FAQ - General Electronic Rule Filing Procedures

1. When did electronic filing of rules begin?

2. What hardware and software must an agency use to file electronically?

3. What must my agency do to begin electronic filing?

4. Is there someone to call or e-mail with questions or troubleshooting needs?

5. How does the ERF system use digital signatures?

6. What rules must be filed electronically?

7. How will agencies obtain electronic versions of their existing rules from which to draft amendments?

8. Must rescissions and five-year-review rules (no change) be filed electronically?

9. If a rule is required to be filed with the Office of Small Business or the Department of Aging, must it be filed electronically with them, as well?

10. May agencies electronically file at any time, 24 hours a day?

11. What will happen if there is a failure of the ERF system? How will agencies file rules?

12. The General Assembly has switched its bill drafting style from all capital letters to the simpler style of underlined lower-case letters. Are there any plans to simplify the drafting style of rules in the same way?

13. When and where can agencies obtain training for their rules staff?

14. What does the training cover?

15. Will user manuals be provided?

16. What is the publication schedule for the Register of Ohio?

17. LSC has informed state agencies that they may file public hearing notices with LSC in advance of their rules to ensure that the notices are published in the Register of Ohio for at least 30 days prior to the hearing. How should agencies "pre-file" public hearing notices?

Q1: When did electronic filing of rules begin?

A: October 1, 2001.

Q2: What hardware and software must an agency use to file electronically?

A: After studying the results of an agency survey, the ERF development team decided on hardware and software specifications that dovetail with most agencies' current electronic capabilities. Each rule-filing agency, college, and university will need one of each of the following to draft and file rules electronically:

A Microsoft Windows-based PC;
An Internet connection (direct service line preferable, but not mandatory);
An up-to-date version of Internet Explorer; and
An up-to-date version of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

In addition, each state agency (but not colleges or universities) must have Microsoft Word 97 or greater and purchase LSC's custom Rule/RSFA Authoring System (RAS) software, which is a Microsoft Word plug-in product custom-designed for drafting rules. Information on how to obtain this software and its cost is available on the Rule Filers Website.

Q3: What must my agency do to begin electronic filing?

A: To get started, the agency must:

Purchase the custom Rule/RSFA Authoring System (RAS) software (except that colleges and universities need not purchase the software); and
Obtain access to the ERF Website.

To access the website, the agency director must authorize, in writing, an agency employee who will be LSC's contact person, and must designate a personal identification number (PIN). A sample letter authorizing a contact person, and the PIN Selection Form, are available on the "Forms and Letters" page of the Rule Filers Website. The authorized contact person will receive a user name and password to gain initial access to the ERF Website. After that, access of agency personnel to the ERF Website is controlled by the authorized contact person. The authorized contact person will generate user names and passwords for agency staff using the ERF Contact Authorization Website.

Q4: Is there someone to call or e-mail with questions or troubleshooting needs?

A: Yes. Contact the ERF Help Desk, at 614-387-2078 or erfhelpdesk@lsc.state.oh.us.

Q5: How does the ERF system use digital signatures?

A: The ERF Website requires each agency to supply a personal identification number (PIN), selected by its director, in order to electronically execute the following rule-filing actions:

Final filings of all types of rule packages (including typical packages, internal management rules, college/university rules, etc.);
Emergency rules;
Five-year review (no change) filings; and
Withdrawals of proposed or finally filed rules.

This PIN takes the place of the director's signature on paper copies of rules, cover letters, and withdrawal letters. Its use certifies that the electronically filed rules are true and accurate copies of the rules as adopted by the agency.

For more information about the PINs and how to designate one, consult the "Forms and Letters" page of the Rule Filers Website.

Q6: What rules must be filed electronically?

A: All rules must be filed electronically, including:

Original filings of proposed rules;
Revised and refiled filings of proposed rules;
Final filings of rules;
Withdrawal or to-be-refiled (TBR) notices for rules;
Emergency rules;
Five-year review "no-change" filings;
Internal management rules; and
College and university rules.

Q7: How will agencies obtain electronic versions of their existing rules from which to draft amendments?

A: The system features an electronic repository from which agencies must download existing rules that they wish to amend, rescind, or submit for no change. The repository is being accumulated by LSC and conformed with the paper LSC file copies. This repository will take considerable time to build to completion, so agencies must notify LSC at least 30 days in advance of specific rule numbers they will need for drafting. Agencies must do so through the "Rule Filing Schedule & Downloading Prepared Rules" page of the Rule Filers Website. Once the rules are prepared, the agency may download them from the same page. Guidelines for requesting rules for drafting are available on the Rule Filers Website.

Q8: Must rescissions and five-year-review rules (no change) be filed electronically?

A: Yes.

Q9: If a rule is required to be filed with the Office of Small Business or the Department of Aging, must it be filed electronically with them, as well?

A: Yes. The ERF system will prompt agencies to answer whether rules should be filed with the Office of Small Business, the Department of Aging, or both. If the agency answers "yes," the system will electronically file the rules with the respective office at the same time it electronically files them with LSC, JCARR, and the Secretary of State.

Q10: May agencies electronically file at any time, 24 hours a day?

A: No. The ERF system restricts formal filing actions to between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding state holidays. The ERF system clock governs the time of filings. However, the system permits agencies to do everything except filing (such as uploading documents, inputting data, verifying the accuracy of uploaded documents) 24 hours a day.

Q11: What will happen if there is a failure of the ERF system? How will agencies file rules?

A: In the event of a system failure, the LSC Director is empowered by statute to allow an agency to file on paper only. (See R.C. 103.0512 and Section 22 of Am. Sub. S.B. 11 of the 123rd General Assembly.) If the system fails, however, LSC will have no way of knowing which agencies had planned to file rules at the time of the failure. The agencies must contact the ERF Help Desk (614-387-2078) for authorization to file on paper. When given, that authorization will extend to the agencies' filings with LSC, JCARR, the Secretary of State, the Office of Small Business, and the Department of Aging. The agency will have to submit the electronic version once the system is functioning again, but the file date will not change.

Q12: The General Assembly has switched its bill drafting style from all capital letters to the simpler style of underlined lower-case letters. Are there any plans to simplify the drafting style of rules in the same way?

A: Yes. LSC released a new edition of the Rule Drafting Manual in August 2001 to switch to the new style.

Q13: When and where can agencies obtain training for their rules staff?

A: Training is provided free of charge by the ERF development team. The ERF Training Calendars are posted on the Rule Filers Website.

Q14: What does the training cover?

A: There are three types of training sessions. One provides beginning instruction on how to use LSC's custom Rule/RSFA Authoring System (RAS) software to draft rules. Another provides advanced instruction on using RAS. The third provides instruction on how to electronically file rules through the ERF Website. The training sessions are not a primer on the legalities and procedures for filing rules. The trainer presumes that individuals attending the sessions already are familiar with the rule filing and adoption process. Questions not concerning the system's operation should be addressed to the usual offices: codification questions should be posed to LSC, and procedural or substantive questions should be posed to JCARR.

Q15: Will user manuals be provided?

A: Yes, free of charge.

Q16: What is the publication schedule for the Register of Ohio?

A: The publication schedule for the Register is posted at http://www.registerofohio.state.oh.us/jsps/public/pubpurg.jsp.

Q17: LSC has informed state agencies that they may file public hearing notices with LSC in advance of their rules to ensure that the notices are published in the Register of Ohio for at least 30 days prior to the hearing. How should agencies "pre-file" public hearing notices?

A: LSC unfortunately must decline accepting public hearing notices by e-mail, and the ERF system is not yet equipped to transmit "pre-filed" public hearing notices. But LSC will accept pre-filed public notices on paper or by fax under the following conditions:

The notice must be accompanied by a separate cover letter addressed to Vicky McMahan, Rules Codification Administrator, and signed by the agency's director or another official who is authorized to sign the agency's rules. Notices that are not accompanied by a signed cover letter will not be published. The cover letter must explicitly request that the notice be published in the Register.
LSC will not verify receipt of a fax.
Faxed notices will be scanned and published in the Register of Ohio as received and printed by the LSC fax machine. LSC is not responsible for any technical transmission or printing problems resulting in omissions, illegible text, or comparable problems.
Notices received after 5:00 p.m. will be treated, for purposes of publication, as received on the next business day.
Agencies are asked to check the Register on the next business day to make sure that the notice is published. If you do not see the notice by 2:00 p.m. on the next business day, contact LSC immediately.
Per R.C. 119.03(A) and (B), a copy of the notice still must accompany the eventual filing of proposed rules.
The LSC fax number is 614-644-1721.

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