SB888 SFA Weld #1 2-24
Wolfe 7816
Senator Weld moved to amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
This article shall be known and may be cited as the “Judicial Independence Act”.
The purpose of this article is to ensure that state courts and administrative hearing officers interpret state statutes and rules independently of prior state agency interpretations.
For the purposes of this article:
(1) "State agency" means a state department, board, commission, institution, or other administrative agency of state government.
(2) "Rule" means every rule, standard, statement of policy, or interpretation of general application and future effect, including the amendment or repeal of the rule, affecting constitutional, statutory, or common law rights, privileges, or interests, or the procedures available to the public, adopted by an agency to implement, extend, apply, interpret, or make specific the law enforced or administered by it or to govern its organization or procedure, but does not include rules relating solely to the internal management of the agency, nor rules of which notice is customarily given to the public by markers or signs, nor mere instructions.
(3) "De novo" means an independent judicial or administrative review of a statute or rule conducted as if there had been no prior state agency interpretation.
(a) In any action involving the interpretation of a state statute or rule, a state court or administrative hearing officer shall exercise independent judgment in determining the meaning and effect of such statute or rule and shall not treat a state agency’s interpretation as binding unless the court or hearing officer finds such interpretation persuasive and consistent with any applicable statute or legislative intent.
(b) Any action involving the interpretation of a state statute or rule shall be de novo, granting the court or hearing officer the ability to act independently and without any presumption of correctness attaching to any prior state agency interpretation related to that statute or rule.
This article applies to all actions, suits, and administrative proceedings initiated on or after the effective date of this article.
The provisions of this article are severable. If any portion of this article is declared unconstitutional or the application of any part of this article is held invalid, the remaining portions of this article and their applicability shall remain valid and enforceable.
This article shall take effect on July 1, 2026.
Adopted
Rejected