PREPARING
AND FILING GUIDANCE DOCUMENT LISTS
FOR PUBLICATION IN THE VIRGINIA REGISTER
OF REGULATIONS
(Revised November 2011)
II. Identify your guidance documents.
III. Prepare and file the
guidance document list.
A. Virginia Regulatory Town Hall users.
1. Prepare a list for the
first time.
V. Filing with the Registrar's
office.
Sections 2.2-4008
and 2.2-4103
of the Code of Virginia require agencies, on or before January 1, to annually
file with the Registrar of Regulations a list of guidance documents upon which
the agency currently relies. These lists are published in the Virginia Register of Regulations and are
available on the Internet at http://register.dls.virginia.gov/GUIDANCE/guidedoc.htm.
An agency may be subject to filing the guidance document list even when
it has no regulations if the agency or staff has developed a document that
interprets or implements statutes or otherwise meets the definition of guidance
document in §§ 2.2-4001
and 2.2-4101.
II. Identify your guidance documents.
Evaluate documents within your agency and determine which ones, if any,
are guidance documents. Direct inquiries to your legal counsel about whether a
document meets the statutory definition of a guidance document.
Do not list regulations; regulations are not guidance documents. If a
document has been assigned a VAC number and adopted through the appropriate
regulatory process, do not include it on the list.
If you decide that your agency has no guidance documents, no further
action is necessary.
III. Prepare and file the guidance document list.
A. Virginia
Regulatory Town Hall users. If your agency uploads its guidance documents on the Virginia
Regulatory Town Hall (Town Hall), the Town Hall will automatically create your
annual guidance document list and send it to the Registrar's office. For
complete instructions go to http://townhall.virginia.gov/um/guidancedocuments.cfm or call Melanie West, Department of Planning and
Budget, (804) 786-8812.
NOTE: If your agency guidance documents are NOT uploaded or
updated on the Town Hall by December 31, or if you want the Registrar's office
to use a list other than the one generated by the Town Hall, follow the
Non-Town Hall users preparation and filing instructions in subdivision B 1
(first time filing list), B 2 (previously filed list), or B 3 (no change to
list), as applicable. When you file the list, indicate in your email that the
emailed list is intended to replace the Town Hall-generated list.
1. Prepare a
list for the first time.
Information to include in list:
a. Name of
agency.
b. Introductory
paragraph: Provide the following information in narrative form:
·
Location for
viewing copies of the documents.
·
Name, address,
telephone number, fax number, and email address of the staff person to contact
for obtaining copies.
·
Any costs
associated with obtaining copies. If there is no charge, indicate that copies
may be obtained free of charge. If the cost varies depending on the document,
indicate the cost of the document as explained in subdivision 1 c below.
·
Name, address,
telephone number, fax number, and email address of the staff person to contact
for asking interpretive or implementation questions.
EXAMPLE INTRODUCTORY
PARAGRAPH
Copies of the following documents may be viewed on
regular work days between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. in the office
of the Virginia Code Commission, General Assembly Building, 2nd Floor,
Questions regarding interpretation or implementation of
these documents may be directed to Jane Chaffin, Registrar of Regulations,
Virginia Code Commission, General Assembly Building, 2nd Floor, 910 Capitol
Street, Richmond, VA 23219, telephone (804) 786-3591, FAX (804) 692-0625 or
email jchaffin@dls.virginia.gov.
c. Document
list: After the introductory paragraph, include the following information. Do
not use tabs or tables to format the guidance document list.
·
Document number,
if any.
·
Document title.
·
Internet address
where the document can be viewed, if available.
·
Date issued or,
if revised, most recent revised date (e.g., revised June 2005).
·
Code of Virginia citation that the document
interprets or implements (e.g., § 62.1-44.15), if any.
·
Virginia
Administrative Code (VAC) chapter number of the regulations that the document
interprets or implements (e.g., 9VAC25-31), if any.
·
Cost of document
if the cost could not be specified in the introductory paragraph. If the charge
is per page, indicate the number of pages of the document.
EXAMPLE DOCUMENT LIST
Guidance Documents:
Form, Style and Procedure Manual for the Publication of Virginia
Regulations (http://register.dls.virginia.gov/StyleManual.html),
revised 2008, § 2.2-4104
Preparing and Filing Guidance Document Lists (http://register.dls.virginia.gov/guidadoc.htm),
revised November 2011, §§ 2.2-4008 and 2.2-4103
2. Update last
year's list. If your
agency filed a guidance document list last year, download your agency's
guidance document list from the Virginia Register Guidance Document website. NOTE:
If your agency is not listed on our website, we do not have a record of
receiving your guidance document list last year.
a. Go to the
guidance document webpage at http://register.dls.virginia.gov/GUIDANCE/guidedoc.htm.
b. From the
dropdown menu, select the agency name. The guidance document list should appear
below the horizontal bar under the dropdown menu.
c. Highlight
the document beginning with the agency name through the end of the document. Do
not highlight anything above the horizontal bar. (Highlight tip: (i) Double click your cursor on the first
word of the agency heading. (ii) Press the "shift" key and the
"end" key at the same time to take you to the end of the list. (iii)
Position the cursor/arrow after the last word in the document and press the
"shift" key and the left mouse button at the same time.)
d. Copy and
paste the text into a new Microsoft Word document
e. Update the
document as needed.
·
Be sure all
Internet addresses or hyperlinks are working correctly.
·
It is not
necessary to use strikes/underscores to show changes.
For assistance with accessing documents from our
website, contact Rhonda Dyer at 804-786-3591 or email rdyer@dls.virginia.gov.
3. No changes to list. If there are no changes from the guidance document
list filed last year, send an email to VARegs@dls.virginia.gov stating that the
list is identical to last year's filing. Once you notify us that your agency's
guidance document list has not changed from the list filed last year, Virginia
Register staff will use last year's list for publication purposes. NOTE: If
you do not file a new list or do not authorize this office to use last year's
list, we will not publish a guidance document list for your agency.
A. Case
decisions. List case
decisions only if the agency intends for the case decision to have general
applicability.
B.
Classifying documents. Classes of
documents, such as interpretive memos, rulings, or decisions having general
applicability, that are frequently updated and compiled at intervals not
exceeding three months may be categorized by subject and listed once. The list
should set forth a general description of the subject matter contained in the
documents and the procedure for obtaining the documents. In place of an issue
date or a revised date, state how often the documents are updated (e.g., updated
weekly, monthly, every two months, etc.), or list a range of dates.
V. Filing with the Registrar's office.
A. Town Hall users. The Town Hall will automatically generate and file
your guidance document list with the Registrar's office on or about December
31.
Follow the filing instructions in subsection B below only if your
agency has not uploaded or updated its current guidance documents on the Town
Hall or if other circumstances prevent you from using the Town Hall.
B. Non-Town Hall users. To file the list, email the list to the Registrar's
office as follows:
·
Send the email
to: VARegs@dls.virginia.gov.
·
In the Subject
line, type: Guidance Document – [agency
name].
·
In the body of
the email, insert the following language:
Attached is the guidance document list from the [agency name]. Please address any questions concerning the
attached list to [contact name] at [telephone number] or [email address].
·
If you are a Town
Hall user and have not updated or uploaded your current guidance documents on
the Town Hall or other circumstances prevent you from using the Town Hall, tell
us in your cover email to use the attached list in place of the list sent by
the Town Hall.
·
Attach the list to
the email and send to VARegs@dls.virginia.gov.
B. If you want us to acknowledge receipt of your list, make this
request in your email message.
C. Guidance document lists not meeting these guidelines may be returned
to the agency to be corrected and filed again with the Registrar's office for
later publication.
A. The Registrar will publish the list in the Guidance Documents
section of the Virginia Register. The Registrar generally publishes all
guidance document lists together in a single issue of the Register in February
or March.
B. The guidance document introductory paragraph and list will be posted
on the Virginia Register website at http://register.dls.virginia.gov/GUIDANCE/guidedoc.htm. Recognizing that changes are made to these lists on
an ongoing basis throughout the year, a disclaimer will be posted that refers
the user to the appropriate agency for the most up-to-date information.