Bill Summary
This legislation establishes a comprehensive regulatory reform framework by requiring each agency to designate a Regulatory Reform Officer (RRO) and establish a Regulatory Reform Task Force. These officers and task forces are responsible for identifying and prioritizing regulations for repeal, replacement, or modification and seeking input from stakeholders. The legislation also includes provisions for transparency and accountability, as well as requirements for a unified regulatory agenda, annual regulatory plan, and a Federal regulatory budget. The Director also has the authority to issue waivers for certain requirements outlined in the legislation for agencies that generally issue few or no rules.
Possible Impacts
1. Individuals and organizations who are affected by regulations will have the opportunity to provide input and make recommendations to the Regulatory Reform Officers and Task Forces, increasing transparency and accountability in the process.
2. Agencies will be required to incorporate performance indicators measuring progress in implementing the legislation, which will lead to more efficient and effective regulatory reform initiatives.
3. Agencies with minimal rule-making activity will have the option to request a waiver from certain requirements, providing flexibility in the implementation of the legislation.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3860 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3860
To provide for a method by which the economic costs of significant
regulatory actions may be offset by the repeal of other regulatory
actions, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 1, 2020
Mrs. Loeffler introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for a method by which the economic costs of significant
regulatory actions may be offset by the repeal of other regulatory
actions, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Lessening
Regulatory Costs and Establishing a Federal Regulatory Budget Act of
2020''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Sense of Congress; purpose.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. Establishing regulatory reform capacity.
Sec. 5. Accountability.
Sec. 6. Regulatory planning and budget.
Sec. 7. Waiver.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS; PURPOSE.
(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the Federal Government should be prudent and
financially responsible in the expenditure of funds, from both
public and private sources; and
(2) in addition to the management of the direct expenditure
of taxpayer dollars through the budgeting process, it is
essential to manage the costs associated with the governmental
imposition of private expenditures required to comply with
Federal regulations.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is--
(1) to remove unnecessary or outdated regulations when a
new significant regulation is issued; and
(2) to prudently manage and control the cost of planned
regulations through an annual budgeting process.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Agency.--The term ``agency'' has the meaning given the
term in section 551 of title 5, United States Code.
(2) Agency rro.--The term ``agency RRO'' means the employee
or officer of an agency designated as the Regulatory Reform
Officer under section 4(a)(1).
(3) Costs.--The term ``costs'' means opportunity cost to
society.
(4) Cost savings.--The term ``cost savings'' means the cost
imposed by a regulatory action that is eliminated by the
repeal, replacement, or modification of such regulatory action.
(5) Deregulatory action.--The term ``deregulatory action''
means the repeal, replacement, or modification of an existing
regulatory action.
(6) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of
the Office of Management and Budget.
(7) Incremental regulatory cost.--The term ``incremental
regulatory cost'' means the difference between the estimated
cost of issuing a significant regulatory action and the
estimated cost saved by issuing any deregulatory action.
(8) Regulation; rule.--The term ``regulation'' or ``rule''
has the meaning given the term ``rule'' in section 551 of title
5, United States Code.
(9) Regulatory action.--The term ``regulatory action''
means--
(A) any regulation; and
(B) any other regulatory guidance, statement of
policy, information collection request, form, or
reporting, recordkeeping, or disclosure requirement
that imposes a burden on the public or governs agency
operations.
(10) Significant regulatory action.--The term ``significant
regulatory action'' means any regulatory action, other than
monetary policy proposed or implemented by the Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve System or the Federal Open
Market Committee, that is likely to--
(A) have an annual effect on the economy of
$100,000,000 or more or adversely affect in a material
way the economy, a sector of the economy, productivity,
competition, jobs, the environment, public health or
safety, or State, local, or Tribal governments or
communities;
(B) create a serious inconsistency or otherwise
interfere with an action taken or planned by another
agency;
(C) materially alter the budgetary impact of
entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan programs or
the rights and obligations of recipients thereof; or
(D) raise a novel legal or policy issue.
(11) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several
States, the District of Columbia, and each territory or
possession of the United States.
(12) Task force.--The term ``Task Force'' means a
regulatory reform task force established under section 4(b)(1).
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHING REGULATORY REFORM CAPACITY.
(a) Regulatory Reform Officers.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in section 7, not later
than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the head
of each agency shall designate an employee or officer of the
agency as the Regulatory Reform Officer.
(2) Duties.--In accordance with applicable law and in
consultation with relevant senior agency officials, each agency
RRO shall oversee--
(A) the implementation of regulatory reform
initiatives and policies for the agency to ensure that
the agency effectively carries out regulatory reforms;
and
(B) the termination of programs and activities that
derive from or implement statutes, Executive orders,
guidance documents, policy memoranda, rule
interpretations, and similar documents, or relevant
portions thereof, that have been repealed or rescinded.
(b) Regulatory Reform Task Forces.--
(1) Establishment of agency task force; membership.--Except
as provided in section 7, not later than 60 days after the date
of enactment of this Act, the head of each agency shall appoint
and may remove members to the regulatory reform task force of
the agency, which shall be composed of the following members:
(A) The agency RRO.
(B) A senior agency official from each relevant
component or office of the agency with significant
authority for issuing or repealing regulatory actions.
(C) Additional senior agency officials involved in
the development of rulemaking or other regulatory
action at the agency, as determined by the head of the
agency.
(2) Chair.--Unless otherwise designated by the head of the
agency, the agency RRO shall chair the Task Force of the
agency.
(3) Joint task forces.--
(A) In general.--For the consideration of a joint
rulemaking, the Director may form a joint regulatory
reform task force composed of not fewer than 1 member
from the Task Force of each relevant agency.
(B) Consultation.--Any joint regulatory reform task
force formed under this paragraph shall consult with
each relevant Task Force.
(4) Duties.--Each Task Force shall--
(A) conduct ongoing evaluations of regulations and
other regulatory actions and make recommendations that
are consistent with and that could be implemented in
accordance with applicable law to the head of the
agency regarding repeal, replacement, or modification
of regulations and regulatory actions; and
(B) to the extent practicable--
(i) not later than 5 years after the date
of enactment of this Act, complete a review of
each regulation issued by the agency;
(ii) for each regulation or regulatory
action reviewed and identified for repeal,
replacement, or modification, estimate the cost
savings of such repeal, replacement, or
modification, as applicable; and
(iii) identify regulations that are
appropriate for repeal, replacement, or
modification, and prioritize the evaluation of
regulations that--
(I) eliminate or have eliminated
jobs or inhibit or have inhibited job
creation;
(II) are outdated, unnecessary, or
ineffective;
(III) impose costs that exceed
benefits;
(IV) create a serious inconsistency
or otherwise interfere with regulatory
reform initiatives and policies;
(V) were issued or are maintained
in a manner that is inconsistent with
the requirements of section 515 of the
Treasury and General Government
Appropriations Act, 2001 (Public Law
106-554; 44 U.S.C. 3516 note), or the
guidance issued pursuant to that
section, including any rule that relies
in whole or in part on data,
information, or methods that are not
publicly available or that are
insufficiently transparent to meet the
standard for reproducibility; or
(VI) were made pursuant to or to
implement statutes, Executive orders,
or other Presidential directives that
have been subsequently rescinded or
substantially modified.
(c) Consultation With Stakeholders.--In performing the tasks under
this section, each agency RRO and Task Force--
(1) shall seek input and other assistance from the public
and from entities significantly affected by regulations,
including State, local, and Tribal governments, small
businesses, consumers, non-governmental organizations, and
trade associations; and
(2) may--
(A) incorporate specific suggestions from
stakeholders in identifying the list of deregulatory
actions to recommend to the head of the agency; and
(B) accept or solicit input from the public in any
manner, if--
(i) the process is transparent to the
public and Congress;
(ii) a list of each meeting, a list of each
stakeholder that submitted a comment, and a
copy of each written comment are made publicly
available online; and
(iii) the Task Force issues a public notice
of any public meeting to solicit input not less
than 7 days before the public meeting and makes
detailed minutes of the meeting available
online not less than 7 days after the date of
the meeting.
(d) Transparent Regulatory Reform.--
(1) Website.--To the extent practicable, the head of each
agency shall publish information about the Task Force of the
agency and other regulatory reform initiatives on the website
of the agency--
(A) which shall include--
(i) a list of the members of the Task Force
of the agency;
(ii) a copy of each report issued under
this subsection; and
(iii) a link to or copy of each notice of a
meeting or solicitation of public comments
issued by the Task Force of the agency; and
(B) which may include--
(i) an online forum to receive comments
from the public; and
(ii) any other information about the Task
Force or other regulatory reform initiatives at
the agency.
(2) Report.--Not less than twice a year, each agency RRO
shall submit to the head of the agency a report on the
activities performed under this section and any recommendations
resulting from such activities (which shall be posted by the
head of the agency on a publicly accessible website), and shall
include the following:
(A) A description of any improvement made toward
implementation of regulatory reform initiatives and
policies.
(B) For each regulation or other regulatory action
reviewed by the Task Force, a detailed description of
the review.
(C) An inventory of each regulation or regulatory
action the Task Force recommends the agency consider
for repeal, replacement, or modification.
(D) A list of all activities conducted under
subsection (c), a summary of all comments received, and
a hyperlink to copies of each public comment received.
SEC. 5. ACCOUNTABILITY.
(a) Incorporation in Performance Plans.--
(1) In general.--Each agency listed in section 901(b)(1) of
title 31, United States Code, shall incorporate in the annual
performance plan of the agency required under section 1115(b)
of title 31, United States Code, performance indicators that
measure progress implementing this Act.
(2) OMB guidance.--The Director shall issue, and update as
necessary, guidance regarding the implementation of this
subsection.
(b) Performance Assessment.--The head of each agency shall consider
the progress implementing this Act in assessing the performance of the
Task Force of the agency and those individuals responsible for
developing and issuing agency rules.
SEC. 6. REGULATORY PLANNING AND BUDGET.
(a) Unified Agenda and Annual Regulatory Plan.--
(1) Unified regulatory agenda.--During the months of April
and October of each year, the Director shall publish a unified
regulatory agenda, which shall include--
(A) regulatory and deregulatory actions under
development or review at agencies;
(B) a Federal regulatory plan of all significant
regulatory actions and associated deregulatory actions
that agencies reasonably expect to issue in proposed or
final form in the fiscal year in which the unified
regulatory agenda is published and the following fiscal
year; and
(C) all information required to be included in the
regulatory flexibility agenda under section 602 of
title 5, United States Code.
(2) Agency submissions.--In accordance with guidance issued
by the Director and not less than 60 days before each date of
publication for the unified regulatory agenda under paragraph
(1), the head of each agency shall submit to the Director an
agenda of all regulatory actions and deregulatory actions under
development at the agency, including the following:
(A) For each regulatory action and deregulatory
action:
(i) A regulation identifier number.
(ii) A brief summary of the action.
(iii) The legal authority for the action.
(iv) Any legal deadline for the action.
(v) The name and contact information for a
knowledgeable agency official.
(vi) Any other information as required by
the Director.
(B) An annual regulatory plan, which shall include
a list of each significant regulatory action the agency
reasonably expects to issue in proposed or final form
in the fiscal year in which the unified regulatory
agenda is published and the following fiscal year,
including for each significant regulatory action:
(i) A summary, including the following:
(I) A statement of the regulatory
objectives.
(II) The legal authority for the
action.
(III) A statement of the need for
the action.
(IV) The agency's schedule for the
action.
(ii) The estimated cost.
(iii) The estimated benefits.
(iv) Any deregulatory action identified to
offset the estimated cost of the significant
regulatory action and an explanation of how the
agency will continue to achieve regulatory
objectives if the deregulatory action is taken.
(v) A best approximation of the total cost
or savings and any cost or savings associated
with a deregulatory action.
(vi) An estimate of the economic effects,
including any estimate of the net effect that
such action will have on the number of jobs in
the United States, that was considered in
drafting the action, or, if such estimate is
not available, a statement affirming that no
information on the economic effects, including
the effect on the number of jobs, of the action
has been considered.
(C) Information required under section 602 of title
5, United States Code.
(D) Information required under any other law to be
reported by agencies about significant regulatory
actions, as determined by the Director.
(b) Federal Regulatory Budget.--
(1) Establishment.--
(A) In general.--In the April unified regulatory
agenda described in subsection (a), the Director shall
establish the annual Federal Regulatory Budget, which
specifies the net amount of incremental regulatory
costs allowed by the Federal Government and at each
agency for the next fiscal year.
(B) Regulatory cost allowance.--The Director may
set the incremental regulatory cost allowance described
in paragraph (1) to allow an increase, prohibit an
increase, or require a decrease of incremental
regulatory costs.
(2) Default net incremental regulatory cost.--If the
Director does not set a net amount of incremental regulatory
costs allowed for an agency, the net incremental regulatory
cost allowed shall be zero.
(3) Balance rollover of incremental regulatory cost
allowance.--
(A) In general.--If an agency does not exhaust all
of the incremental regulatory cost allowance for a
fiscal year, the balance may be added to the
incremental regulatory cost allowance for the
subsequent fiscal year, without increasing the
incremental regulatory costs allowed for the Federal
Government for the subsequent fiscal year.
(B) Identification.--The Director shall identify
the total carryover incremental regulatory cost
allowance available to an agency in the Federal
Regulatory Budget.
(c) Significant Regulatory Action Requirements.--Except as
otherwise required by law, a significant regulatory action shall have
no effect unless--
(1) the--
(A) head of the agency identifies not less than 2
deregulatory actions to offset the costs of the
significant regulatory action, and to the extent
feasible, issues those deregulatory actions before or
on the same schedule as the significant regulatory
action;
(B) incremental costs of the significant regulatory
action as offset by any deregulatory action issued
before or on the same schedule as the significant
regulatory action do not cause the agency to exceed or
contribute to the agency exceeding the incremental
regulatory cost allowance of the agency for that fiscal
year; and
(C) significant regulatory action was included on
the most recent version or update of the published
unified regulatory agenda; or
(2) the issuance of the significant regulatory action was
approved in advance in writing by the Director and the written
approval is publicly available online before the issuance of
the significant regulatory action.
(d) Guidance by OMB.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Director shall establish and
issue guidance on how agencies should comply with the
requirements of this section, which shall include--
(A) a process for standardizing the measurement and
estimation of regulatory costs, including cost savings
associated with deregulatory actions;
(B) standards for determining what qualifies as a
deregulatory action;
(C) standards for determining the costs of existing
regulatory actions that are considered for repeal,
replacement, or modification;
(D) a process for accounting for costs in different
fiscal years;
(E) methods to oversee the issuance of significant
regulatory actions offset by cost savings achieved at
different times or by different agencies;
(F) emergencies and other circumstances that may
justify individual waivers of the requirements of this
section; and
(G) standards by which the Director will determine
whether a regulatory action or a collection of
regulatory actions qualifies as a significant
regulatory action.
(2) Updates to guidance.--The Director shall update the
guidance issued pursuant to paragraph (1) as necessary.
SEC. 7. WAIVER.
(a) Waiver Authority.--Upon the written request of the head of an
agency, the Director may issue a written waiver of the requirements of
section 4 if the Director determines that the agency generally issues
very few or no rules.
(b) Revocation of Waiver.--The Director may revoke at any time a
waiver issued under this section.
(c) Public Availability of Waivers.--The Director shall maintain a
publicly available list of each agency that is operating under a waiver
issued under this section.
(d) Requirement for Waiver.--A waiver under this section shall not
be effective unless the written waiver and the written request of the
agency are publicly available on the website of the Office of
Management and Budget.
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