Proposed Rules

The following are summaries and other information related to proposed rules that the Missouri Department of Agriculture has submitted to the Secretary of State for publication in the Missouri Register. These rules will not go into effect until the public has had an opportunity to submit written comments and to attend a public hearing, if one is scheduled.

Please note that the official text of a proposed rule is the version that appears in the Missouri Register, not the draft copy on this site. Refer to the official copy if you wish to submit comments.

Jump to the Department’s current proposed rules

Typical Timeline for Rulemaking

A typical rule filed by any state agency, excluding emergency rules, will take between 166-269 days to take effect. Each step in this process must be fully complete before moving on to the next step.

For more information on emergency rules, please visit the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules’ web page.

Information for this timeline has been provided by the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules.

What’s the difference between a statute and a rule?

Statutes are laws passed by the Missouri General Assembly and signed into law by the governor. They are based on constitutional authority granted to the legislature to establish policies, and approved by a majority of the House and Senate. The statutes, or the laws passed by the legislature, are published in the Revised Statutes of Missouri. Statutes may be created and amended each year by the legislature. Following each legislative session, the Revised Statutes of Missouri are updated and republished by the Joint Committee on Legislative Research, usually by adding a supplement with new and amended statutes.

The executive branch of state government promulgates rules. The executive branch includes elected officials—governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, state treasurer and state auditor. Various state agencies under the administration of the governor are also included in this branch.

These elected officials and state agencies have rulemaking authority granted by the constitution and legislative statutes. Once the executive entities have been granted rulemaking authority by the legislature, they have the responsibility to create rules to establish policy and procedure for carrying out their functions.

This explanation was provided in part by the Missouri Secretary of State’s office.