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NY Assembly's Administrative Regulatory Review Commission Recommends "Negotiated Rulemaking"
In an effort to ensure that the best interests of Child Performers are protected, Child Performers Coalition (CPC) has reached out to many factions including governmental and public entities, private organizations, media outlets and, of course, members of the entertainment and child performer community.
For weeks, we have been in discussions with the New York Assembly's Administrative Regulatory Review Commission (ARRC), "established with a mandate to exercise continuous oversight of the process of rule making," to enlist their support in recommending that the Department of Labor's (DOL) proposed rules be tabled and new rules be drafted with the expertise of industry leaders and affected groups.
On Monday, Senator David Carlucci, the new Commission Chair was finally installed. One of the first letters he signed was directed to the Commissioner of Labor recommending that her agency participate in "negotiated rulemaking" with industry representatives. Senator Carlucci outlined many of our concerns with respect to the process and lack of outreach to all affected groups including Child Performers. I have emailed Senator Carlucci expressing thanks on behalf of CPC and BizParentz Foundation.
Although the DOL has recently spoken publicly about their commitment to revise their proposed rules, they have remained entrenched in their standard rulemaking process, a process which has not worked to date. The subject areas they will address and the language they will use will remain a mystery until the DOL decides to publish their redraft. At that time, we will have 30 days, under the standard rulemaking process, to respond with public commentary and a public hearing.
Negotiated rulemaking will allow for a dialogue with the DOL and between all groups ~ in the same room and at the same time. It is important to note that the NY Assembly's ARRC can only make recommendations as agency power to promulgate rules in NY remains unchecked. The DOL can chose to ignore the ARRC's recommendations or follow them. In our Final Position Statement to the DOL, we have proposed and outlined the creation of an Advisory Board with an appropriate committee system.
Excerpt from our Position Statement: "Child Performers Coalition believes that the Department of Labor has behaved with reckless abandon in forsaking the importance of production to the New York City and New York State economy. Now, The Department of Labor has a unique opportunity to purposefully change that dynamic and make life fair for productions, performers and the New York economy.
The Department of Labor has the ability to right this imbalance, this unfairness that has been created by the actions of the agency, by tabling the proposed rules so that we can all take a collective breath, agree to lay aside history, roll up our sleeves and get to work on a new rule ~ a healthy rule that promotes production in New York and protects the welfare of its workers." See below for link to CPC Final Position Statement.
We look forward to the opportunity to engage in a meaningful exchange of ideas with the Department of Labor and industry representatives to develop a responsible rule that takes into consideration the complexities of this vital industry. Thank you for your continued support.
Kelly Crisp
Founder, Child Performers Coalition
kelly@childperformerscoalition.org
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