Section 102. Definitions

As used in this chapter,
    1. "Agency" means any department, board, bureau, commission, division,
  office,  council, committee or officer of the state, or a public benefit
  corporation or public  authority  at  least  one  of  whose  members  is
  appointed  by  the  governor, authorized by law to make rules or to make
  final decisions in adjudicatory proceedings but shall  not  include  the
  governor,  agencies  in  the legislative and judicial branches, agencies
  created by interstate compact or international agreement,  the  division
  of   military   and  naval  affairs  to  the  extent  it  exercises  its
  responsibility for military and naval affairs,  the  division  of  state
  police,  the  identification  and  intelligence  unit of the division of
  criminal justice services, the state insurance  fund,  the  unemployment
  insurance  appeal  board,  and except for purposes of subdivision one of
  section two hundred two-d of this  chapter,  the  workers'  compensation
  board  and except for purposes of article two of this chapter, the state
  division of parole and the department of correctional services.
    2. (a) "Rule" means (i) the whole or part of  each  agency  statement,
  regulation  or  code of general applicability that implements or applies
  law, or prescribes a fee charged  by  or  paid  to  any  agency  or  the
  procedure   or  practice  requirements  of  any  agency,  including  the
  amendment,  suspension  or  repeal  thereof  and  (ii)  the   amendment,
  suspension,  repeal,  approval, or prescription for the future of rates,
  wages, security authorizations, corporate  or  financial  structures  or
  reorganization  thereof,  prices,  facilities,  appliances,  services or
  allowances therefor or of valuations, costs or accounting, or  practices
  bearing  on  any  of  the  foregoing  whether  of  general or particular
  applicability.
    (b) Not included within paragraph (a) of this subdivision are:
    (i) rules concerning the internal management of the  agency  which  do
  not  directly  and  significantly  affect the rights of or procedures or
  practices available to the public;
    (ii) rules relating to the use of public works, including streets  and
  highways, when the substance of such rules is indicated to the public by
  means of signs or signals;
    (iii)  rulings  issued  under  section two hundred four or two hundred
  five of this chapter;
    (iv) forms and instructions, interpretive statements and statements of
  general policy which in themselves have no legal effect but  are  merely
  explanatory;
    (v)  rules  promulgated  to  implement  agreements pursuant to article
  fourteen of the civil service law;
    (vi) rates of interest  prescribed  by  the  superintendent  of  banks
  pursuant to section fourteen-a of the banking law;
    (vii)  rules  relating  to  the  approval or disapproval of subscriber
  rates contained in an application  to  the  public  service  commission,
  after  public  hearing and approval by the applicable municipality for a
  certificate of confirmation or an amendment to a franchise agreement;
    (viii) state equalization rates, class  ratios,  special  equalization
  rates  and  special equalization ratios established pursuant to the real
  property tax law;
    (ix)  rates  subject  to  prior  approval  by  the  superintendent  of
  insurance  or  to  section  two thousand three hundred forty-four of the
  insurance law;
    (x) any  regulation  promulgating  an  interim  price  and  any  final
  marketing  order  made  by  the  commissioner of agriculture and markets
  pursuant to section two hundred fifty-eight-m  of  the  agriculture  and
  markets law;
    (xi) any fee which is:

    (1) set by statute;
    (2) less than one hundred dollars;
    (3)  one  hundred  dollars  or  more and can reasonably be expected to
  result in an annual aggregate collection of not more than  one  thousand
  dollars;
    (4)  established through negotiation, written agreement or competitive
  bidding, including, but not  limited  to,  contracts,  leases,  charges,
  permits for space use, prices, royalties or commissions; or
    (5)  a charge or assessment levied by an agency upon another agency or
  by an agency upon another unit of state government.
    (xii) changes in a schedule filed by a telephone  corporation  subject
  to the jurisdiction of the public service commission;
    (xiii)  rules  relating  to  requests  for  authority  by  a telephone
  corporation subject to the jurisdiction of the public service commission
  under sections ninety-nine, one hundred  and  one  hundred  one  of  the
  public  service  law and by a public utility subject to the jurisdiction
  of the public service commission under section one hundred seven of  the
  public service law;
    3.  "Adjudicatory  proceeding"  means any activity which is not a rule
  making proceeding or an employee disciplinary action before  an  agency,
  except  an  administrative  tribunal  created  by  statute  to  hear  or
  determine allegations of traffic infractions which may also be heard  in
  a  court  of  appropriate  jurisdiction, in which a determination of the
  legal rights, duties or privileges of named parties thereto is  required
  by  law  to  be  made  only  on  a record and after an opportunity for a
  hearing.
    4. "License"  includes  the  whole  or  part  of  any  agency  permit,
  certificate,   approval,  registration,  charter,  or  similar  form  of
  permission required by law.
    5. "Licensing" includes any  agency  activity  respecting  the  grant,
  denial,  renewal, revocation, suspension, annulment, withdrawal, recall,
  cancellation or amendment of a license.
    6.  "Person"   means   any   individual,   partnership,   corporation,
  association,  or  public  or private organization of any character other
  than an agency  engaged  in  the  particular  rule  making,  declaratory
  ruling, or adjudication.
    7.  "Party" means any person or agency named or admitted as a party or
  properly seeking and entitled as of right to be admitted as a party; but
  nothing herein shall be construed to prevent an  agency  from  admitting
  any person or agency as a party for limited purposes.
    8.  "Small  business"  means  any  business  which is resident in this
  state, independently owned and operated, and employs one hundred or less
  individuals.
    9. "Substantial revision" means any addition, deletion or other change
  in the text of a rule proposed for adoption, which materially alters its
  purpose, meaning or effect, but  shall  not  include  any  change  which
  merely  defines or clarifies such text and does not materially alter its
  purpose, meaning or effect. To  determine  if  the  revised  text  of  a
  proposed rule contains a substantial revision, the revised text shall be
  compared  to  the  text  of the rule for which a notice of proposed rule
  making was published in the state  register;  provided,  however,  if  a
  notice  of  revised  rule  making  was previously published in the state
  register, the revised text shall be compared to  the  revised  text  for
  which the most recent notice of revised rule making was published.
    10.  "Rural  area"  means  those  portions  of the state so defined by
  subdivision seven of section four hundred eighty-one  of  the  executive
  law.

    11.  "Consensus  rule" means a rule proposed by an agency for adoption
  on an expedited basis pursuant to the  expectation  that  no  person  is
  likely  to  object  to  its  adoption  because  it  merely  (a)  repeals
  regulatory provisions which are no longer applicable to any person,  (b)
  implements or conforms to non-discretionary statutory provisions, or (c)
  makes technical changes or is otherwise non-controversial.
    13.  "Data"  means written information or material, including, but not
  limited to, statistics or measurements used as the basis for  reasoning,
  calculations or conclusions in a study.
    14.  "Guidance  document"  means  any guideline, memorandum or similar
  document prepared by an agency  that  provides  general  information  or
  guidance to assist regulated parties in complying with any statute, rule
  or other legal requirement, but shall not include documents that concern
  only the internal management of the agency or declaratory rulings issued
  pursuant to section two hundred four of this chapter.