Virginia agencies have approximately nine months left to hit the 25% reduction goals in Executive Order 19. In the last two weeks, several agencies have made enormous strides in cutting unnecessary requirements from regulations and pages from guidance documents.

 

        

DBHDS and DPOR make significant changes to licensing regulations.

For many businesses and working professionals, a professional license is the most valuable asset they possess. It governs their ability to operate and provide services to clients.

When agencies impose overly burdensome regulations as part of the licensing process, professionals have a hard time making a living. In extreme cases, businesses may close, and customers then lose options.

The Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) and the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR) recently streamlined several licensing regulations. DBHDS simplified the requirements for licensed providers and children’s residential facilities, cutting unnecessary financial reporting and bonding requirements, among other things. DPOR eliminated unnecessary restrictions governing barbers, opticians, polygraph examiners, and estheticians.

These changes retain all the protections necessary to ensure professionals and businesses offer high-quality services while cutting unnecessary red tape that makes everyone’s life more difficult. 

 

DOLI cuts almost 2000 pages of guidance documents.

Over the last year, the Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI) has taken a very careful look at the guidance documents it posts on the Town Hall website.  As part of this review, it has determined that many of the documents don’t meet the legal

definition of “guidance.”  They may provide useful information, and they should be posted on the DOLI website, but they are not relevant to regulatory compliance.

This week, DOLI initiated an action that will cut 1929 pages from its guidance documents.  For reference, that represents far more than the number of pages in the King James Bible (1216 pages), Tolstoy’s War and Peace (1296 pages), or Hugo’s Les Miserables (1456 pages).

This change alone eliminates 24.9% of DOLI’s documents on Town Hall.  As a result of this change and earlier actions, DOLI will eliminate 91% of its Town Hall documents, making the site far easier for users to navigate.

Download ORM Highlights: Late-March 2025.