Reducing regulatory burdens and promoting enhanced transparency are two of the key goals of Executive Order 19. Reduced regulatory burdens are easier to quantify, but changes that promote greater transparency are no less important. This week’s Highlights feature two actions that will result in a more transparent regulatory code.

 

The State Board of Social Services achieves greater precision with its incorporated documents.

In response to a shift of regulatory authority, the Virginia Department of Social Services recently swapped out a program manual that it promulgated with one issued by the Department of Education.

While doing so, VDSS realized that it could be much more precise in terms of which parts of the manual actually apply to regulated parties. It therefore updated the language of the regulation to state exactly which sections of the manual are binding.

By doing this, VDSS will save regulated parties a lot of time in trying to figure out what does and doesn’t apply. And it managed to cut 680 regulatory requirements, a 12.7% reduction for the agency!

 

Virginia Department of Transportation eliminates a guidance document that is redundant of a regulation.

Guidance documents help flesh out the parameters of regulatory requirements. But guidance documents should not substitute for clearly written, comprehensive regulations. Regulated parties should not have to spend their time reviewing multiple sources (statutes, regulations, guidance documents) to figure out their obligations.

The Virginia Department of Transportation recently revised a regulation in order to make it clearer. After doing so, it realized that a preexisting guidance document was no longer necessary. It therefore proposed action that guidance document, cutting over 11,000 words from VDOT’s guidance document total.

Download ORM Highlights: Early-February 2025.