Chapter 1 – General Administration

12010.8 Policies – Department Operations Manual

• The DOMDepartment Operations Manual contains the operational and administrative policies and procedures of the Department that are intended to provide necessary instructions to staff and to establish the standard and consistent statewide application thereof.

• DOMDepartment Operations Manual policies do not have the force of law; instead, they derive their authority from statutes, court orders, or regulations (the Department’s own regulations or the governing regulations of another State agency). Under a narrowly-drawn exemption within the APAAdministrative Procedure Act, DOMDepartment Operations Manual policies pertaining to “internal management” do not need to derive authority from another source.

• The legal authorities that are the foundation of a DOMDepartment Operations Manual article are cited in the “References” section at the end of that article.