Administrative Rules

A statute says what shall happen; the rules say how, and the agency writes them. This is the least visible part of the process and one of the most consequential.

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“Administrative Rules.” Granite Record, https://graniterecord.org/learn/administrative-rules. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.
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Granite Record. (n.d.). Administrative Rules. Retrieved 24 Oct. 2026, from https://graniterecord.org/learn/administrative-rules
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Granite Record. “Administrative Rules.” Accessed 24 Oct. 2026. https://graniterecord.org/learn/administrative-rules.
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@misc{learn-administrative-rules, title = {Administrative Rules}, howpublished = {Granite Record}, url = {https://graniterecord.org/learn/administrative-rules}, note = {Accessed 24 Oct. 2026} }

What a Rule Is

An administrative rule is a requirement a state agency writes to carry out a statute. Rules are made under RSA 541-A, the Administrative Procedure Act.

A statute rarely says how. The detail — the form, the threshold, the deadline, the license conditions — is left to the rule, and an agency writes it, not the legislature. A bill often says so in as many words: "the department shall adopt rules under RSA 541-A". 244 of the 2,243 bills and resolutions filed in the 2025–2026 term carry a sentence of that kind.

How a Rule Is Made

RSA 541-A:3 sets out the course, and the deadlines below come from the sections it points at. The whole of it happens in the rulemaking register — a free bulletin the legislature's own staff publish online each week — and not in a chamber calendar, which is why a rulemaking can run its full course without ever appearing where people look for legislation.

  1. Before Anyone Can Comment

    1. The statute hands it overA bill says the agency "shall adopt rules" about something, and stops. Everything it left open is settled from here on, by the agency rather than by the legislature.
    2. Notice in the registerThe agency sends the director of legislative services notice of what it means to do — adopt a rule, readopt one, readopt it with a change, or repeal it. The notice carries a fiscal impact statement and a statement that the rule lays no unfunded obligation on a county, city, town or school district. (RSA 541-A:6)At least 20 days before the hearing
    3. The full text, not a summaryAt least one complete section of the rules as they would read, filed with the same office.

  2. The Public's Turn

    1. A public hearingAt least one, on every proposed rule. Anyone may speak, and anyone may send data, views or arguments in writing instead.You may speak here
    2. Comment stays open after itWritten comment is taken for a further period once the hearing is over. A board or commission may set a shorter one in its notice; an agency official may not. (RSA 541-A:11, I(b))At least 5 business days

  3. The Legislature's Turn

    1. The final proposalThe agency weighs the comment, settles the text, and files it. (RSA 541-A:12)21 to 180 days after the notice
    2. The committee has 60 daysThe Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules — JLCAR, legislators from both chambers — may approve the rule, approve it on a stated condition, or object to it. (RSA 541-A:13)
    3. Silence is approvalIf the 60 days pass with no notice of approval, conditional approval or objection, the statute deems the rule approved. A rule can take effect without anyone having voted for it. (RSA 541-A:13, II(e))No vote required
    4. An objection is not a vetoTo actually stop a rule the committee has to sponsor a joint resolution, and that has to pass both chambers and go to the Governor like any other bill.

  4. In Force, and Not for Ever

    1. Effective the next dayOnce adopted and filed the rule binds whoever it covers, exactly as a statute would.
    2. Ten years, then it lapsesNo rule is effective for longer than ten years. To keep it, the agency runs the whole course again, and the rule stays in force while it does; an agency's own rules of organization and procedure do not lapse. (RSA 541-A:17, 541-A:14-a)Can die here

Two routes skip most of that. An emergency rule (RSA 541-A:18) takes effect at once where the agency finds an imminent peril to public health or safety, or a risk of substantial fiscal harm to the state or its citizens, with only whatever notice the agency finds practicable; an interim rule (RSA 541-A:19) is a fast track for matching a new statute, a court decision or a federal requirement. Neither lasts more than 180 days, so both end in the ordinary course above or they end altogether.

How the Legislature Reviews a Rule

The Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules, or JLCAR, has members from both chambers and meets at least once a month. The final proposal goes to it before the rule can be adopted. It may approve the rule, approve it on condition of a stated change, or object to it. The grounds for an objection are set out at RSA 541-A:13, IV, and include a rule beyond the agency's authority and one contrary to the intent of the legislature.

An objection does not by itself stop the rule. To block it the committee sponsors a joint resolution, which has to pass both chambers and go to the Governor like any other legislation.

After the Bill Becomes Law

The law is often not the whole answer. What the statute left open is settled in the rule, and the rule's hearing is announced in the rulemaking register, not in a chamber calendar.

This site does not carry administrative rules themselves, and does not track a rulemaking after a bill becomes law. The rulemaking register and JLCAR's own dockets are where that continues, linked below.

Where This Comes From

The Eleven Pages