Source: http://register.dls.virginia.gov/details.aspx?id=6805
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 16:17:46+00:00

Document:
Title of Regulation: 1VAC50-11. Public Participation Guidelines (amending 1VAC50-11-10, 1VAC50-11-20, 1VAC50-11-50, 1VAC50-11-60, 1VAC50-11-90, 1VAC50-11-100).
Statutory Authority: §§ 2.2-4007.02 and 15.2-2903 of the Code of Virginia.
Public Comment Deadline: March 8, 2018.
Effective Date: March 23, 2018.
Agency Contact: David Conmy, Local Government Policy Administrator, Department of Housing and Community Development, 600 East Main Street, Suite 300, Richmond, VA 23219, telephone (804) 371-8010, FAX (804) 371-7090, or email david.conmy@dhcd.virginia.gov.
Small Business Impact Review Report of Findings: This fast-track regulatory action serves as the report of the findings of the regulatory review pursuant to § 2.2-4007.1 of the Code of Virginia.
Basis: Section 15.2-2903 of the Code of Virginia provides the Commission on Local Government (CLG) the general power and duty to make regulations.
Purpose: The goal of this proposal is to update the CLG's regulations for greater clarity and consistency based upon a review by the commission and its staff at the conclusion of its periodic review of the regulation.
The regulations are essential to protect the health, safety, and welfare of citizens because they support the CLG's purpose to ensure that all of the Commonwealth's "localities are maintained as viable communities in which their citizens can live" as stipulated in § 15.2-2900 of the Code of Virginia.
All of the proposed amendments to the regulations are minor in nature and include items such as (i) updating definitions and regulations to correspond to changes in the Code of Virginia, including removal of references to "Commonwealth Calendar" and the right to counsel in rulemaking proceedings (Chapter 795 of the 2012 Acts of Assembly), (ii) adding Oxford commas for greater clarity, (iii) updating terminology to be gender neutral, (iv) generalizing the commission's regular meeting regulations to allow more meeting flexibility but remain consistent with § 15.2-2904 of the Code of Virginia, and (v) making other minor changes.
Rationale for Using Fast-Track Rulemaking Process: This rulemaking is expected to be noncontroversial because the proposed amendments to the regulations are minor in nature. None of the proposed amendments to the regulations are substantive in nature, and they do not have an impact on small businesses or individual citizens.
Furthermore, this rulemaking is expected to be noncontroversial because no comments were received during the periodic review public comment period, which ran from June 12, 2017, to July 3, 2017, and was advertised in the Virginia Register of Regulations on June 12, 2017, in Volume 33, Issue 21.
Substance: None of the proposed amendments to the regulations are substantive in nature but include items such as (i) updating definitions and regulations to correspond to changes in the Code of Virginia, including removal of references to "Commonwealth Calendar" and the right to counsel in rulemaking proceedings (Chapter 795 of the 2012 Acts of Assembly), (ii) adding Oxford commas for greater clarity, (iii) updating terminology to be gender neutral, (iv) generalizing the commission's regular meeting regulations to allow more meeting flexibility but remain consistent with § 15.2-2904 of the Code of Virginia, and (v) making other minor changes.
Issues: The advantages to the proposed amendments to the regulations are all minor in nature but, overall, allow for greater clarity and for consistency with the Code of Virginia. There are no anticipated disadvantages to the public or the Commonwealth.
Summary of the Proposed Amendments to Regulation: As the result of a periodic review, the Commission on Local Government (Commission) proposes to amend its public participation guidelines to update definitions and to conform the regulation to changes in statute.
Estimated Economic Impact. The Commission promulgated these public participation guidelines in 2008 and has not updated them since. As a result of statutory changes since 2008, these guidelines are no longer completely up to date. Because of this, the Commission now proposes to add language that reflects the statutory right of interested parties who are submitting data, views and arguments to "be accompanied by and represented by counsel or other representative." The Commission also proposes to change references to "the Commonwealth Calendar" to "a calendar maintained by the Commonwealth" because that language more closely resembles relevant statutory language. Changes such as these do not add any extra requirements for regulated entities. Consequently, no affected entities are likely to incur costs. To the extent that these changes remove language that is different from what is in statute, they provide the benefit of eliminating possible confusion.
Businesses and Entities Affected. This regulatory action will affect all localities as well as the Commission. Commission staff reports that there are 95 counties, 190 towns and 38 cities in the Commonwealth.
Localities Particularly Affected. No locality will be particularly affected by this regulatory action.
Agency's Response to Economic Impact Analysis: The Commission on Local Government staff concurs with the economic impact analysis.
The amendments (i) update definitions, (ii) clarify the regulation, (iii) update terminology, and (iv) pursuant to Chapter 795 of the 2012 Acts of Assembly, add that an individual can be accompanied by and represented by counsel or another representative when submitting data, views, and arguments to the agency.
The purpose of this chapter is to promote public involvement in the development, amendment, or repeal of the regulations of the Commission on Local Government. This chapter does not apply to regulations, guidelines, or other documents exempted or excluded from the provisions of the Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq. of the Code of Virginia).
"Agency" means the Commission on Local Government within the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, which is the unit of state government empowered by the agency's basic law to make regulations or decide cases. Actions specified in this chapter may be fulfilled by state employees as delegated by the agency.
"Commonwealth Calendar" "Calendar maintained by the Commonwealth" means the electronic calendar for official government meetings open to the public as required by § 2.2-3707 C of the Freedom of Information Act.
"Open meeting" means any scheduled gathering of a unit of state government empowered by an agency's basic law to make regulations or decide cases, which is related to promulgating, amending, or repealing a regulation.
A. In considering any nonemergency, nonexempt regulatory action, the agency shall afford interested persons an opportunity (i) to submit data, views, and arguments, either orally or in writing, to the agency, and (ii) be accompanied by and represented by counsel or other representative. Such opportunity to comment shall include an online public comment forum on the Town Hall.
A. As provided in § 2.2-4007 of the Code of Virginia, any person may petition the agency to consider a regulatory action.
3. Reference to the legal authority of the agency to take the action requested.
C. The agency shall receive, consider, and respond to a petition pursuant to § 2.2-4007 and shall have the sole authority to dispose of the petition.
D. The petition shall be posted on the Town Hall and published in the Virginia Register.
E. Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit the agency from receiving information or from proceeding on its own motion for rulemaking.
Notice of any open meeting, including meetings of a RAP or NRP, shall be posted on the Virginia Regulatory Town Hall and a calendar maintained by the Commonwealth Calendar at least seven working days prior to the date of the meeting. The exception to this requirement is any meeting held in accordance with § 2.2-3707 D of the Code of Virginia allowing for contemporaneous notice to be provided to participants and the public.
1VAC50-11-100. Public hearings on regulations.
A. The agency shall indicate in its notice of intended regulatory action whether it plans to hold a public hearing following the publication of the proposed stage of the regulatory action.
B. The agency may conduct one or more public hearings during the comment period following the publication of a proposed regulatory action.
3. The agency receives requests for a public hearing from at least 25 persons during the public comment period following the publication of the notice of intended regulatory action.
D. Notice of any public hearing shall be posted on the Town Hall and a calendar maintained by the Commonwealth Calendar at least seven working days prior to the date of the hearing. The agency shall also notify those persons who requested a hearing under subdivision C 3 of this section.
VA.R. Doc. No. R18-5292; Filed January 9, 2018, 4:41 p.m.

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