The General Assembly has conferred on boards, commissions, departments, and other agencies of the Executive Branch of State Government the authority to adopt regulations. The General Assembly has found that this delegation of authority has resulted in regulations being promulgated without effective review or oversight and conformity to legislative intent. The General Assembly finds that it must provide a procedure of oversight and review of regulations under this delegation of legislative power to curtail excessive regulations and to establish a system of accountability. The intent of this subchapter is to establish an effective method of ongoing review, accountability, and oversight of regulations. Further intent of this subchapter is to provide review by requiring a comment period following the proposal of regulations and requiring the agency to review any comments submitted.

69 Del. Laws, c. 107, §  4;  71 Del. Laws, c. 48, §  1;  85 Del. Laws, c. 386, § 2; 

As used in this subchapter:

(1) “Agency” means as defined in § 10102 of this title.

(2) “Division” means the Division of Legislative Services as established under this chapter.

(3) “Official regulation” means a regulation in its final form as adopted by an order as defined in § 10118 of this title and filed with the Registrar of Regulations.

(4) “Register of Regulations” means a publication authorized and recognized by law published for public information purposes, providing public notice of changes in agency regulations, whether new, modified, or repealed, together with supplemental information as the Registrar deems appropriate.

(5) “Registrar” means an employee of the Division charged with the responsibility of compiling, maintaining, and publishing the Register of Regulations.

(6) “Regulation” means as defined in § 10102 of this title.

69 Del. Laws, c. 107, §  4;  71 Del. Laws, c. 48, §  2;  72 Del. Laws, c. 88, §  1;  84 Del. Laws, c. 255, § 42;  85 Del. Laws, c. 68, § 41;  85 Del. Laws, c. 386, § 3; 

The Division shall establish, maintain, and publish an official Register of Regulations. The Register of Regulations shall provide public notice of each proposed regulation to be adopted, amended, or repealed, indexed by agency and subject matter, with all of the following:

(1) Text or summary of the proposed regulation to be adopted, amended, or repealed; nature of the proceedings including a synopsis of the subject, substance, issues, and possible terms of the agency action; and a reference to the legal authority of the agency to act.

(2) A statement of the manner in which persons may present their comments, as follows:

a. If in writing, to whom, in what manner, and the final date by which the views may be submitted.

b. If at a public hearing, the date, time, and place of the hearing.

(3) The place where the proposed regulations to be adopted, amended, or repealed may be inspected or copied.

(4) The fee or other requirements for obtaining copies of the proposed regulation.

69 Del. Laws, c. 107, §  4;  71 Del. Laws, c. 48, §  3;  72 Del. Laws, c. 88, §  2;  85 Del. Laws, c. 386, § 4; 

(a) The Registrar, in the course of compiling and maintaining the Register of Regulations, shall do all of the following:

(1) Notify each agency authorized to make regulations that the agency is to submit to the Division copies of each proposed regulation and each subsequent amendment, repeal, or addition, and a statement of purpose of each.

(2) Direct each agency as to the form and style of the regulations and, to the extent practicable, the classification into categories of substance, procedure, and organization.

(3) Make, as needed, revisions to both proposed and existing regulations that do not alter the sense, meaning, or effect of the regulations, including all of the following:

a. Renumbering and rearranging sections or parts of sections.

b. Transferring sections or dividing sections to give to distinct subject matters a separate section number, but without changing the meaning.

c. Inserting or changing the wording of headnotes.

d. Changing reference numbers to agree with renumbered regulations or renumbered sections or subsections of regulations.

e. Substituting the proper section or regulation number for the terms “this regulation,” “the preceding section,” and the like.

f. Striking out figures where the figures are merely a repetition of written words or vice versa.

g. Changing capitalization for the purpose of uniformity.

h. Applying gender silent language when there is no ambiguity regarding the noun which a pronoun is meant to replace.

i. Correcting manifest typographical and grammatical errors.

j. Making other purely formal or clerical changes in keeping with the purpose of the revision.

(4) Adopt rules and regulations.

(5) Publish the full text or a summary of each proposed, final, or emergency regulation.

(6) Publish the following month all proposed regulations received by the 15th of the month preceding.

(b) The Registrar may include in the Register of Regulations other governmental information as the Registrar deems appropriate.

69 Del. Laws, c. 107, §  4;  70 Del. Laws, c. 186, §  1;  71 Del. Laws, c. 48, §§  4, 12;  72 Del. Laws, c. 88, §  3;  85 Del. Laws, c. 386, § 5; 

(a) The Registrar, in the course of compiling and maintaining the Register of Regulations, shall do all of the following:

(1) Notify each agency authorized to make regulations that the agency is to submit to the Division copies of each proposed regulation and each subsequent amendment, repeal, or addition, and a statement of purpose of each.

(2) Direct each agency as to the form and style of the regulations and, to the extent practicable, the classification into categories of substance, procedure, and organization.

(3) Make, as needed, revisions to both proposed and existing regulations that do not alter the sense, meaning, or effect of the regulations, including all of the following:

a. Renumbering and rearranging sections or parts of sections.

b. Transferring sections or dividing sections to give to distinct subject matters a separate section number, but without changing the meaning.

c. Inserting or changing the wording of headnotes.

d. Changing reference numbers to agree with renumbered regulations or renumbered sections or subsections of regulations.

e. Substituting the proper section or regulation number for the terms “this regulation,” “the preceding section,” and the like.

f. Striking out figures where the figures are merely a repetition of written words or vice versa.

g. Changing capitalization for the purpose of uniformity.

h. Applying gender silent language when there is no ambiguity regarding the noun which a pronoun is meant to replace.

i. Correcting manifest typographical and grammatical errors.

j. Making other purely formal or clerical changes in keeping with the purpose of the revision.

(4) Adopt rules and regulations.

(5) Publish the full text or a summary of each proposed, final, or emergency regulation.

(6) Publish the fifteenth of the month a Register of Regulations containing the regulations received by the first of that month that comply with Chapters 101 and 104 of this title and rules or regulations that the Registrar adopts under this section.

(b) The Registrar may include in the Register of Regulations other governmental information as the Registrar deems appropriate.

69 Del. Laws, c. 107, §  4;  70 Del. Laws, c. 186, §  1;  71 Del. Laws, c. 48, §§  4, 12;  72 Del. Laws, c. 88, §  3;  85 Del. Laws, c. 386, § 5; 

(a) On the Registrar’s request, each agency shall submit to the Registrar a general description of the agency’s organization; the agency’s methods of operation; the agency’s name, address, and telephone number of a contact person that is responsible for submitting to the Registrar adopted regulations, proposed regulations, or regulations to be repealed; and a current copy of existing regulations.

(b) The contact person under subsection (a) of this section must have a general working knowledge of the agency’s functions, responsibilities, and internal procedures and familiarity with the Administrative Procedures Act.

(c) The submission under section (a) of this section must include a brief statement of the nature and requirements of each rule of practice and the procedure that the agency uses to exercise the agency’s statutory authority to adopt regulations.

69 Del. Laws, c. 107, §  4;  69 Del. Laws, c. 181, §  2;  71 Del. Laws, c. 48, §§  5, 6;  85 Del. Laws, c. 386, § 6; 

(a) The Division shall publish the Register of Regulations for public distribution on the date required under § 1134(a)(6) of this title.

(b) The Register of Regulations must be made available in print to the public for inspection and a copy provided to each person requesting a copy. The copy must be provided for a nominal fee that the Registrar sets. The amount charged for a copy of the Register of Regulations must approximate and reasonably reflect costs necessary to defray the expenses of the Register of Regulations and the proportional expenses that the Division incurs in carrying out the responsibilities of this subchapter.

(c) On request, printed copies of the Register of Regulations must be provided to each law library located within each county, to each public library in each county, and to the Director of the Division of Libraries. Copies must be provided gratis to the 2 state daily newspapers.

(d) Additions or corrections to the Register of Regulations must be made available as soon as practicable.

69 Del. Laws, c. 107, §  4;  85 Del. Laws, c. 386, § 7;