Vermont Statutes Title 3 Sec. 835
Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 3 Sec. 835
- Agency: means a State board, commission, department, agency, or other entity or officer of State government, other than the Legislature, the courts, the Commander in Chief, and the Military Department, authorized by law to make rules or to determine contested cases. See
- Guidance document: means a written record that has not been adopted in accordance with sections 836-844 of this title and that is issued by an agency to assist the public by providing an agency's current approach to or interpretation of law or describing how and when an agency will exercise discretionary functions. See
- Index: means a searchable list of entries that contains subjects and titles with page numbers, hyperlinks, or other connections that link each entry to the text or document to which it refers. See
- Party: means each person or agency named or admitted as a party, or properly seeking and entitled as of right to be admitted as a party. See
- Procedure: means a practice that has been adopted in writing, either at the election of the agency or as the result of a request under subsection 831(b) of this title. See
- Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
§ 835. Procedures and guidance documents
(a) Procedures and guidance documents shall be maintained by the agency in an official current compilation that includes an index. Each addition, change, or deletion to the official compilation shall also be dated, indexed, and recorded. The agency shall publish the compilation and index on its Internet website and make all procedures and guidance documents available to the public. On or after January 1, 2024, an agency shall not rely on a procedure or guidance document or cite it against any party to a proceeding, unless the procedure or guidance document is included in a compilation maintained and published in accordance with this subsection.
(b) A procedure or guidance document shall not have the force of law. However, this subsection shall not apply to a procedure if a statute that specifically enables the procedure states that it has the force of law. This subsection is not intended to affect whether a court or quasi-judicial body gives deference to a procedure or guidance document issued by an agency whose action is before the court or body. (Added 1981, No. 82, § 6; amended 2017, No. 156 (Adj. Sess.), § 2.)