INDEX - Click on
topic below to jump directly to related section.
Steps for
Preparing a No Change Rule Filing
Step 7 -
Log on to ERF website
Step 9 -
Assign Rule Numbers and Titles
Step 10 -
Complete the RSFA and fill out online questions
Step 11 -
Upload Rule Body and other XML documents
Step 12 -
Upload other documents in PDF format
Step
13 - Review contents of package before filing
To Edit a
Document Once it is in a Package
Step 14 -
FILE the package and print cover letter
Step 15 -
View filing in History and print copies or save as PDF for your records
Steps 1 through 6 of
preparing a No Change / FYR Filing are nearly identical to the steps for
preparing an Original Filing.
Therefore, this document will refer you to the "How to Prepare an
Original Filing" document for details on Steps 1 through 6.
***********
Software versions: This document describes the steps required for
preparing a No Change / FYR Rule Filing using:
If you are using a different
version of RAS, Internet Explorer, Adobe Reader, or are using Netscape, you may
notice minor differences when attempting to perform some functions as described
in this document.
Additional information regarding the preparation and filing of rules can be
found at these locations:
Familiarity with JCARR rule filing
procedures and LSC rule-drafting guidelines is highly recommended before using
the Electronic Rule Filing system.
Attending the Rule Authoring Software and Electronic Rule Filing classes
is also highly recommended.
Five
Year Review (FYR): The five-year review is a result of HB 473 of the 121st
General Assembly. The RC
119.032 requires that (within a 5 year period) an agency review its
administrative rules and determine the necessity for its continued use
utilizing specific criteria.
No
change / FYR filing: If,
as part of the Five Year Review, the agency determines that no change to
the rule is necessary, the rule is filed electronically as a No Change.
Original
Rule Filing - The initial filing of a rule (amended, new, or rescinded)
under sections 111.15,
or 119.03
of the R.C. for the 65-day review by JCARR. The 65-day review period is
computed by excluding the day the original filing is made and including the
last day. Original rules can be filed in final form on or after the 66th day.
IBR -
Incorporated By Reference (as in "materials incorporated by
reference") per Senate Bill 265.
IBR materials can be uploaded to the ERF website in PDF format.
RSFA
-
Rule Summary and Fiscal Analysis. A
form that must accompany each rule that is subject to JCARR review.
ERF - Electronic
Rule Filing. The system and website
used to electronically file rules.
RAS
-
Rule Authoring Software. The software
used to create XML files used when electronically filing rules.
PDF - Portable Document Format; a file format developed by
Adobe. Using Adobe's free Adobe Reader
software (which can be installed on most computers), anyone receiving a PDF
file, regardless of operating system or computer type, can open and read a PDF
file. For more information on PDFs,
visit this link: http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/pdf/index.htm
XML - EXtensible Markup
Language. Documents created in XML are easy to transmit and
share across the web, which is what the Electronic Rule System requires since
it is a web-based application. The Rule
Authoring software allows filers to create rule bodies and other filing
documents in XML format so these files can be transmitted across the web.
To
meet requirements of House Bill 473 of the 121st General Assembly, RC 119.032 requires that (within a 5
year period) an agency review its administrative rules and determine the
necessity for its continued use utilizing specific criteria.
If, as part of the Five Year Review, the
agency determines that no change to the rule is necessary, the rule is
filed electronically as a No Change rule type in a No Change package type. (Rules to be Amended or Rescinded are filing
in a Typical package.)
Once the rules
are filed, JCARR has 90 days to review the rule. If JCARR does not vote to
recommend invalidation of a rule within the 90-day review period, the rule
shall continue in effect without amendment and shall next be reviewed on the
new review date assigned during the filing process. (For more information on
Five Year Review and 'no change' filings, see the JCARR online manual.)
Only one Next Five Year Review (FYR) Date per
package: You can only enter one Next Year Review date for each group of
rules being filed. If the rules you
wish to No Change file have different Next FYR dates, you will need to create
separate package for each date.
For example, if you have 10 No Change rules, 5 of which
you wish to file with a Next FYR date of 10/10/2008 and 5 of which you wish to
file with a Next FYR date of 3/3/2009, you would have to create two packages -
one for Next FYR date.
Typos or other corrections: Typos or other text or numbering errors found in a rule body can NOT
be corrected during a No Change Filing.
If you find errors in the rule
downloaded from the rule preparation website, contact the ERF help desk.
Corrections to the rule document must be made by filing the rule as an
amendment. If you have questions,
please call the ERF help desk.
Withdrawing a No Change rule: If you WITHDRAW a No Change rule, you can NOT refile the rule. You will have to start over in with a new package. Therefore, it is important that you double check all documents, dates, RSFA information, and other rule supplemental information (history trail) for accuracy during the preparation of your No Change filing.
STEPS
FOR PREPARING A NO CHANGE/FYR FILING
Steps 1 -6 of preparing a
No Change/FYR Filing are nearly identical to the steps for preparing an
Original Filing. Please see the "How to Prepare an Original Filing"
document for details on steps 1-6.
1)
Purchase (or access) the Rule Authoring Software.
2)
Request Rule Preparation from LSC (No Change rules must also be prepared by LSC.)
3)
Download prepared No Change rules.
4)
In RAS, create or edit Environmental Impact (EI), and Fiscal
B forms as needed. (In a No Change package, you will not create or edit a rule body in
RAS, although you can view the rule body in RAS after downloading from the rule
prep website.)
5)
In RAS, Make final corrections.
6)
In RAS, Save documents as XML.
7)
Log in to ERF website.
·
Open an internet browser and log on to https://erf.registerofohio.state.oh.us. Use the username and password that were
provided to you by your agency's ERF authorized contact.
·
Some agencies have a different log in and password for each
division. You must use the appropriate
log in for the division for which you are filing. If you are not sure which password to use, contact your agency's
ERF authorized contact.
·
Read the 'What's New..' link on the home page for important
updates.
8) Create New
Package.
Do not create a new package for each rule.
Recommended package size is no more than 25 rules.
ORC 119 and 111 rules may NOT be contained within the same
package.
·
Select "Create a New Package." If applicable, select a division from the
dropdown box.
·
Enter a package name.
You can enter any package name you wish because this information is for
your reference only.
·
Select the statute "promulgated under."
·
If you are not sure which statute to choose, do not proceed!
You
cannot change the statute once you leave this screen. If you file the rules with an incorrect statute, you will have to
recreate the entire package.
·
Select package type No Change.
·
Select Create.
9) Assign
Rule Numbers and Rule Titles.
Rule numbers
are assigned from the main package content/package management screen.
Each rule number
must be assigned (added) to package separately.
·
Select the 'Assign Rule' button.
·
When entering the rule number, leave the 'Div#' field empty
if your agency does not have a division number.
·
Do NOT put a zero in front of the agency, division or
chapter number.
·
The status will now show "No Change Pending."
10) Complete
the RSFA and online question forms.
As of October 9, 2002, the following online question forms
are filled out on the RSFA website:
Form 1: Online Data and Supplemental Questions
Form 2: RSFA
(pt.A) Rule Summary
Form 3: RSFA (pt.
A) Fiscal Analysis
Form 4:
Incorporation By Reference (when applicable)
The information gathered in these forms is used to create
the RSFA, create the Rule Supplemental information (history trail), supply
information regarding materials being Incorporated By Reference, determine need
for additional RSFA documents (i.e. RSFA part B) and determine which agencies
will receive notification that your electronic filing has been made.
If you uploaded an RSFA to the ERF website *before*
October 9, your RSFA data will appear on the online forms as it was
uploaded. However, you will be required
to answer the "Incorporated by Reference" questions on Form 1 before you
will be permitted to complete the filing.
·
You must
complete an RSFA for each No Change rule you are filing.
·
On the main package content screen, select open next to a rule.
The Online Data and Supplemental Questions form (Form 1) will open.
·
Fill out all required information and select OK to save. (You will not be permitted to save the form
until all required information has been supplied.)
·
After saving Form 1, you will be at the rule content screen.
·
Forms 2 and 3 will be listed under "Rule Summary and Fiscal
Analysis (Part A)."
·
Open Forms 2 and 3 and fill out the required information. (Note: the RSFA print/view link will
not work until Form 2 or Form 3 has been opened and filled out.)
·
Form 4: If you indicated on Form
1 that you will be including materials to be Incorporated by Reference, Form 4
will also appear under "Rule Summary and Fiscal Analysis (Part A)"
and must be filled out.
·
Select print/view beside the RSFA to view the completed form. If any information needs to be corrected,
open the appropriate form and make the correction. Select the "Help-Which form has which question?"
link to locate the form on which a specific question is located.
·
NOTE: When you print/view the RSFA before
the rule body has been uploaded, the following message appears beneath the
tagline on the RSFA: (the above tagline is from the draft RSFA; it will be
replaced by the current tagline from the rule loaded on the website). This message will disappear once the
rule body has been uploaded.
11) Upload Rule Body and (if applicable)
other XML documents created in RAS.
IMPORTANT: ERF documents created in RAS MUST
have been saved as XML file format before uploading to the ERF
website. Only file formats XML and PDF
are accepted. S4W files
are not accepted! Word (.doc) files are
not accepted!
Uploading the
rule body:
·
At the main package content screen, select open next
to a rule. You should be at the rule content
screen that shows the list of documents needed for this rule.
·
Select upload
next to Rule Body and answer the copyright questions.
·
Select 'Browse' and navigate to the location of your saved
rule body XML file.
·
Locate the file you want to upload and click on the file
name.
·
Select 'Open' when you have located the correct file. Then select OK.
·
To view what you have uploaded, click on print/view. Adobe Reader will open a window and you
can view the uploaded document.
·
The document will have a "DRAFT-NOT FOR FILING"
header. This header appears on all documents prior to the completion of the
filing.
·
After viewing the document, close the Adobe window by
selecting File, Close.
Uploading
other XML forms:
·
If applicable, upload the Environmental Impact and/or Fiscal
B. These files must be in XML
format.
·
To locate, upload and view the forms, follow the same steps
listed above in 'Uploading the Rule Body'
·
The need for an Environmental Impact or RSFA part B is
determined by your answers to the online questions on Form 1 specific to these
attachments.
o
If an Environmental
Impact or RSFA part B is required for this rule, but the ERF system does not
prompt you to upload one, you will need to change the answer to the online
questions pertaining to these forms to 'yes.'
o
Conversely, if the
ERF system is indicating that you need to upload an Environmental Impact or
RSFA part B when you do not, you will need to change the answer to the online
questions pertaining to these forms to 'no.'
·
MODIFYING AN ONLINE QUESTION:
o
If you need to change the answer to one of the online
questions, navigate to the main package content screen and select open
next to the appropriate rule.
o Select modify
next to the form that contains the question.
o If you are not sure of the
location of the question, select the "Help-Which form has which
question?" link.
o Locate the
question you wish to change, make changes, and select OK or Save.
o Print/view the
Rule Body and RSFA Part A to confirm the changes.
(ERF navigation tip: selecting the package name link in the upper right corner will
take you back to the main package content screen.)
12) Upload other filing documents in PDF format as applicable
for this filing: Appendix,
IBR Materials, RSFA Attachment, or Additional Communications.
APPENDIX: Documents being uploaded as an Appendix can be in PDF or
XML format, if the XML was created using RAS.
o
From the main package content screen, select open
next to the rule requiring an appendix.
o
Select Appendix button on the left. Answer copyright questions, enter the
Appendix sequence (enter 1 for A, 2 for B, etc.).
o
If rule is amended, select the Appendix type (existing,
amend, enacted, rescind).
o
Browse for the PDF (or XML) file you want to upload. Select Open, OK.
o
You are required to print/view the uploaded PDF or XML
before completing the filing.
o Refer to Step
11 for more details on locating, uploading and viewing documents.
o
Do not use the RSFA Attachment or Incorporated by Reference
buttons to upload an Appendix!
IBR (Incorporate
By Reference) Materials: Materials
(documents) being uploaded electronically for Incorporation By Reference must
be in PDF format.
o
Navigate to the main package content screen and select
'open' next to the rule requiring the RSFA attachment.
o
Select the Incorporated By Reference (SB265) button on the
left. Supply the document title, answer
the copyright questions, and browse to upload the PDF file. If you wish to attach the IBR document to
all rules in the package, check the box that says "Add file to all rules
in package." For more information
on this feature, select the help link located next to it.
o
You are required to print/view the uploaded PDF before
completing the filing.
o
Refer to Step 11 for more details on locating, uploading and
viewing documents.
o
Do not use the Incorporated by Reference button to upload an
Appendix!
RSFA ATTACHMENT: If an RSFA requires an attachment, you must upload
that attachment in PDF form.
o
Navigate to the main package content screen and select
'open' next to the rule requiring the RSFA attachment.
o
Select the RSFA Attachment button on the left. Supply the document title, answer the
copyright questions, and browse to upload the PDF file. If you wish to attach the attachment to all
rules in the package, check the box that says "Add attachment to all RSFAs
in package." For more information
on this feature, select the help link located next to it.
o
You are required to print/view the uploaded PDF before
completing the filing.
o
Refer to Step11 for more details on locating, uploading and
viewing documents.
o
Do not use the RSFA Attachment button to upload an Appendix!
ADDITIONAL
COMMUNICATION: This function is
used to provide additional filing information that was previously contained in
the cover letter. Only one
Additional Communication document is uploaded per package. The document must be in PDF format.
o
Navigate to the main package content screen.
o
Select the 'Upload Add'l Communications' button on the left.
o
Select Browse to locate and upload the upload the PDF.
o
You are required to print/view the uploaded PDF before
completing the filing.
o Refer to Step
11 for more details on locating, uploading
and viewing documents
13) Review
contents of package before filing.
· From the main package content screen, select the green Status button on
the left. A screen will appear showing the
list of documents required for this filing.
· Documents required for your filing are indicated with a green
checkmark, red X, or blue exclamation point.
In all columns except the RSFA:
X - this document is required and has not yet
been uploaded.
! - document has been
uploaded but has not yet been viewed
(each document must be viewed prior to filing)
[- document is ready
for filing
In the RSFA column:
X - one or more questions on Forms 2 - 4 have
not been completed
! - RSFA (a) has not
been viewed
[ - document is ready
for filing
· You will not be permitted to file if there is a red X or blue
exclamation point anywhere on the status sheet. Therefore, you will need to upload, fill out or view each
document or form as indicated.
TO EDIT A DOCUMENT ONCE IT IS IN A PACKAGE:
A document that has already been uploaded
cannot be edited from within the website by selecting print/view. (Note: RSFA Part A and Rule supplemental information
is can be modified via the online question forms.)
To edit text in
Rule Body: If you
find an error in the Rule body of a No Change rule, please contact the ERF help
desk.
To edit an error
in an Environmental Impact or Fiscal B text: you will have to retrieve the document from
the website or locate the original XML you uploaded. Open the document in the Rule Authoring Software, make the
changes, then save as XML file. Then,
you'll go back to the website, open the rule, and use the replace
function to upload the corrected XML.
To edit an error
in a PDF Document: If you find an error in an Appendix, RSFA attachment or other PDF
document, you will need to retrieve the document from the website or locate the
original PDF you uploaded. Next, you
will need to make corrections to the PDF in the software your agency is using
to create PDFs. Then, you'll go back to
the website, open the package and/or rule, and use the replace function
to upload the corrected PDF.
View documents
carefully! If you discover errors
*after* the No Change filing, you may have to Withdraw the filing and start all
over!
IMPORTANT!!!! When you push the OK
button to complete the No Change filing, you assume responsibility for what is
being filed. View each document to
make sure you are filing the correct version of the document and to make sure
that all dates and other supplemental information is correct.
A.
To file a package, you must be logged in to the ERF website
with a username and password with file privileges. If you are currently logged in with only
'edit' privileges, select 'logout' in the upper right corner and log back in
with file privileges.
B.
Select 'View Packages in Progress' and select the package
you want to file.
C.
Select the red file button. If you do NOT see the red file
button, check the following:
o
Are you still logged in to the website with your 'edit'
username and password? You must use your file user name and password.
o
Are you authorized to file a package? If you do not know, you will need to ask
your agency's ERF authorized contact if you have filing privileges (call the
help desk for further information).
o
Package must have at least one rule before you can file.
F.
Select OK. A screen
listing the rules you are about to file will appear and you will see the following
text: 'By pressing the Ok button below
you are officially making this filing with LSC, and when appropriate, JCARR and
the Secretary of State. If you are here in error, please click the Cancel
button.'
Adobe Reader
will open a window and you can print the cover letter by selecting the printer
icon. After printing, close this window
by selecting File, Close.
A copy of this
confirmation email is also sent to a contact person at your agency (the contact
person is designated by your agency's ERF authorized contact).
15) View filing
in History and print copies or save as PDF for your records.
·
After
you have completed the filing, you can view and print the documents exactly as
they were filed by selecting the History button on the main package content screen.
·
A
list of rules will appear and each rule will have two options: print/view documents and view online
questions.
·
Select
the print/view documents link beside one of the rules. For each rule, you can print selected
documents or you can 'print all.' (Note: 'print all' prints all attachments
and package level documents (such as PHN, Additional Communications) that are
associated with a rule).
·
To Print
only selected documents: Select print/view beside the
document you wish to print. Adobe Reader will open a window and a PDF will be created of the document
selected. The number of pages in the
PDF displays at the bottom left (such as '1 of 3'). To print, select File, Print.
After printing, close this window by selecting File, Close. Then select print/view beside the
next document you wish to print and repeat the steps above. You can also save PDF copy of each document
at this time. Select the diskette icon on the Acrobat Screen to save. Browse to
the folder where you want to save your PDF and select Save.
·
To Print all: Select print/view documents, then
select the 'print all' option. Adobe
Reader will open a window and a PDF will be created that has all
documents for this rule. You can select
the "Bookmarks" tab on the right and click the plus sign to display
an index of the documents. The number
of pages in the PDF displays at the bottom left (such as '1 of 7'). To print the entire PDF, select File,
Print. After printing, close this
window by selecting File, Close.
·
To save a PDF copy for your records: Select print/view beside the
document you wish to print or select 'print all.' Select the diskette icon on the Acrobat Screen to save. Browse
to the folder where you want to save your PDF and select Save. After saving, close this window by selecting
File, Close.
·
Repeat above steps to view, print, or
save PDF documents for each rule in the package.
·
After closing the Acrobat screen, use the package name link in
the upper right corner to go back to the main package content screen.