On Feb. 6, a broad coalition of industry groups led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce delivered a letter to Senate leadership urging passage of the Regulatory Accountability Act of 2017 (RAA – H.R. 5). ARSA joined the effort supporting the legislation to improve the federal rulemaking process.
With regulatory reform high on the agenda for the Republican Congress, regulated entities in every industry are pushing hard to push lawmakers to reestablish their oversight of the executive branch. The RAA, introduced by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and already passed by the House, revises federal rulemaking procedures under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) to require agencies to make evidence-based determinations and more-deeply consider the impact of rules on regulated entities. Similar bills have been introduced in each of the last two Congresses, but had little-to-no chance of becoming law.
“Now is the time for Congress to reclaim its constitutional legislative authority by ensuring agencies implement congressional intent, not the intent of the agency,” the letter said. “With both the new presidential administration and the U.S. House of Representatives agreeing on the urgent need for regulatory reform, the Senate is presented with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to pass much-needed modernization of the [APA], whose rulemaking provisions have remained virtually unchanged since it was enacted in 1946.”
ARSA will continue to support efforts to reform the rulemaking process. In the meantime, repair stations should ensure they are informed by:
(1) Reading the full Feb. 6 letter (click here).
(2) Reviewing the summaries of the RAA (click here).
(3) Check out the association’s training resources on rulemaking (click here) and regulatory reform (click here).
June 11, 2013
In June 4 letters to members of the House and Senate, ARSA joined the business community in urging lawmakers to pass the Regulatory Accountability Act of 2013 (H.R. 2122; S. 1029). Introduced by Rep. Goodlatte, R-Va., and Sen. Portman, R-Ohio, the bipartisan legislation aims to reform the current federal rulemaking process, lower costs, and improve the quality of new regulations.
The Regulatory Accountability Act would increase transparency and ensure the public has a greater role in the rulemaking process. The legislation would build well-recognized best practices for regulatory analysis into each step of the rulemaking process and require agencies to adopt the “least costly” regulatory alternative that would achieve the policy goals set out by Congress.
Those affected by high-impacting rules (regulations priced at $1 billion per year to implement) would have access to an administrative hearing to test the accuracy of the evidence and assumptions underlying the agency’s proposal. Additionally, courts would apply substantial evidence review to high-impact rules to ensure an agency’s justifications are supported by reasonable evidence.
A similar bill passed the House last Congress but died in the Senate.
Stay tuned for more on Congressional efforts to reform the regulatory system.
