Sec. 4. 5 MRSA §8052, sub-§5, as amended by PL 1997, c. 196, §1, is further amended to read:

5. Written statement adopted. At the time of adoption of any rule, the agency shall adopt a written statement explaining the factual and policy basis for the rule. The agency shall list the names of persons whose comments were received, including through testimony at hearings, the organizations the persons represent and summaries of their comments. The agency shall address the specific comments and concerns expressed about any proposed rule and state its rationale for adopting any changes from the proposed rule, failing to adopt the suggested changes or drawing findings and recommendations that differ from those expressed about the proposed rule. The statement must be specific, and must cite authority and underlying reasoning.

A. If the same or similar comments or concerns about a specific issue were expressed by different persons or organizations, the agency may synthesize these comments and concerns into a single comment that accurately reflects the meaning and intent of these comments and concerns to be addressed by the agency, listing the names of the persons who commented and the organizations they represent. The agency shall provide the names and respective positions of those persons in the agency responsible for the analysis and determination of the final language of the rule and shall attach as an appendix to the rule any written data, empirical data or other data relied upon in the agency's decision making.