Agencies set binding requirements by issuing regulations. In many cases, agencies also issue guidance documents to help the public understand those regulations. Guidance documents aren’t binding, but they can help clarify legal obligations imposed by regulation or statute. 

In addition to guidance documents, agencies issue numerous other materials, including reports, brochures, newsletters, etc. These documents can help the public understand agencies’ ongoing work, and they often are placed on agency websites. But unless they relate to compliance with a regulatory requirement contained in a regulation or statute, they do not meet the legal definition of guidance. 

As part of their regulatory streamlining efforts under Executive Order 19, agencies are undertaking actions to reduce the length of their guidance documents by at least 25%. Many agencies are finding that the documents they’ve listed as “guidance” on the Town Hall website don’t meet the legal definition and have removed these documents (while keeping them on the agency website if they provide useful information to the public).

Based on these ongoing efforts, Virginia agencies have eliminated over 5,400,000 words from their guidance documents. All told, these actions have eliminated 23% of the materials listed on Town Hall. These changes have made Town Hall much easier for Virginia citizens to navigate. And they’ve made it much easier for businesses (especially small businesses) to identify the resources they need to meet their legal obligations, which has further cemented Virginia’s status as America’s top state for business. 

 

DHRM eliminates 100% of its documents listed on Town Hall. 

DHRM recently took a careful look at the documents it had listed on Town Hall. They included many useful resources, such as the COVA Handbook that Virginia employees use to help select a healthcare provider. But none of them met the legal definition of “guidance.” 

Based on this analysis, DHRM decided it could eliminate all of its guidance documents from Town Hall. The agency will still keep useful resources on its website. And it will eliminate possible confusion and save itself a lot of time by removing these documents from Town Hall. 

Big congratulations to DHRM for lapping the 25% reduction target three times over!

 

The Department of the Treasury eliminates 31% of its documents on Town Hall. 

The Department of the Treasury also recently reviewed its documents on Town Hall, and it too concluded that many do not qualify as “guidance.” It had listed documents such as quarterly reports tracking performance of investment portfolios. These are useful resources that will appear on the agency website, but they do not belong on Town Hall. 

By making these changes, the Department has achieved a 31% overall reduction in the length of its guidance documents. It too deserves major congratulations for saving Virginia businesses, citizens, and agency officials a lot of time with these changes.

Download ORM Highlights: August 2024.