I have provided an extensive written comments in support of repealing the rules at 16VAC 25-220.  Please read them and respond to them.  The written comments describe only a few of the substantial substantive issues with these rules.  In addition, as discussed in the comments, the Safety and Health Codes Board (Board) should not maintain and should reject the Board's position that there is no further judicial review as long as the Board took a vote.  Further, I note that the Office of Attorney General's response to the questions posed in Governor Youngkin's Executive Order (EO) 6 fails to transparently engage in a discussion of the procedural problems.

The "Suspected" COVID and return to work provisions remain unworkable, vague and not supported by evidence. Prohibiting consideration of serologic tests is anti-science and illegal.  The rules do not have a rational approach to economic feasibility.

The Board should not have argued that a vote of the Board precludes further judicial review. The Board improperly argued that a vote taken before consideration of the proposed rules was dispositive.

OAG in it's response to EO6 has misstated the holdings of the Court of Appeals and has not addressed salient issues that EO6 effectively asks to consider.  DOLI staff lacks authority to propose a rule, but it was DOLI staff and not the Board that initially proposed the First Permanent Covid Rule. The proposed rule should have had an economic impact statement and regulatory flexibility analysis available for a 60-day comment period but the process did not provide for this.  The Board never evaluated the likely substantial negative impact of the proposed rule "Suspected" COVID and return to Work Restrictions where the Symptoms are not really COVID.  In 2020 and 2021, The Board, Governor Northam and Commissioner Oliver Failed to address the confusing overlaps between Executive Orders and the rules. The illegal mandates of Governor Northam under Executive Order 63 also undermine the validity of the rules.

The claims that these rules were useful is not supported.  They should certainly be repealed.