SEARCH SITE
VIRGINIA LAW PORTAL
- Code of Virginia
- Virginia Administrative Code
- Constitution of Virginia
- Charters
- Authorities
- Compacts
- Uncodified Acts
- RIS Users (account required)
SEARCHABLE DATABASES
- Bills & Resolutions
session legislation - Bill Summaries
session summaries - Reports to the General Assembly
House and Senate documents - Legislative Liaisons
State agency contacts
ACROSS SESSIONS
- Subject Index: Since 1995
- Bills & Resolutions: Since 1994
- Summaries: Since 1994
Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.
2002 SESSION
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§ 2.2-4007, 2.2-4015, and 63.1-25 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 2.2-4007. Notice of intended regulatory action; public participation; informational proceedings; effect of noncompliance.
A. Any person may petition an agency to request the agency to develop a new regulation or amend an existing regulation. The agency receiving the petition shall consider and respond to the petition within 180 days. Agency decisions to initiate or not initiate rulemaking in response to petitions shall not be subject to judicial review.
B. In the case of all regulations, except those regulations exempted by §§ 2.2-4002, 2.2-4006 or § 2.2-4011, an agency shall provide the Registrar of Regulations with a Notice of Intended Regulatory Action that describes the subject matter and intent of the planned regulation. At least thirty days shall be provided for public comment after publication of the Notice of Intended Regulatory Action. An agency shall not file proposed regulations with the Registrar until the public comment period on the Notice of Intended Regulatory Action has closed.
C. Agencies shall state in the Notice of Intended Regulatory Action whether they plan to hold a public hearing on the proposed regulation after it is published. Agencies shall hold such public hearings if required by basic law. If the agency states an intent to hold a public hearing on the proposed regulation in the Notice of Intended Regulatory Action, then it shall hold the public hearing. If the agency states in its Notice of Intended Regulatory Action that it does not plan to hold a hearing on the proposed regulation, then no public hearing is required unless, prior to completion of the comment period specified in the Notice of Intended Regulatory Action (i) the Governor directs the agency to hold a public hearing or (ii) the agency receives requests for a public hearing from at least twenty-five persons.
D. Public participation guidelines for soliciting the input of interested parties in the formation and development of its regulations shall be developed, adopted and utilized by each agency pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. The guidelines shall set out any methods for the identification and notification of interested parties, and any specific means of seeking input from interested persons or groups that the agency intends to use in addition to the Notice of Intended Regulatory Action. The guidelines shall set out a general policy for the use of standing or ad hoc advisory panels and consultation with groups and individuals registering interest in working with the agency. Such policy shall address the circumstances in which the agency considers the panels or consultation appropriate and intends to make use of the panels or consultation.
E. In formulating any regulation, including but not limited to those in public assistance programs, the agency pursuant to its public participation guidelines shall afford interested persons an opportunity to submit data, views, and arguments, either orally or in writing, to the agency or its specially designated subordinate. However, the agency may begin drafting the proposed regulation prior to or during any opportunities it provides to the public to submit comments.
F. In the case of all regulations, except those regulations exempted by §§ 2.2-4002, 2.2-4006, or § 2.2-4011, the proposed regulation and general notice of opportunity for oral or written submittals as to that regulation shall be published in the Virginia Register of Regulations in accordance with the provisions of subsection B of § 2.2-4031. In addition, the agency may, in its discretion, (i) publish the notice in any newspaper and (ii) publicize the notice through press releases and such other media as will best serve the purpose and subject involved. The Register and any newspaper publication shall be made at least sixty days in advance of the last date prescribed in the notice for such submittals. All notices, written submittals, and transcripts, summaries or notations of oral presentations, as well as any agency action thereon, shall be matters of public record in the custody of the agency.
G. If an agency wishes to change a proposed regulation before adopting it as a final regulation, it may choose to publish a revised proposed regulation provided the latter is subject to a public comment period of at least thirty additional days and the agency complies in all other respects with this section.
G H. Before delivering any proposed regulation under consideration to the
Registrar as required in subsection H I, the agency shall deliver a copy of
that regulation to the Department of Planning and Budget. In addition to
determining the public benefit, the Department of Planning and Budget in
coordination with the agency, shall, within forty-five days, prepare an
economic impact analysis of the proposed regulation. The economic impact
analysis shall include, but need not be limited to, the projected number of
businesses or other entities to whom the regulation would apply; the identity
of any localities and types of businesses or other entities particularly
affected by the regulation; the projected number of persons and employment
positions to be affected; the impact of the regulation on the use and value of
private property; and the projected costs to affected businesses, localities or
entities to implement or comply with the regulations, including the estimated
fiscal impact on such localities and sources of potential funds to implement
and comply with such regulation. Agencies shall provide the Department with
such estimated fiscal impacts on localities and sources of potential funds. The
Department may request the assistance of any other agency in preparing the
analysis. The Department shall deliver a copy of the analysis to the agency
drafting the regulation, which shall comment thereon as provided in subsection
H I, and a copy to the Registrar for publication with the proposed
regulation. No regulation shall be promulgated for consideration pursuant to
subsection H I until the impact analysis has been received by the
Registrar. For purposes of this section, the term "locality, business, or
entity particularly affected" means any locality, business, or entity that
bears any identified disproportionate material impact that would not be
experienced by other localities, businesses, or entities. The analysis shall
represent the Department's best estimate for the purposes of public review and
comment on the proposed regulation. The accuracy of the estimate shall in no
way affect the validity of the regulation, nor shall any failure to comply with
or otherwise follow the procedures set forth in this subsection create any
cause of action or provide standing for any person under Article 5 (§ 2.2-4025
et seq.) of this chapter or otherwise to challenge the actions of the Department
hereunder or the action of the agency in adopting the proposed regulation.
H I. Before promulgating any regulation under consideration, the agency shall
deliver a copy of that regulation to the Registrar together with a summary of the regulation and a
separate and concise statement of (i) the basis of the regulation, defined as
the statutory authority for promulgating the regulation, including an
identification of the section number and a brief statement relating the content
of the statutory authority to the specific regulation proposed; (ii) the
purpose of the regulation, defined as the rationale or justification for the
new provisions of the regulation, from the standpoint of the public's health,
safety or welfare; (iii) the substance of the regulation, defined as the
identification and explanation of the key provisions of the regulation that
make changes to the current status of the law; (iv) the issues of the
regulation, defined as the primary advantages and disadvantages for the public,
and as applicable for the agency or the state, of implementing the new
regulatory provisions; and (v) the agency's response to the economic impact
analysis submitted by the Department of Planning and Budget pursuant to
subsection G H. Any economic impact estimate included in the agency's response
shall represent the agency's best estimate for the purposes of public review
and comment, but the accuracy of the estimate shall in no way affect the
validity of the regulation. Staff as designated by the Code Commission shall
review proposed regulation submission packages to ensure the requirements of
this subsection are met prior to publication of the proposed regulation in the
Register. The summary; the statement of the basis, purpose, substance, and
issues; the economic impact analysis; and the agency's response shall be
published in the Virginia Register of Regulations, together with the notice of
opportunity for oral or written submittals on the proposed regulation.
I J. When an agency formulating regulations in public assistance programs
cannot comply with the public comment requirements of subsection F due to time
limitations imposed by state or federal laws or regulations for the adoption of
such regulation, the Secretary of Health and Human Resources may shorten the
time requirements of subsection F. If, in the Secretary's sole discretion, such
time limitations reasonably preclude any advance published notice, he may waive
the requirements of subsection F. However, the agency shall, as soon as
practicable after the adoption of the regulation in a manner consistent with
the requirements of subsection F, publish notice of the promulgation of the
regulation and afford an opportunity for public comment. The precise factual
basis for the Secretary's determination shall be stated in the published
notice.
J K. If one or more changes with substantial impact are made to a proposed
regulation from the time that it is published as a proposed regulation to the time it is published as
a final regulation, any person may petition the agency within thirty days from the publication of the
final regulation to request an opportunity for oral and written submittals on
the changes to the regulation. If the agency receives requests from at least
twenty-five persons for an opportunity to submit oral and written comments on
the changes to the regulation, the agency shall (i) suspend the regulatory
process for thirty days to solicit additional public comment and (ii) file
notice of the additional thirty-day public comment period with the Registrar of
Regulations, unless the agency determines that the changes made are minor or
inconsequential in their impact. The comment period, if any, shall begin on the
date of publication of the notice in the Register. Agency denial of petitions
for a comment period on changes to the regulation shall be subject to judicial
review.
K L. In no event shall the failure to comply with the requirements of
subsection F of this section be deemed mere harmless error for the purposes of
§ 2.2-4027.
L M. This section shall not apply to the issuance by the State Air Pollution
Control Board of variances to its regulations.
§ 2.2-4015. Effective date of regulation; exception.
A. A regulation adopted in accordance with this chapter and the Virginia
Register Act (§ 2.2-4100 et seq.), shall become effective at the conclusion of
the thirty-day final adoption period provided for in subsection D of §
2.2-4013, or any other later date specified by the agency, unless:
1. A legislative objection has been filed in accordance with § 2.2-4014, in which event the regulation, unless withdrawn by the agency, shall become effective on a date specified by the agency that shall be after the expiration of the applicable twenty-one-day extension period provided in § 2.2-4014;
2. The Governor has exercised his authority in accordance with § 2.2-4013 to require the agency to provide for additional public comment, in which event the regulation, unless withdrawn by the agency, shall become effective on a date specified by the agency that shall be after the period for which the Governor has provided for additional public comment;
3. The Governor and the General Assembly have exercised their authority in accordance with subsection B of § 2.2-4014 to suspend the effective date of a regulation until the end of the next regular legislative session; or
4. The agency has suspended the regulatory process in accordance with
subsection K of § 2.2-4007, or for any reason it deems necessary or
appropriate, in which event the regulation, unless withdrawn by the agency,
shall become effective on the date specified by the agency that shall be after
the thirty-day public comment period required by subsection K of § 2.2-4007 in
accordance with subsection B.
B. Whenever the regulatory process has been suspended for any reason, any action by the agency that either amends the regulation or does not amend the regulation but specifies a new effective date shall be considered a readoption of the regulation for the purposes of appeal. If the regulation is suspended under subsection K of § 2.2-4007, such readoption shall take place after the thirty-day public comment period required by that subsection. Suspension of the regulatory process by the agency may occur simultaneously with the filing of final regulations as provided in subsection B of § 2.2-4013.
When a regulation has been suspended, the agency must set the effective date no earlier than fifteen days from publication of the readoption action and any changes made to the regulation. During that fifteen-day period, if the agency receives requests from at least twenty-five persons for the opportunity to comment on new substantial changes, it shall again suspend the regulation pursuant to subsection K of § 2.2-4007.
B C. This section shall not apply to the issuance by the State Air Pollution
Control Board of variances to its regulations.
§ 63.1-25. Making rules and regulations.
The State Board shall make such rules and regulations, not in conflict with
this title, as may be necessary or desirable to carry out the true purpose and
intent of this title. Before the Board acts on a regulation to be published in
the Virginia Register of Regulations pursuant to § 2.2-4007, the Board shall
examine the potential fiscal impact of such regulation on local boards of social
services. For regulations with potential fiscal impact, the Board shall share
copies of the fiscal analysis with local boards of social services prior to
submission of the regulation to the Department of Planning and Budget for
purposes of the economic impact analysis under subsection G H of § 2.2-4007.
The fiscal impact analysis shall include the projected cost/savings to the local boards to implement or
comply with such regulation and, where applicable, sources of potential funds to implement or comply with
such regulation.
The Board also may make such rules and regulations as may be necessary in authorizing local boards of public welfare to destroy or otherwise dispose of such records as the local boards in their discretion deem are no longer necessary in such offices and which serve no further administrative, historical or financial purpose.