Category: Blog
AG’s opinion: Regulating guns at Virginia public universities
Virginia’s Attorney General recently issued an opinion that universities can prohibit the open carry of firearms inside university buildings by policy; however, must promulgate a regulation to apply such prohibition to concealed handgun permit holders.
Summary of opinion:
Under the present state of the law, the University of Virginia lawfully may promulgate a policy that prohibits persons from openly carrying a firearm in the buildings that are subject to the policy. Further, with respect to persons who have a concealed carry permit, because the University adopted a policy rather than a regulation, it has not “otherwise prohibited by law” persons with a concealed carry permit from possessing a handgun, and, therefore, the policies may not be used to prohibit persons with such a permit from carrying a concealed firearm into the buildings covered by the policy.
http://oag.state.va.us/Opinions%20and%20Legal%20Resources/Opinions/2011opns/11-078-Hanger.pdf
ULC Approves the Uniform Electronic Legal Materials Act (UELMA)
On 7/18/2011, the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) distributed an e-mail indicating that the Uniform Electronic Legal Materials Act was “approved during the Vote by States of the 2011 ULC Annual Meeting. Please note that the text is still subject to revision by the Committee on Style, which is scheduled to meet in September.”
In a press release posted on its web site, ULC describes the new uniform law:
A new act approved [July 12, 2011] by a national law group establishes an outcomes-based, technology-neutral framework for providing online legal material with the same level of trustworthiness traditionally provided by publication in a law book. The Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act was approved today by the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) at its 120th Annual Meeting in Vail, Colorado.
Increasingly, state governments are publishing laws, statutes, agency rules, and court rules and decisions online. In some states, important state-level legal material is no longer published in books, but is only available online. While electronic publication of legal material has facilitated public access to the material, it has also raised concerns. Is the legal material official, authentic, government data that has not been altered? For the long term, how will this electronic legal material be preserved? How will the public access the material 10, 50, or 100 years from now? The Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act provides a consistent approach to solving these problems.
The drafting committee’s web page is available at http://www.uniformlaws.org/Committee.aspx?title=Electronic%20Legal%20Material%20Act . As of 7/18/2011, the approved uniform act has not been posted.
UPDATE: 7/19/2011 — The approved, pre-style final text is available online at http://www.uniformlaws.org/Shared/Docs/AM2011_Prestyle%20Finals/UELMA_PreStyleFinal_Jul11.pdf .
2011 ACR Summer Conference Agenda
The ACR Summer Conference will be held at the Resort at Glade Springs in Daniels, WV from July 10 through July 13, 2011. A copy of the tentative agenda is available.
2011 Colborn Award — Nominations Now Being Accepted
The Administrative Codes and Registers’ Awards Committee is taking nominations for the 2011 Colborn Award. This year, the committee consists of Molly Masich (NC; chair), Elizabeth Palen (VA) and John Martinez (NM). The Colborn Award is presented annually by ACR to recognize a program that demonstrates innovation and creativity in providing public access to, or management of, administrative rules.
The nominations packet and form with complete instructions has been posted on the Colborn Award page available at: http://www.administrativerules.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=93&Itemid=56 .
The deadline for submitting nominations is Friday, June 10, 2011.
Register for the NASS 2011 Summer Conference in Daniels, WV
Registration is now open for the NASS 2011 Summer Conference from July 10-13, 2011 in Daniels, West Virginia at the Resort at Glade Springs. Click here for conference information and to register online! To make room reservations call 877-540-3650 (Mon.- Sat.) and mention NASS. The NASS room rate is $159 per night. Deadline for the NASS early conference rate for registration and hotel reservations is Thursday, June 2, 2011.
Visit the registration website for summer conference details, including agenda, hotel information, family/spouse activities, exhibitor info and more! Check the website often for agenda updates.
When making transportation plans, we encourage you to either drive or fly to Yeager Airport (CRW) in Charleston, WV. Yeager is serviced by most major airlines and has a non-stop service from Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Detroit, Washington DC, New York and several other cities. We will be offering limited shuttle service from Yeager Airport to Glade Springs and are negotiating a discounted car rental rate.
Legislative review may be up to voters
A bill pending in Texas requires agencies to wait before adopting rules until the appropriate standing committee of each house reviews the rules. Under present law the legislature is limited to sending agencies a statement supporting or opposing adoption of a rule. The new legislative review authority, if adopted by the legislature, is contingent upon voters approving a constitutional amendment to provide for legislative review of rules.
H.J.R. 88
http://capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/82R/billtext/html/HJ00088I.htm
HB 1850
http://capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/82R/billtext/html/HB01850I.htm
Utah Governor Charges Cabinet to Review Regulations
On January 26, 2011, in his State of the State address, Utah Governor Gary R. Herbert said that “most important ways government can nurture a business-friendly environment” is to “make regulation fair”. Then, taking a measured approach, Governor Herbert said:
I understand that the purpose of government regulation is to maintain a level playing field. As a small business owner, I have also experienced the cost and frustration of over-reaching and irrational regulation. In order to separate regulations that serve an important purpose, from those regulations that serve no purpose at all, I have asked each member of my Cabinet to review existing business regulations and determine which could be kept, which should be modified, and which will be eliminated.
Governor Herbert’s state of the state address is available at http://www.utah.gov/governor/news_media/article.html?article=4169. As more information becomes available about the implementation of this Cabinet-level review of regulation, it will be posted here.
SB 1339 – relating to administrative rules
“Any agency final rule that has an impact on the private sector in this state is repealed from and after December 31, 2012”
See bill: http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/legtext/50leg/1r/bills/sb1339p.htm
(Posted Jan. 28, 2011)
SB 1339 (Administrative rules; repeal; legislative action) – SB 1339 Failed in the Senate third read March 14, 2011, with a 11-17-2 vote.
(Updated March 15, 2011)
Executive Order 13563 Published in January 21, 2011, Federal Register
On January 18, we reported that President Obama had issued an executive order “Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review”. Executive order 13563 was published in the January 21, 2011, edition of the Federal Register (76 FR 3821-3823).