VAC Quick Style Sheet

The Regulation Information System and the online Virginia Administrative Code use the Microsoft Word styles feature to provide a consistent format to regulations and to implement the daily update of the online VAC.

A style is a set of formatting characteristics that you can apply to text and tables in a document to quickly change its appearance. When you apply a paragraph style, you apply a whole group of characteristics, such as font, size of text, text alignment, and line spacing, in one simple task.

Here is an example of styles for use in RIS and the Virginia Administrative Code:

center	CHAPTER 31 VIRGINIA EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES REGULATIONS
part	Part II EMS Agency, EMS Vehicle and EMS Personnel Standards
article	Article 4 EMS Personnel Requirements and Standard of Conduct
vacno	12VAC5-31-1270. Neonatal transport requirements.
sectind	A. Neonatal transports require a neonatal ambulance. If a ground ambulance is utilized to perform an interfacility neonatal transport, the vehicle must be equipped with the additional items listed in 12VAC5-31-860 D, L and M and staffed in compliance with this section.
sectind	B. A minimum of three persons is required:
sectbi	1. An operator who at a minimum possesses a valid motor vehicle operator's permit issued by Virginia or another state, and who has successfully completed an approved emergency vehicle operator's course (EVOC) training course or an equivalent approved by the Office of EMS.
sectbi	2. An attendant-in-charge who must be one of the following:
sectbi2	a. Physician;
sectbi2	b. Registered nurse or physician's assistant, licensed for a minimum of two years, with specialized neonatal transport training; or
sectbi2	c. Other health care personnel with equivalent training or experience as approved by the Office of EMS.
sectbi	3. An attendant.
sectind	C. The operator, attendant-in-charge or attendant must be certified as an emergency medical technician or an equivalent approved by the Office of EMS.
auth	Statutory Authority
auth	§§ 32.1-12 and 32.1-111.4 of the Code of Virginia.
history	Historical Notes
history	Derived from Virginia Register Volume 19, Issue 3, eff. January 15, 2003.

Here's an example with strikes, underscores and brackets:

vacno	12VAC5-31-2960. Suspension of an award.
sectind	A. The [ Office of EMS commissioner ] may suspend an award and all disbursements of funds attached pending an investigation [ and following an informal fact-finding conference as defined in the Virginia Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq. of the Code of Virginia) ].
sectind	B. There shall exist reasonable cause for suspension prior to such action by the [ Office of EMS commissioner ]. Such cause shall include:
sectbi	1. Failure to comply with these regulations;
sectbi	2. Violation of the terms of any conditions or agreements attached to an award; or
sectbi	3. A reasonable belief by the [ Office of EMS commissioner ] that any such violations might otherwise continue unabated.
sectind	C. The Office of EMS shall notify the grantee of the suspension by certified mail to the last known address.
sectind	D. A suspension shall take effect immediately upon receipt of notification unless otherwise specified. A suspension shall remain in effect until reinstated or revoked by the [ Office of EMS commissioner ].

Notice that brackets are not underlined and there is a space before and after the brackets. The bracket macros on the RIS toolbar will create a "required" space after the opening bracket and before the closing bracket so that the bracket stays with the text rather than breaking to a new line.

Basic styles in section text of RIS and the Virginia Administrative Code:

Level	Style	type
	vacno	VAC number	18VAC90-60-80. Requirements for closing of a program.
1	sectind	section indent	A. subsection
2	sectbi	block indent	1. subdivision
3	sectbi2	block indent 2	a. subdivision
4	sectbi2	block indent 2	(1) subdivision
5	sectbi2	block indent 2	(a) subdivision

Notes when attaching styles:

When you use outline levels below the a., b., c. level, continue using the sectbi2 style. The Registrar's Office strongly suggests that you not go beyond five levels in outline organization. It is better to break information into additional sections or subsections.

Remember that if you have a section with only one subsection as shown in the following example, remove the subsection designation "A." but use the 1., 2., etc., as sectbi style.

vacno	18VAC90-60-80. Requirements for closing of a program.
sectind	When a medication aide training program closes, the program provider shall:
sectbi	1. Notify the board of the date of closing following completion of the last program for which students are already enrolled.
sectbi	2. Submit to the board a list of all persons who have completed the program with the date of completion of each.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (DIBR) and FORMS lists:

DIBR and FORMS lists use the textbl and sectind styles. Example of a FORMS list:

textbl	FORMS (18VAC90-60)
sectind	Application to Establish a Medication Aide Training Program (eff. 7/07).
sectind	Instructions for Filing Application for Registration by Examination for Medication Aides (eff. 7/07).

Tables:

For tables, the styles called tblleft (table left), tblctr (table center) and tblrt (table right) position text horizontally within a cell and are single spaced rather than double spaced as other styles in RIS and VAC. Text may be positioned vertically within cells by right clicking on text and choosing "Cell Alignment." Tables can be published with or without lines.

The Register staff is continuing to update tables in the VAC online. If you are amending a table in the old or new format, make adjustments to text using strikethroughs and underscores. If you have a particularly large or troublesome table to amend, please call the Register staff for help.

24VAC20-81-70. Maximum single axle and tandem axle weight allowed without an engineering review.

Maximum weight in pounds according to vehicle axle spacings allowed by permit without an engineering review from the Virginia Department of Transportation's Structures and Bridges Division for any single axle or tandem axle group.

Single Axle Weight:	24,000 pounds (or 850 pounds per inch, width of tire measured in contact with the surface of the road).
Tandem Axle Weight:	44,000 pounds.