§41-22-27. Effective date of chapter; validity, review, etc., of existing rules; disposition of adjudicative proceedings commenced prior to October 1, 1983; effective date and applicability as to Alabama Department of Environmental Management.

(a) This chapter shall take effect at 12:01 A.M., October 1, 1982; provided, however, that Section 41-22-22 shall take effect October 1, 1981. In order that the Legislative Reference Service may appoint and hire an aide to receive the rules and in order to promulgate the Alabama Administrative Code and the Alabama Administrative Monthly as soon as possible, subsections (a) and (b) of Section 41-22-6 and subsections (a) through (e) of Section 41-22-7 shall also become effective October 1, 1981. It shall be the duty of all agencies in existence on the passage of this chapter and all agencies created thereafter to cooperate with the office of the Legislative Reference Service in compiling the Alabama Administrative Code and the Alabama Administrative Monthly by submitting to the committee all rules now and hereafter in effect, and all proposed rules.

(b) All existing rules shall be indexed by October 1, 1983, and the administrative code of each agency shall be completed and up-to-date at that time and the Alabama Administrative Code shall be completed and up-to-date by November 15, 1983.

(c) Any rule in effect before 12:01 A.M., October 1, 1983, except those adopted following a public hearing that was required by statute, shall forthwith be reviewed by the agency concerned on the written request of a person substantially affected by the rule involved. The agency concerned shall initiate the rule making procedures provided by this chapter within 90 days after receiving such written request. If the agency concerned fails to initiate the rule making procedures within 90 days, the operation of the rule shall be suspended. The right of review established by this subsection shall be exercisable no earlier than October 1, 1983.

(d) All rules in effect on September 30, 1983, shall be and become invalid on October 1, 1983, unless:

(1) Such rules are properly filed, indexed, and included within the administrative code of the agency in accordance with all the provisions of this chapter; and

(2) Such rules adopted prior to October 1, 1982, were validly adopted under procedures in effect prior to those provided in this chapter, or were readopted pursuant to the requirements of this chapter; or

(3) Such rules adopted on or subsequent to October 1, 1982, were validly adopted pursuant to the requirements of this chapter.

(e) All contested cases and other adjudicative proceedings conducted pursuant to any provision of the statutes of this state that were begun prior to October 1, 1983, shall be continued to a conclusion, including judicial review, under the provisions of such statutes, except that contested cases and other adjudicative proceedings that have not progressed to the stage of a hearing may, with the consent of all parties and the agency conducting the proceedings, be conducted in accordance with the provisions of this chapter as nearly as feasible.

(f) Sections 41-22-1 through 41-22-11 and 41-22-22 through 41-22-27 shall take effect with regard to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management at 12:01 A.M. on October 1, 1986. All rules which were validly adopted by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management prior to October 1, 1986, under procedures in effect at the times such rules were adopted shall be valid, and all such rules adopted by the aforesaid department shall be properly filed, indexed and included within the administrative code of the aforesaid department in accordance with all the provisions of this chapter by October 1, 1987. The Alabama Department of Environmental Management shall be exempt from the provisions of Sections 41-22-12 through 41-22-19. Except as provided in subdivision (6) of subsection (c) of Section 22-22A-7, judicial review of any order of the environmental management commission modifying, approving or disapproving an administrative action of the Alabama Department of Environmental Management shall be in accordance with the provisions for review of final agency decisions of contested cases in Sections 41-22-20 and 41-22-21.

(Acts 1981, No. 81-855, p. 1534, §27; Acts 1986, No. 86-472, p. 880, §1.)