Modernizing Retrospective Regulatory Review Act
Modernizing Retrospective Regulatory Review Act would require federal agencies to embrace a more systematic, technology-enabled approach to reviewing existing regulations after they have been issued. The bill pushes the government to make regulations available in machine-readable formats, provides guidance on using technology (including AI) to identify regulations that are obsolete, burdensome, or otherwise flawed, and requires each agency to draft and implement a formal plan for retrospective reviews. The goal is to improve efficiency, accuracy, and transparency in how regulations are re-evaluated over time, with specific timelines and oversight by Congress. Key components include a government-wide push to publish regulations in machine-readable form, guidance on using technology to conduct retrospective reviews, and mandatory agency plans and implementation timelines to carry out these reviews and any ex-post analyses.
Key Points
- 1Definitions and scope: Establishes key terms (e.g., machine-readable, retrospective review) and clarifies the roles of OMB’s Administrator (OIRA), the Administrative Committee of the Federal Register, the Director of the GPO, the Archivist, and the relevant congressional committees for oversight.
- 2Machine-readable regulation availability: Within 180 days of enactment, a report to Congress on how many regulations are available in machine-readable format and whether the eCFR (official CFR edition) is recognized as the official legal edition by the Administrative Committee of the Federal Register and other authorities.
- 3Guidance on using technology: Within 18 months, OMB’s Administrator must issue guidance to help agency heads use technology (including algorithmic tools and AI) to conduct retrospective reviews more efficiently and cost-effectively, and to train staff in using these technologies.
- 4Agency retrospective review plan: Within 2 years, each agency head must submit a plan detailing how they will implement the guidance, identify regulations that must or would benefit from post-issuance review, and include any additional information or ex-post analyses the agency deems necessary.
- 5Agency implementation timeline: Within 180 days after submitting the plan, each agency must implement the retrospective review strategy for its regulations, applying the guidance and identified review processes.