Chapter 1 – General Administration

12010.4.3 Regulatory Tests

• The regulatory tests were established by the Office of Legal Affairs (OLAOffice of Legal Affairs) as a result of the court ruling noted in Section 12010.4.3 above.

• A rule, order, or standard of general application of the Department is considered a regulation if it meets one or more of the following tests:

  • Implements, interprets, or makes specific the provisions of statutes, case laws, or the regulations of other agencies.

  • Is a mandate that applies equally to all staff, volunteers, inmates, parolees, or members of the public in similar situations, e.g., classification rules, visiting rules, and conditions of parole.

  • Imposes a standard of required behavior with stated or implied consequences for noncompliance, e.g., inmate discipline and staff conduct.

  • Imposes requirements which must be met in order for staff, volunteers, inmates, parolees, or members of the public to qualify for any general entitlement or privilege available to them, e.g., family (overnight) visiting and canteen privileges.

  • Imposes criteria which govern staff decisions that affect an inmate’s conditions or length of confinement or a parolee’s terms or conditions of parole, e.g., security housing and credit earning and forfeiture.

  • Requires fair and timely staff response (due process), e.g., classification committees and review of inmate appeals.

  • Establishes entitlements (rights), e.g., inmates’ access to the courts and to religious programs.