What authority does the chairman have to promulgate the rules of the New York State Health and Social Care Commission?

Having concluded that the chairman had authority to promulgate the rules, it is necessary to address petitioners' contention that the denials of their requests for an exemption from the operation of the rules were arbitrary and capricious. The commission quite properly recognized that comprehensive prophylactic rules, if rigidly enforced without any opportunity for relief in special circumstances, might result in serious injustice to an individual employee without any corresponding public benefit. Although not required to do so, the chairman adopted a policy which provides for individual exemption from the operation of the rules in areas consistent with the public interest. Having chosen to make this procedure available to commission employees, however, the chairman was bound to articulate objective standards against which an ultimate determination could be measured (Matter of Levine v. Whalen, 39 N.Y.2d 510, 518-519, 384 N.Y.S.2d 721, 725, 349 N.E.2d

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