541-A:22 Validity of Rules. –
I. No agency rule, including a form, is valid or effective against any person or party, nor may it be enforced by the state for any purpose, until it has been filed as required in this chapter and has not expired.
II. Rules shall be valid and binding on persons they affect, and shall have the force of law unless they have expired or have been amended or revised or unless a court of competent jurisdiction determines otherwise. Except as provided by RSA 541-A:13, VI, rules shall be prima facie evidence of the proper interpretation of the matter that they refer to.
III. An agency shall not by rule:
(a) Provide for penalties or fines unless specifically authorized by statute.
(b) Require licensing, as defined in RSA 541-A:1, IX, unless authorized by a law which uses one of the specific terms listed in RSA 541-A:1, VIII.
(c) Require fees unless specifically authorized by a statute enforced or administered by an agency. Specific authorization shall not include the designation of agency fee income in the operating budget when no other statutory authorization exists.
(d) Provide for non-consensual inspections of private property, unless the statute enforced or administered by the agency specifically grants inspection authority.
(e) Delegate its rulemaking authority to anyone other than the agency named in the statute delegating authority.
(f) Adopt rules under another agency's authority.
(g) Expand or limit a statutory definition affecting the scope of who may practice a profession.
(h) Require a submission of a social security number unless mandated by state or federal law.
IV. No agency shall grant waivers of, or variances from, any provisions of its rules without either amending the rules, or providing by rule for a waiver or variance procedure. The duration of the waiver or variance may be temporary if the rule so provides.