Virginia Register of Regulations

Virginia Register of Regulations
Title	Virginia Register of Regulations
Frequency	Weekly
Country	United States
Language	English
Publisher	Virginia Administrative Code Division
Firstdate	1988

Virginia Register of Regulations

The Virginia Register of Regulations is the official weekly periodical for promulgation of administrative regulations and notices issued by the Commonwealth of Virginia. It functions as a repository for regulatory actions and notices by executive agencies, boards, and commissions, serving practitioners, litigators, lobbyists, journalists, and scholars who follow developments affecting Supreme Court of Virginia, General Assembly of Virginia, Office of the Attorney General of Virginia, Department of Health (Virginia), and Department of Environmental Quality (Virginia). As a transparent instrument, it links statutory mandates from the Code of Virginia to agency rulemaking conducted by entities such as the Virginia Department of Transportation and the Virginia Employment Commission.

Overview

The Register provides an authoritative stream of proposed, adopted, emergency, and exempt regulatory actions similar in function to the Federal Register and state registers like the California Regulatory Notice Register and the New York State Register. It publishes notices required under statutes like the Administrative Process Act (Virginia) and coordinates with the Library of Virginia for archival practices alongside citations relevant to the Virginia State Bar and practitioners appearing before bodies such as the Virginia Marine Resources Commission or the State Corporation Commission (Virginia). Users often consult it in tandem with decisions from the Virginia Court of Appeals and regulatory guidance from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency when state and federal overlap arises.

Legal authority and publication process

Authority for publication derives from statutory provisions enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia and interpreted through opinions from the Supreme Court of Virginia and formal guidance by the Office of the Attorney General of Virginia. The register implements procedural requirements of the Administrative Process Act (Virginia), the oversight role of the Joint Commission on Administrative Rules (Virginia), and interacts with executive directives from the Governor of Virginia. Agencies such as the Virginia Department of Social Services and the Virginia Department of Education submit rulemaking packages that are evaluated under standards similar to those applied by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit when federalism issues emerge. Emergency rulemaking steps are scrutinized through statutory timelines and may prompt judicial review in courts like the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Organization and content

Typical issues contain sections for proposed regulations, final regulations, emergency regulations, notices of periodic review, and notices of public hearings, mirroring structures seen in publications like the Code of Federal Regulations and state codifications such as the Texas Administrative Code. Agencies from Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services to the Department of Corrections (Virginia) file entries with standardized headings, cross-referenced to the Code of Virginia and sometimes to federal statutes like the Clean Air Act or the Affordable Care Act. The register also hosts notices from advisory panels such as the Virginia Board of Health and the Virginia Occupational Safety and Health (VOSH) Program, and it indexes entries for practitioners citing precedent from the Virginia Business and Industry Council or administrative decisions reviewed by the State Corporation Commission (Virginia).

Rulemaking and public participation

Rulemaking notices in the register announce comment periods, public hearings, and regulatory flexibility analyses required by statutes overseen by the Joint Commission on Administrative Rules (Virginia). Stakeholders including trade associations like the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, public interest organizations such as the Virginia Poverty Law Center, and professional groups including the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association rely on the register to mobilize comments, petitions, and regulatory challenges. Administrative records assembled for contested cases reference hearing procedures modeled after precedents from the Virginia Administrative Hearings and may culminate in appeals citing the Supreme Court of Virginia or federal courts when constitutional issues arise.

Access, distribution, and archival practices

The register is distributed electronically and historically in print, with archival copies maintained by institutions including the Library of Virginia and law libraries at the University of Virginia School of Law, William & Mary Law School, and Old Dominion University. Digital access aligns with initiatives similar to the National Archives and Records Administration’s electronic records standards and interoperates with statewide repositories used by the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council. Back issues support legal research conducted at centers such as the American Bar Association’s regulatory committees and in academic work at the George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School.

Impact and notable actions

Regulatory actions published in the register have shaped policy outcomes in areas from environmental oversight involving the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the James River Association to health regulation affecting Inova Health System and Bon Secours Health System. Notable entries have included emergency regulations during public health crises coordinated with the Virginia Department of Health and statutory implementations after sessions of the General Assembly of Virginia, occasionally spawning litigation in venues such as the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit or prompting scrutiny from the Governor of Virginia. The register remains a principal instrument for statutory implementation, administrative transparency, and civic engagement in Virginia’s regulatory landscape.

Category:Virginia law Category:United States state administrative law