The Governor of VA said earlier this year that no new local UNFUNDED MANDATES would be allowed to occur & even set up a Task Force to look at any & all new laws & regulations that might impose hardships on the citizens of this Commonwealth.  Apparently they missed this pile of regulations while checking the documents.  This document has many, but the one major item that will cause financial hardhsip to voluteer & career EMS providers & educators (current Instructors & ALS Coordinators) is this section, 12VAC5-31-1552.  Dear Government-Please do not enact any more laws or regulations that I must pay for out of my own money.  Having to attend this newly required 12 hours of instructor specific education every 2 years is not only excessive, but it is very expensive.  As a volunteer, I would be required to take time off from my regular job in order to enroll in a college or trade school to obtain these classes.  This is too much and will cost much more than my budget will allow.  Is there fully funded grant money to support all people that will be required to do this 100%?  If not, I say remove this very burdensome requirement.  It is a waste & there is no proof it will make better EMS instructor/educators for VA.  Instead of making us take college classes, why not make the current Instructor Updates that we must already attend worthwhile & not just have staff that ramble on about their budgets, more tests they are creating & their woes.  Make the updates useful, everyone dislikes them now.  Does everyone realize the impact of what this new regulation will do?  You will cause instructors to quit, let their instructor cards lapse & local volunteer & career departments will all have to cancel & give up department, in-house CE programs.  We will all end up going to a college just to remain certified as field providers, all the time, back to college, over & over again.  Does anyone even care?  You are once again pushing away a system that has worked well for so many years.  Why?  Another point I would like to make is why is it going to be a new requirement that these instructors should have to take a test every 2 years to recertify?  Who else is doing this? Law enforcement instructors? Nope.  Fire Instructors under Dept of Fire Programs? Nope. Doctors? Nope. Nurses? Nope. Respiratory therapist instructors? Nope.  Pharmacists? Nope.  No one else.  Why EMS educators?  Get rid of the new requirements found in 12VAC5-31-1552 right away before we lose the instructors (few) we have now in Virginia.