Not only are an administrative agency's interpretative rules
and general policy statements exempt from the APA's notice
and comment requirements but so are its rules of
"organization, procedures, or practice." In this case, the State
Board of Cosmetology, in implementing its new rules, failed to
establish procedural rules related to hearing notices,
settlements, agreements, and conferences, as well as to how
evidence could be presented at any hearing. Rather than
spending time with a public comment period, the Board simply
adopted a set of procedural rules regarding each of these
topics and published the rules on their website. May the Board
still enforce these rules?
No, because the Board must follow the process
for formal rulemaking.
No. unless they are ruled to be constitutional
