Regulatory Accountability Act
The Regulatory Accountability Act would overhaul federal rulemaking by expanding the role of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) and tightening requirements for how agencies propose, analyze, and finalize rules. The bill redefines terms (rulemaking, guidance, major rule, major guidance) and introduces explicit standards for when and how rules and guidance may be issued, including a strong emphasis on cost-benefit analysis, alternative options, public accessibility of information, and data quality. For major rules, agencies would face heightened requirements—such as advanced notices, more thorough analyses of costs and benefits, a 60– to 90-day public comment window, and a mandate to maximize net benefits—while also adding procedural safeguards around communications, timelines, and the posting of plain-language summaries. The act also creates new transparency and accountability mechanisms (dockets, public comments, and post-rule reporting) and includes provisions on good-cause exemptions, interim/final rule pathways, and a review framework to retire or modify rules retrospectively. Overall, the bill aims to make rulemaking more transparent, deliberative, and grounded in quantified and qualitative benefits, with greater OIRA oversight. Potential impacts include longer or more complex rulemaking processes, greater public access to information and data used to justify rules, and a tighter focus on net benefits. Agencies may face higher administrative burdens and longer timelines, especially for major rules, which could slow the adoption of new regulations but might also improve the quality and defensibility of rules in light of public and Congressional scrutiny.
Key Points
- 1Expanded terminology and definitions: The bill revises terms such as rulemaking (to “rulemaking”) and creates formal definitions for guidance, major guidance, major rule, and identifies the Administrator of the OIRA as a central figure.
- 2Enhanced rulemaking considerations and alternatives (section 553): Agencies must assess legal authority, problem significance, existing laws, and provide a reasonable set of alternatives (including performance-based, economic incentives, or disclosure-based approaches) beyond mandating specific conduct.
- 3Major rule and major guidance thresholds: Major rules are defined as likely to produce a $100 million or greater annual impact, or cause significant costs, effects on competition, or employment, among other criteria. Major guidance is similarly distinguished by potential significant effects or policy departures.
- 4Notice and comment enhancements: For proposed rules, agencies must submit notices to the Administrator for review before publication and provide extensive information in the NPRM, including a reasoned explanation of how the rule meets objectives and a discussion of alternatives and their impacts.
- 5Public accessibility and information quality: Dockets must contain all studies, data, and information relied upon, with accessibility mirrored in the Federal Register; nongovernmental information must be accessible through citation and reasonable requests, with exemptions for confidential or legally restricted material.
- 6Public comment procedures and timelines: Standard comment periods (60 days; 90 days for major rules) with enhanced procedures for major rules, including a post-comment period response window and mandatory posting of all comments and agency responses.
- 7Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) for major rules: Before moving forward with a major rule, agencies must issue an ANPR with a public invitation for alternatives and data, with a minimum 30-day comment window and a timetable that precedes NPRM publication by up to 90 days.
- 8Timetables and oversight: For major rulemaking, agencies must publish a timetable with intermediate milestones and final dates; failure to meet deadlines triggers reporting to Congress and the Director of the OMB, along with amended timetables.
- 9Net benefits requirement for final major rules: Agencies must select the rule or alternative that maximizes net benefits, unless the Administrator approves a different approach to account for unquantified costs/benefits or to achieve additional benefits or cost reductions, with justification required.
- 10Post-rule publication requirements: Final rules must include a concise explanatory basis, a reasoned discussion of significant issues raised, a plain-language summary (up to 100 words) posted publicly, and a justification showing that benefits justify costs.
- 11Good-cause and expedited procedures: The bill allows certain rules to bypass some procedures for good cause or via direct/ interim final rules, with specific processes and opportunities to comment or withdraw if adverse comments arise.
- 12Rulemaking guidelines: The Administrator would establish guidelines for identifying rule needs, assessing costs and benefits (including distributional impacts on jobs, rural populations, and low-income groups), and conducting risk assessments where relevant.
- 13Right to petition and retrospective review: Agencies must allow petitions for rule issuance or amendment and create ongoing opportunities for retrospective review and possible modification or repeal.
- 14Exemption for monetary policy: The act does not apply to monetary policy rules or guidance proposed or implemented by the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Open Market Committee.
- 15Transition and other limits: Certain transitional provisions apply around presidential administrations, and the act clarifies that it does not alter established title 17 intellectual property rights.