Five Year Reviews
Electronic Submissions
All Five Year Reviews must be submitted to the Council electronically at [email protected].
Five Year Review Flowchart
Five Year Review Basics
Who is required to submit reports: Every five years, most Arizona agencies must submit reports to the Council on their rules for review and approval. This also includes rules made pursuant to an exemption from the APA.
What is a five-year review report: The reports are intended to be a concise written analysis of an agency’s administrative rules that covers the previous 5 years. Council staff reviews the report according to the criteria provided in A.R.S. § 41-1056(A) and A.A.C. R1-6-301. Staff then prepares a memorandum that recommends approval or return of the report. Council staff presents the memorandum to the Council at a Study Session for consideration. The Council may vote to approve or return the report at the subsequent Council Meeting.
When reports are due: Reports must be submitted electronically on or before the last business day of the month in which the report is due. Under A.R.S. § 41-1056(L), Council staff notifies an agency of the report's due date at least 90 days before it is due. If the agency fails to submit a report by the due date, the rule(s) expires pursuant to A.R.S. § 41-1056(J).
If an agency is unable to submit the report by the deadline, the agency may obtain a one-time, automatic, 120-day extension pursuant to A.R.S. § 41-1056(I) and A.A.C. R1-6-303(A). The agency may also request a longer extension that does not exceed 1 year, which the Council may grant or deny pursuant to A.A.C. R1-6-303(B)(2).
If an agency completes a rulemaking that substantially revises rules scheduled for review within 2 years of the due date of the report, the agency may request that the report be rescheduled pursuant to A.A.C. R1-6-302.
Why reports are necessary: Statute requires agencies to regularly review each rule to determine whether the rule still meets the criteria in A.R.S. § 41-1056(A) and A.A.C. R1-6-301. If a rule fails to meet this criteria, the rule can be amended or repealed. In the process of reviewing its rules for compliance with A.R.S. § 41-1056(A), the agency may discover issues with its rules, ranging from inconsistencies with applicable statutes to outdated language. The agency then develops a proposed course of action to address any issues identified in the report. This proposed course of action guides the agency's future rulemaking activity.
If an agency determines that the rule is no longer necessary, the agency can complete a rulemaking to repeal the rule or choose to allow the rule to expire by not including the rule in the scheduled report.
How reports are submitted and heard: An agency must submit a report electronically to the Council by 5 p.m. on the scheduled due date of the report. Once a report is submitted to the Council, the report is listed on the “In-House Agenda” which is posted on the Council's website. The public may comment to the Council on the report pursuant to A.R.S. § 41-1052(I). The report is added to the appropriate Study Session and Council Meeting agendas based on the submission deadlines in the Council’s yearly calendar.
