Code of Maine Rules › 29 - DEPARTMENT OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE › 250 - BUREAU OF MOTOR VEHICLES › Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions › Chapter 800 - PROCEDURES FOR THE ELECTRONIC FILING OF RULES › Section 250-800-3 - FORMAT AND STRUCTURE

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
Agencies must use consistent formats and a consistent
					 structure throughout the text of a rule.
1. Electronic submission
A. Delivery
The delivery of electronic text information to the
					 Secretary of State must be in a manner approved by the APA Office.
B. File (word processing) format
Agencies must use a word processing file format approved by
					 the APA Office. This may be ASCII if no other compatibility can be
					 found.
C. Filename
				  conventions
Each file submitted under this chapter must have a filename
					 that consists of the agency's unit number and the chapter number of the rule
					 being submitted, separated by the letter "C." For example, the Secretary of
					 State is Unit 250, and its chapter 11 would be: 250C011.DOC.
D. Preferred text format
1 Chapters not yet in preferred format
When existing rules do not meet all the formatting
					 requirements described below, the agency should comply with them when next
					 repealing and replacing the chapter. When amending a chapter that is not in the
					 preferred format, the agency should either place the entire chapter into the
					 preferred format and repeal and replace it, or submit the amendment in the
					 chapter's existing format and numbering conventions and make the complete
					 replacement at a later time, as soon as it can. The APA Office may, at any
					 time, rearrange a rule's formatting through its power to make non-substantive
					 changes with agency notification.
2 Page orientation
All submissions should be designed for printing on 8 1/2 x
					 11 inch pages, portrait orientation.
3 Fonts
The basic text font may be any 12 point font or a 10
					 character per inch fixed font such as Courier 10.
4 Margins
Margins must be 1 inch all around or more.
5 TAB's and INDENT's
Rules use an indented block format. [[ARROW]Indent]s rather
					 than [[ARROW]Tab]s should be used. Stops for the [[ARROW]Indent]s using the
					 Courier 10 font are 1.6, 2.2, 2.8, 3.4, 4.0, 4.7 -- every .6 of an inch except
					 for the last one (which allows (viii), the longest subdivision we consider
					 likely). This rule uses those settings. Sub-section 1, for example, would
					 involve the following keystrokes from the margin (using WordPerfect for this
					 and other examples):
ARROW Indent]1.[[ARROW]Indent]text.
Note that the text itself is indented beyond its numbered
					 heading.
6 Underlines and
				  strikeouts
Underlines and strikeouts must only be used to show changes
					 in text between the rule currently on file, and the amended rule. If the
					 agency's word processor is incapable of generating underlines or strikeouts,
					 the agency must use another clearly visible technique on the paper copy, such
					 as highlighting, with the approval of the APA Office.
7 Special features
Other character-related features, such as changes in font,
					 redlining, double underlining, bold and italics, may be used for the cosmetic
					 appearance of the printed version of a rule, but only if their removal through
					 a conversion process would not damage the logic and meaning of the rule.
					 Superscript and subscript should be used only if absolutely necessary.
8 Cross-references
References by numbered citation to statute or other rules
					 within the text of a particular rule should be avoided. This is because an
					 amendment or repeal of the outlying law or rule would interfere with the
					 citation's accuracy. Instead, the rule might refer to the general area of law
					 or regulatory function.
9
				  Page numbers
References to page numbers should be avoided, because
					 electronic reformatting often changes page numbering. Page numbers should exist
					 only for the short-term convenience of the user. Tables of contents and indices
					 are better written as citing sections, sub-sections, etc., rather than page
					 numbers.
10 Graphics
If graphical attachments are absolutely necessary, they
					 should come with the rule as attendant files in TIFF format, or another format
					 by mutual agreement of the agency and the APA Office.
E. Virus checking
The agency must scan outgoing diskettes and files for
					 viruses and eliminate any found.