29 C.F.R. Subpart C—Procedures for Submission, Approval and Rejection of State Plans
Title 29 - Labor
(a) An authorized representative of the State agency or agencies responsible for administering the plan shall submit the plan with 10 copies to the appropriate Assistant Regional Director of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor. The State plan shall include (1) Supporting papers conforming to the requirements specified in subpart B of this part, and (2) the State occupational safety and health standards to be included in the plan, including copies of any specific or enabling State laws and regulations relating to such standards. If any of the representations concerning the requirements of subpart B of this part are dependent upon any judicial or administrative interpretations of the State standards or enforcement provisions, the State shall furnish citations to any pertinent judicial decisions and the text of any pertinent administrative decisions. (b) Upon receipt of the State plan the Assistant Regional Director shall make a preliminary examination of the plan. If his examination reveals any defect in the plan, the Assistant Regional Director shall offer assistance to the State agency and shall provide the agency an opportunity to cure such defect. After his preliminary examination, and after affording the State agency such opportunity to cure defects, the Assistant Regional Director shall submit the plan to the Assistant Secretary. (c) Upon receipt of the plan from the Assistant Regional Director, the Assistant Secretary shall examine the plan and supporting materials. If the examination discloses no cause for rejecting the plan, the Assistant Secretary shall follow the procedure prescribed in §1902.11. If the examination discloses cause for rejection of the plan, the Assistant Secretary shall follow the procedure prescribed in §1902.17. (a) Upon receipt of a State plan submitted by an Assistant Regional Director under §1902.10 whenever the Assistant Secretary proposes to approve the plan, or to give notice that such approval is an issue before him, he shall publish in the (b) The notice shall indicate the submission of the plan and its contents, and any proposals, subjects, or issues involved. (c) The notice shall provide that the plan, or copies thereof, shall be available for inspection and copying at the office of the Director, Office of State Programs, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 1726 M Street NW., Washington, DC 20210, office of the Assistant Regional Director in whose region the State is located, and an office of the State which shall be designated by the State for this purpose. (d) The notice shall afford interested persons an opportunity to submit in writing, data, views, and arguments on the proposal, subjects, or issues involved within 30 days after publication of the notice in the (e) Upon his own initiative, the Assistant Secretary may give notice of an informal or formal hearing affording an opportunity for oral comments concerning the plan. (f) In the event no notice of hearing is provided under paragraph (e) of this section it shall be provided that any interested person may request an informal hearing concerning the proposed plan, or any part thereof, whenever particularized written objections thereto are filed within 30 days following publication of the notice in the The Assistant Secretary may afford the State an opportunity to modify or clarify its plan on the basis of any comments received under §1902.11 or §1902.13, before commencing a proceeding to reject the plan. In this connection, the State may informally discuss any issues raised by such comments with the staff of the Office of Federal and State Operations. The Assistant Secretary may afford an additional opportunity for public comment, particularly when such an opportunity would not unduly delay final action on the plan and when the comments could be expected to elicit new relevant matter. [38 FR 12605, May 14, 1973] Any informal hearing shall be legislative in type. The procedures for informal hearings may take a variety of forms. The appropriateness of any particular form will turn largely upon the proposals, subjects, or issues involved. The rules of procedure for each hearing shall be published with the notice thereof. Any formal hearing provided for under §1902.11 (e) and (f) shall be commenced upon the publication of reasonable notice in the Upon completion of any formal or informal hearing, the transcript thereof, together with written submissions, exhibits filed during the hearing, and any post-hearing presentations shall be certified by the officer presiding at the hearing to the Assistant Secretary.
Title 29: Labor
PART 1902—STATE PLANS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND ENFORCEMENT OF STATE STANDARDS
Subpart C—Procedures for Submission, Approval and Rejection of State Plans
§ 1902.10 Submission.
Procedure for Proposed or Possible Approval of Plan
§ 1902.11 General notice.
§ 1902.12 Opportunity for modifications and clarifications.
§ 1902.13 Informal hearing.
§ 1902.14 Formal hearing.
§ 1902.15 Certification of the record of a hearing.
Procedure for Proposed or Possible Rejection of Plan
§ 1902.17 The proceeding.
Whenever as a result of (a) an initial examination of a plan, or (b) written or oral comments concerning a plan submitted in an informal rulemaking proceeding concerning a proposed approval of a plan or any subject or issue concerning the plan, the Assistant Secretary proposes to reject a plan or rejection remains in issue for any reason, he shall follow the procedures prescribed in the remaining sections of this subpart.
§ 1902.18 Previous hearing or other opportunity for comment on plan.
(a) Whenever an informal hearing has been held under §§1902.11 and 1902.13, any evidence submitted in such a hearing shall be considered and may be relied upon whenever it is found that no party will be prejudiced thereby because
(1) Of a lack of an opportunity for cross-examination afforded in the informal hearing on the issues involved, or
(2) The veracity and demeanor of witnesses are not important with respect to the type of evidence involved (e.g., extensive technical or statistical data), or
(3) For any other reason.
(b) Any written comments received in response to a notice issued under §1902.11 shall be a part of the record of the proceeding.
(c) Whenever a formal hearing has been held under §1902.14 the Assistant Secretary shall hold no additional hearing, and shall proceed to issue a tentative decision under §1902.21.
§ 1902.19 Notice of hearing.
(a) Whenever the Assistant Secretary has issued no previous notice concerning the plan, or only informal rule making proceedings have been conducted concerning the plan, the Assistant Secretary shall publish in the
(b) Not later than 5 days following the publication of the notice in the
Decisions
§ 1902.20 Decision following informal proceeding.
(a) This section deals with a situation where the Assistant Secretary has
(1) Afforded interested persons an opportunity to submit written data, views, or arguments concerning a proposal, subject, or issue concerning a plan; or
(2) Has in addition provided an informal hearing concerning a proposal, subject, or issue concerning a plan.
(b)(1)(i) After consideration of all relevant information which has been presented, if the Assistant Secretary approves a plan he shall issue a decision to that effect.
(ii) In the event the plan is approved under §1902.2(b), the decision shall state that the plan does not fully meet the criteria set forth in §1902.3, and shall summarize the schedule and any other measures for bringing the plan up to the level of such criteria.
(iii) The decision shall also reflect the Assistant Secretary's intention as to continued Federal enforcement of Federal standards in areas covered by the plan. Provisions for continued Federal enforcement shall take into consideration:
(a) Whether the plan is approved under §1902.2(a) or §1902.2(b);
(b) The schedule for coming up to Federal standards in any §1902.2(b) plan; and
(c) Any other relevant matters.
(2) After consideration of all relevant information contained in any written or oral comments received in any informal proceeding, if the Assistant Secretary proposes to disapprove a plan, or the disposition of a subject or issue permits the possible disapproval of a plan, he shall publish a notice to that effect, and commence a proceeding meeting the requirements of §1902.19.
§ 1902.21 Tentative decision following formal proceeding.
(a) On the basis of the whole record of any hearing held under §1902.14 or §1902.19, the Assistant Secretary shall issue a tentative decision either approving or disapproving the plan. The tentative decision shall include a statement of the findings and conclusions and reasons or bases therefor on all material issues of fact, law, or discretion which have been presented. The tentative decision shall be published in the
(b) The State agency and other interested persons participating in the hearing may waive the tentative decision. In such event the Assistant Secretary shall issue a final decision under §1902.22.
§ 1902.22 Final decision following formal proceeding.
(a) Except when interested persons participating in the hearing have waived the tentative decision under §1902.21(b) interested persons participating in the hearing shall have an opportunity to file exceptions to a tentative decision and objections to such exceptions within periods of time to be specified in the tentative decision. An original and four copies of any exception or objections shall be filed.
(b)(1) Thereafter the Assistant Secretary shall issue a final decision ruling upon each exception and objection filed. The final decision shall be published in the
(2) Any final decision approving a plan shall contain the provisions prescribed in §1902.20(b)(1)(iii) concerning Federal enforcement in areas covered by the plan.
§ 1902.23 Publication of decisions.
All decisions approving or disapproving a plan shall be published in the
