VA Bar Administrative Law 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under VAPA, what is the minimum public comment period required after a proposed regulation is published in the Virginia Register?
- 15 days
- 30 days
- 45 days
- 60 days (Correct answer)
Correct answer: 60 days
VAPA requires a 60-day public comment period following publication of a proposed regulation in the Virginia Register.
Question 2: Which circumstance does NOT qualify as a valid basis for promulgating an emergency regulation under VAPA?
- Imminent threat to public health, safety, or welfare
- Requirement of state or federal law or a court order
- Need to avoid substantial adverse financial impact on the agency's budget (Correct answer)
- Governor's declaration of a state of emergency requiring immediate action
Correct answer: Need to avoid substantial adverse financial impact on the agency's budget
Emergency regulations under VAPA are limited to genuine threats to public health/safety, legal mandates, or declared emergencies—not internal agency financial concerns.
Question 3: What is the primary function of the Virginia Register of Regulations?
- To serve as the official record for judicial review of agency decisions
- To provide public notice of proposed, final, and emergency regulations (Correct answer)
- To codify all permanently effective regulations in a searchable format
- To establish the hierarchical authority among competing state agencies
Correct answer: To provide public notice of proposed, final, and emergency regulations
The Virginia Register of Regulations is the official periodic publication providing public notice of all regulatory actions, including proposed, final, and emergency regulations.
Question 4: Under VAPA, what must an agency file as the first step before beginning the formal rulemaking process?
- A Regulatory Impact Statement with the Governor's office
- A Notice of Intended Regulatory Action (NOIRA) (Correct answer)
- A Request for Legislative Approval with the General Assembly
- A Petition for Rulemaking with the circuit court
Correct answer: A Notice of Intended Regulatory Action (NOIRA)
VAPA requires agencies to file a NOIRA as the first formal step, notifying the public and the Registrar of Regulations of their regulatory intentions.
Question 5: If a final Virginia regulation differs substantially from its proposed version, the agency must:
- Obtain approval from the Governor before publication in the Virginia Register
- Re-propose the regulation and allow a new 60-day public comment period (Correct answer)
- Notify all affected parties individually and allow 30 days for objections
- Submit the differences to the General Assembly for review and approval
Correct answer: Re-propose the regulation and allow a new 60-day public comment period
A substantially different final rule must be re-proposed so the public can comment on the regulation as it will actually be adopted.
Question 6: Virginia's small business impact review requirement under VAPA obligates agencies to:
- Exempt small businesses from civil penalties for first-time regulatory violations
- Periodically evaluate whether regulations should be continued, amended, or repealed based on their impact on small businesses (Correct answer)
- Create separate reduced regulatory requirements for businesses with fewer than 25 employees
- Obtain pre-approval from the Small Business Advisory Board before adopting any new regulation
Correct answer: Periodically evaluate whether regulations should be continued, amended, or repealed based on their impact on small businesses
VAPA mandates periodic small business impact reviews to assess ongoing regulatory burden and determine whether rules should be continued, changed, or repealed.
Question 7: The Virginia Code of Regulations (VCR) differs from the Virginia Register of Regulations in that the VCR is:
- Published weekly to capture all emergency regulatory changes
- The permanent codified compilation of all currently effective Virginia regulations (Correct answer)
- The repository for proposed regulations awaiting final adoption
- A legislative publication requiring General Assembly approval for each entry
Correct answer: The permanent codified compilation of all currently effective Virginia regulations
The VCR is the organized, permanent codification of currently effective Virginia regulations, while the Virginia Register is the periodic publication documenting regulatory actions as they occur.
VA Bar Administrative Law 2
Under VAPA, what is the minimum public comment period required after a proposed regulation is published in the Virginia Register?