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THE
VIRGINIA REGISTER OF REGULATIONS HISTORY
Background
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While regulations have been used throughout Virginia’s history,
only in the past 25 years has the text of the regulations been
available in one publication, the Virginia Register of Regulations,
published by the Virginia Code Commission.
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Virginia Register of Regulations is Virginia’s
official publication of state government regulations. In addition,
the Virginia Register of Regulations includes petitions
for rulemaking, emergency regulations, Governor's executive orders,
state lottery regulations and director's orders, and State Corporation
Commission orders and regulations.
1940s-1950s
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In the years leading up to the passage of the Federal Administrative
Procedure Act in 1946, state bar associations and other interested
groups began looking at how to streamline state administrative
agencies’ procedures regarding rulemaking.
- In
Virginia, the General Assembly passed a joint resolution in 1942
“directing the Virginia Advisory Legislative Council to
make a study of the laws which create and define the jurisdiction
and powers of administrative agencies.” and recommended
the establishment of a Commission on Administrative Agencies.
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In 1944, the Virginia Advisory Legislative Council reported that
it had asked all administrative agencies to file copies of their
rules and regulations and suggested that the rules “be codified
into a single publication” (HD 5, 1944). This was to be
known as the Virginia State Register, edited by the Director
of the Division of Statutory Research and Drafting, and subject
to the direction and control of the Governor (Chp. 218, 1944 Acts
of Assembly).
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In 1952, the Virginia Advisory Legislative Council recommended
abolishing the Commission and the Administrative Code, citing
lack of use of the Administrative Code.
1970s
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The Virginia Register Act, passed in 1973 and amended in 1975,
called for the establishment of a Register of Regulations.
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The Administrative Process Act, enacted in 1975, established the
process an agency must follow during the development, promulgation
and application of the regulatory authority granted to it by the
legislature.
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From 1975 to 1984, the Office of the Registrar of Regulations,
under the authority of the Virginia Code Commission, published
the Register of Regulations of the Agencies of the Commonwealth.
The Register of Regulations of the Agencies of the Commonwealth,
published annually, consisted of a summary of the agency's regulatory
powers and listing of regulations of each agency.
1980s
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Major regulatory reform took place in the 1980s, resulting in
the creation of the current Virginia Register of Regulations,
which publishes the text of amended, newly adopted, and repealed
regulations and notices of opportunities for the public to provide
input into the regulatory process.
- Other
changes to the Administrative Process Act included the adoption
of public participation guidelines by state agencies; requirements
for periodic reviews of regulations; and the revision of the system
of executive and legislative oversight of the regulatory process.
1990s
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In 1993, the General Assembly authorized the codification and
publication of a "Code of Administrative Regulations"
for Virginia, now known as the Virginia Administrative Code (Chp.
669, 1993 Acts of Assembly).
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In the same year, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission
reviewed the Administrative Process Act and suggested limiting
the use of emergency regulations and providing for greater public
input into the development of agencies' public participation guidelines.
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In 1994, the Department of Planning and Budget began conducting
economic impact analyses of any proposed regulation promulgated
under the Administrative Process Act, with the analysis to be
published in the Virginia Register of Regulations.
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In 1996, the first print edition of the Virginia Administrative
Code was published. The Virginia Administrative Code was also
published online for the first time.
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In 1997, the General Assembly mandated the annual publication
of agency guidance document lists in the Virginia Register
of Regulations.
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In 1998, the Virginia Register of Regulations went online.
2000-present
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In 2002, the General Assembly established the Joint Commission
on Administrative Rules, a legislative commission, to review existing
agency regulations and proposed regulations going through the
Administrative Process Act.
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In 2003, a fast-track rulemaking process exempting agency regulation
deemed by the Governor to be noncontroversial was established.
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