                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS (§ 2.2-4002.1)

A. Guidance documents shall be exempt from the provisions of this chapter,
pursuant to this section. Guidance documents do not include agency (i) rulings
and advisory opinions, (ii) forms and instructions, (iii) bulletins and
legislative summaries, (iv) studies and reports, and (v) internal manuals and
memoranda.

B. The agency that develops a guidance document shall certify that the document
conforms to the definition of a guidance document in &#xA7; 2.2-4101.
			The guidance document shall be subject to a 30-day public comment period, to
include public comment through the Virginia Regulatory Town Hall website, after
publication in the Virginia Register of Regulations and prior to its effective
date.
			The agency shall provide notice of the opportunity for public comment to
interested parties as identified under &#xA7; 2.2-4007.02 prior to the start of
the 30-day public comment period.

C. If a written comment is received during a public comment period asserting
that the guidance document is contrary to state law or regulation, or that the
document should not be exempted from the provisions of this chapter, the
effective date of the guidance document by the agency shall be delayed for an
additional 30-day period. During this additional period, the agency shall
respond to any such comments in writing by certified mail to the commenter or by
posting the response electronically in a manner consistent with the provisions
for publication of comments on regulations provided in this chapter. Any person
who remains aggrieved after the effective date of the final guidance document
may avail himself of the remedies articulated in Article 5 (&#xA7; 2.2-4025 et
seq.).

HISTORY: 2018, c. 820.