Section 661.401.108. Time and manner of rule adoption.

       401.108(1) Time of adoption. The board shall not adopt a rule until the period for making written submissions and oral presentations has expired. Within 180 days after the later of the publication of the Notice of Intended Action, or the end of oral proceedings thereon, the board shall adopt a rule pursuant to the rule-making proceeding or terminate the proceeding by publication of a notice to that effect in the Iowa Administrative Bulletin.

Exception:  The board may waive the notice requirements or time periods specified in Iowa Code chapter 17A, in compliance with Iowa Code section 17A.4, subsection 2, or Iowa Code section 17A.5, subsection 2, paragraph “b,” or both.

       401.108(2) Consideration of public comment. Before the adoption of a rule, the board shall consider fully all of the written submissions and oral submissions received in that rule-making proceeding or any memorandum summarizing such oral submissions, and any regulatory analysis or fiscal impact statement issued in that rule-making proceeding.

       401.108(3) Reliance on department expertise. Except as otherwise provided by law, the board may use its own experience, technical competence, specialized knowledge, and judgment, or that of department staff, in the adoption of a rule.

       401.108(4) Adoption by reference. The board may, by adoption of an administrative rule, adopt by reference another document produced by the board, the department, another agency of Iowa government, a federal agency, or any other organization. If any document or portion of any document is adopted by reference and is not already available in the state law library, the department shall provide a copy of the document for filing in the state law library, in compliance with Iowa Code section 17A.6, subsection 4.