Modernizing Regulatory Review

Overview

The Presidential Memorandum of January 20, 2021 (Modernizing Regulatory Review) directs the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to improve and modernize regulatory review. As stated in the Memorandum, this includes modernizing the regulatory review process, enhancing public participation, and improving regulatory analysis. With respect to the regulatory review process, the Memorandum directs OMB to “promote the efficiency, transparency, and inclusiveness of” the process. With respect to public participation, the Memorandum directs OMB to ensure that regulatory efforts are “informed by public engagement with relevant stakeholders.” And with respect to regulatory analysis, the Memorandum directs OMB to ensure that such analysis “promotes policies that reflect new developments in scientific and economic understanding,” “fully accounts for regulatory benefits that are difficult or impossible to quantify,” and takes “into account the distributional consequences of regulations” in order “to ensure that regulatory initiatives appropriately benefit and do not inappropriately burden disadvantaged, vulnerable, or marginalized communities.” More information about OIRA’s efforts to fulfill these directives is located below.

• Modernizing Regulatory Review Presidential Memorandum
• Strengthening Our Regulatory System –  Administrator Revesz

Executive Order: Modernizing Regulatory Review

The regulatory review process is governed by Executive Order 12866 of September 30, 1993 (Regulatory Planning and Review), as affirmed and expanded upon by Executive Order 13563 of January 18, 2011 (Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review). The Executive Order of April 6, 2023 (Modernizing Regulatory Review) takes new steps to enhance the effectiveness of regulatory review, improve public participation in the regulatory process, and increase the transparency and inclusiveness of OIRA’s engagement with the public.

• Modernizing Regulatory Review Executive Order
• Memorandum on Implementation of Modernizing Regulatory Review Executive Order
• Draft Guidance Implementing Section 2(e) of Modernizing Regulatory Review Executive Order (OIRA is soliciting public comment on this draft guidance from April 7, 2023 through June 6, 2023)
• Public Listening Session on 12866 Meetings, Implementing Section 2(e) of Modernizing Regulatory Review Executive Order, May 4^th 1:30-5 PM ET

OMB Circular No. A-4

Regulatory analysis is a critical input that helps to ensure that regulatory policies are crafted to improve people’s lives. OIRA is working to provide agencies with additional tools to make their analysis even stronger by reflecting new developments in scientific and economic understanding, more robustly accounting for regulatory effects that are difficult or impossible to quantify, and helping agencies take the distributional consequences of regulations into account when selecting among potential regulatory alternatives. OIRA has released proposed revisions to Circular A-4 and will be accepting public comment on those proposed revisions. The preamble to the proposed revisions provides further information as to the nature of the proposed changes and identifies issues for which public comment may be particularly useful. OIRA is also accepting recommendations for potential peer reviewers of the proposed revisions.

• Proposed Circular A-4 (OIRA is soliciting public comment on the proposed revisions to Circular A-4 from April 7, 2023 through June 20, 2023)
• Preamble: Proposed Circular A-4
• Request for Nominations of Experts to Peer-Review Proposed Circular A-4 (OIRA is requesting public nominations from April 7, 2023 through April 28, 2023)