Emergency & Expedited Rules

Emergency and Expedited rules are administrative rules that bypass the normal rulemaking procedures for emergency situations. Emergency and Expedited Rules require original signatures on those pages requiring signatures.

I.  Emergency Rules
When an agency or other rulemaking entity believes there to be an imminent peril to public health, safety or welfare, they may adopt emergency rules pursuant to 3 V.S.A. § 844. Emergency rules are temporary rules (only in effect for 120 days) that take effect immediately upon filing with the Office of the Secretary of State, unless otherwise stated in the rule.

Executive Order (04-10) requires that all emergency rules be prefiled with the Chair of the Interagency Committee on Administrative Rules (ICAR) for the determination of appropriateness.

The following forms should be used when filing an Emergency Rule with the Office of the Secretary of State and are available for download (see APA Forms).

• Emergency Rule: Coversheet
• Adopting Page
• Economic Impact Statement
• Public Input Statement

The forms listed below are additional forms that may be necessary if an agency relies upon scientific information for the validity of their rule and/or if an agency is incorporating material by reference (i.e. federal regulations/standards). When incorporating by reference a copy of the material being incorporated must accompany the filing.

• Scientific Information Statement
• Incorporation by Reference Statement

In an emergency situation, forms that are incomplete at the time of filing will be accepted with the understanding that completed forms will be filed at the agency's earliest opportunity.

A copy of the emergency rule must also be filed with the Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules (LCAR).

II.  Expedited Rules
Occasionally the General Assembly will include expedited rulemaking authority and instructions for state agencies in legislation to accommodate crucial deadlines for implementing particular rules (i.e. in response to federal mandates). Specific filing instructions and timelines may apply to expedited rulemaking and generally are included in the enabling legislation (the legislation authorizing the use of expedited rulemaking). Agencies are asked to include very specific citations for statutory authority when filing expedited rules, or to supply a copy of the legislation to the Office of the Secretary of State upon filing, to avoid confusion.

Upon receipt of an emergency or expedited rule, the Office of the Secretary of State will issue and send by mail a memo to the contact person indicated on the coversheet, and a copy of the memo to LCAR. The memo contains information about the rule filing (i.e. rule number assigned upon entry of the rule in the tracking database, date of receipt, publication dates, any problems encountered with the rule filing).

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If you have general questions about the rulemaking process, please contact

Louise Corliss by e-mail at or by phone 802-828-2863