parties may initiate rulemaking to adopt, amend, or repeal a rule by filing a petition with the commission to initiate rulemaking.
   2. (B) The petition must contain:

(i) The name, address, and telephone number of the petitioner;

1. (ii) The specific rule or action requested;

   1. (iii) The reasons for the rule or action requested; and

      1. (iv) Facts showing that the petitioner:

(b) (b) Has a substantial interest in the rule or action requested.

1. (2) The petition to initiate rulemaking shall be filed with the Director of the Arkansas Fair Housing Commission, who will notify the Chair of the Arkansas Fair Housing Commission for distribution.
2. (3) The director will notify the chair of the petition for approval to distribute to agency members.

3. (4)

   1. (A) Within thirty (30) days after submission of the petition, the commission will either:

      1. (i) Deny the petition, stating its reasons in writing; or
      2. (ii) Initiate rulemaking.

   2. (B) A special meeting will be called if necessary to meet this time frame.

      1. (d) Prefiling with the Bureau of Legislative Research. Thirty (30) days before the public comment period ends, the commission will file with the Bureau of Legislative Research the text of the proposed rule or amendment as well as a financial impact statement and a bureau questionnaire as provided by Arkansas Code § 10-3-309.

(e) Public input.

1. (1)

   1. (A) Before finalizing language of a proposed new rule or an amendment to, or repeal of, an existing rule, the commission will receive public input through written comments and/or oral submissions.
   2. (B) The commission will designate in its public notice the format and timing of public comment.

2. (2) Any public hearing will provide affected persons and other members of the public a reasonable opportunity for presentation of evidence, arguments, and oral statements within reasonable conditions and limitations imposed by the commission to avoid:

   1. (A) Duplication;
   2. (B) Irrelevant comments;
   3. (C) Unnecessary delay; or
   4. (D) Disruption of the proceedings.

3. (3)

   1. (A) The chair, any member of the commission, or any person designated by the commission may preside at the public hearing.

   2. (B) The commission must ensure that the commission personnel responsible for preparing the proposed rule or amendment are available and will notify third parties initiating rule changes to be available to:

      1. (i) Explain the proposal; and
      2. (ii) Respond to questions or comments regarding the proposed rule.

4. (4) The commission must preserve the comments made at the public hearing by:

   1. (A) A certified court reporter; or
   2. (B) Recording instruments.

5. (5)

   1. (A) Any person may submit written statements within the specified period of time.

   2. (B) All timely, written statements will be:

      1. (i) Considered by the commission; and
      2. (ii) Made a part of the rulemaking record.

(f) Notice of rulemaking.

1. (1) The commission will give notice of proposed rulemaking to be published pursuant to Arkansas Code § 25-15-204.

2. (2) The notice will:

   1. (A) Set any written comment period; and
   2. (B) Specify the time, date, and place of any public hearing.

(g) Decision to adopt a rule.

1. (1) The commission will not finalize language of the rule or decide whether to adopt a rule until the period for public comment has expired.

2. (2) Before acting on a proposed rule, the commission will consider:

   1. (A) All of the written submissions and/or oral submissions received in the rulemaking proceeding or any memorandum summarizing such oral submissions; and
   2. (B) Any regulatory analysis or fiscal impact statement issued in the rulemaking proceedings.
3. (3) The commission may use its own experience, specialized knowledge, and judgment in the adoption of a rule.

(h) Variance between adopted rule and published notice of proposed rule.

1. (1) The commission may not adopt a rule that differs from the rule proposed in the published notice of the intended rulemaking on which the rule is based unless:

   1. (A) The final rule is in character with the original scheme and was a logical outgrowth of the notice and comments stemming from the proposed rule; or
   2. (B) The notice fairly apprised interested persons of the subject and the issues that would be considered so that those persons had an opportunity to comment.

2. (2) In determining whether the final rule is in character with the original scheme and was a logical outgrowth of the notice and comments and that the notice of intended rulemaking provided fair warning that the outcome of that rulemaking proceeding could be the rule in question, the commission must consider the following factors:

   1. (A) The extent to which persons who will be affected by the rule should have understood that the rulemaking proceeding on which it is based could affect their interests;
   2. (B) The extent to which the subject matter of the rule or issues determined by the rule are different from the subject matter or issues contained in the notice of intended rulemaking; and

   3. (C) The extent to which the effects of the rule differ from the effects of the proposed rule contained in the notice of intended rulemaking.

      1. (i) Concise statement of reasons.

3. (1)

   1. (A) When requested by an interested person, either prior to the adoption of a rule or within thirty (30) days after its adoption, the commission shall issue a concise statement of the principal reasons for and against its adoption of the rule.

   2. (B) Requests for such a statement must be:

      1. (i) In writing; and
      2. (ii) Delivered to the director.
   3. (C) The request should indicate whether the statement is sought for all or only a specified part of a rule.
   4. (D) A request will be considered to have been submitted on the date on which it is received by the commission.

4. (2) The concise statement of reasons must contain:

   1. (A) The commission’s reasons for adopting the rule;
   2. (B) An indication of any change between the text of the proposed rule and the text of the rule as finally adopted, with explanations for any such change; and
   3. (C) The principal reasons urged in the rulemaking procedure for and against the rule and the commission’s reasons for overruling the arguments made against the rule.

(j) Contents.

1. (1) The commission shall cause its rules to be published and made available to interested persons.

2. (2)

   1. (A) The publication must include:

      1. (i) The text of the rule; and
      2. (ii) A note containing the following:

(b) (b) The effective date or dates of the rule;

1. (c) (c) Any findings required by any provisions of law as a prerequisite to adoption for effectiveness of the rule; and

   1. (d) (d) Citation to the entire specific statutory or other authority authorizing the adoption of the rule;
   2. (B) The publication of the rule or rules must state the date of publication.

(k) Format. The published rules of the commission will be organized substantially in the following format:

1. (1) Statement of organization and operations;
2. (2) Information for public guidance;
3. (3) General organization;
4. (4) Rulemaking;
5. (5) Emergency rulemaking;
6. (6) Declaratory orders;
7. (7) Adjudicative hearings; and

8. (8) Substantive rules and other rules of the commission.

   1. (l) Incorporation by reference.
9. (1) By reference in a rule, the commission may incorporate all or any part of a code, standard, rule, or other matter if the commission finds that copying the matter in the commission’s rule would be unduly cumbersome, expensive, or otherwise inexpedient.

10. (2) The reference in the commission rule must:

    1. (A) Fully and precisely identify the incorporated matter by title, citation, date, and edition, if any;
    2. (B) Briefly indicate the precise subject and general contents of the incorporated matter; and
    3. (C) State that the rule does not include any later amendments or editions of the incorporated matter.
11. (3) The commission may incorporate such a matter by reference in a proposed or adopted rule only if the agency makes copies of the incorporated matter readily available to the public.

12. (4) The rules must state how and where copies of the incorporated matter may be obtained at cost from:

    1. (A) The commission; and
    2. (B) An agency of the United States, this state, another state, or the organization, association, or persons originally issuing that matter.

13. (5) The commission must retain permanently a copy of any materials incorporated by reference in a rule of the commission.

    1. (m) Filing.

14. (1) After the commission formally adopts a new rule or amends a current rule or repeals an existing rule, and after the rule change has been reviewed by the Legislative Council, the staff will file final copies of the rule:

    1. (A) With the Secretary of State, the Arkansas State Library, and the bureau; or
    2. (B) As otherwise provided by Arkansas Code § 25-15-204(d).

15. (2)

    1. (A) Proof of filing a copy of the rule, amendment, or repeal with the Secretary of State, the state library, and the bureau will be kept in a file maintained by the director.
    2. (B) It is owned by the commission and kept at the commission’s office.
16. (3) Notice of the rule change will be posted on the commission’s website, if available.