Overview
Title
To require agencies to publish an advance notice of proposed rule making for major rules.
ELI5 AI
The bill wants big government offices to tell people ahead of time before making big changes to rules, giving at least three months' notice, so everyone can share their ideas and thoughts, except for some special situations.
Summary AI
The bill, S. 77, known as the “Early Participation in Regulations Act of 2025,” requires federal agencies to publish an advance notice at least 90 days before proposing major new regulations. These notices must describe the problem being addressed, possible alternative solutions, and the legal authority for the rule, while also inviting public input for at least 30 days. Some exceptions exist, such as if following these rules is not in the public interest or if it involves routine matters. The decisions about exceptions made by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs cannot be challenged in court.
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AnalysisAI
General Summary of the Bill
The proposed legislation, titled the "Early Participation in Regulations Act of 2025," aims to enhance public participation in the rule-making process of federal agencies. It mandates that agencies publish an advance notice at least 90 days before proposing any major rule. A "major rule" is defined as one that is expected to have a significant impact on the economy, costs for consumers and industries, or various societal factors, including health and safety. This advance notice is intended to describe the issue at hand, potential regulatory options, and the legal authority under which the rule is proposed. Additionally, it seeks public feedback for a minimum of 30 days. However, the bill includes exceptions where compliance may not be necessary or feasible.
Summary of Significant Issues
One of the key issues with the bill is the broad and somewhat vague definition of what constitutes a "major rule." By including terms like significant effects on competition, employment, and other societal factors, the definition could be interpreted in various ways, leading to wide-ranging implications. Additionally, the bill grants significant discretion to the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) to exempt certain rules from the advance notice requirement or to determine that an advance notice wouldn’t serve the public interest. Such decisions are not subject to judicial review, which raises concerns about transparency and accountability.
Potential Impact on the Public
For the general public, the bill promises a greater opportunity to engage in the rule-making process. By encouraging early public participation, the bill could lead to more well-informed and balanced regulations that better reflect public needs and opinions. However, the broad definition of a "major rule" could potentially slow the regulatory process if a large number of rules are classified as major and subjected to this new process. This might affect the efficiency and timeliness with which necessary regulations are implemented, which could have varying impacts on societal issues such as public health and safety.
Impact on Specific Stakeholders
Regulatory Agencies: Agencies may face increased burdens due to the additional steps required to implement advance notices for major rules. This could strain resources and delay the introduction of necessary regulations, complicating the regulatory landscape.
Industries and Enterprises: On one hand, the early participation process could provide businesses with the opportunity to influence regulations that may affect them significantly, potentially leading to more favorable or balanced rules. On the other hand, it could create uncertainty and delay in the regulatory environment, impacting strategic planning and operations.
Public and Consumer Groups: They could benefit from increased transparency and the opportunity to influence regulations that can impact their daily lives, ensuring that rules consider public interest more comprehensively.
Accountability and Oversight Bodies: The provision exempting certain decisions from judicial review might hinder the ability of oversight bodies to hold regulatory administrators accountable, reducing checks and balances in the implementation of this bill.
In summary, while the bill's intention to enhance public participation in the rule-making process is commendable, the execution raises questions about clarity, oversight, and potential administrative burdens. The actual impact will depend significantly on how the bill is implemented and the extent to which its ambiguities are addressed.
Financial Assessment
The bill being discussed, titled the “Early Participation in Regulations Act of 2025,” involves several important financial references that merit closer examination, particularly in the context of how these financial elements relate to identified legislative issues.
Financial References in the Bill
The primary financial reference in the bill is the definition of a "major rule". According to Section 2(1)(C), a major rule is defined as one likely to impose an annual effect on the economy of $100,000,000 or more. This financial threshold is significant as it establishes a clear quantitative metric for determining which rules are considered major and therefore subject to the bill's provisions.
Relation to Legislative Issues
Broad Interpretation of 'Major Rule': The quantitative threshold of $100 million provides a clear guideline, but the bill also includes qualitative criteria such as significant effects on competition or innovation. This dual approach could lead to a broad interpretation of what constitutes a major rule, possibly encompassing a wide range of regulations beyond those with direct financial implications. Consequently, the financial threshold could inadvertently widen the scope of what is considered a major rule, potentially leading to regulatory overreach.
Accountability and Transparency: The bill grants the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs the authority to determine exceptions to advance notices, particularly if those notices would not serve the public interest. This authority is not subject to judicial review, a point of concern regarding transparency and oversight. The decisions about whether a rule clears the financial threshold of $100 million and is classified as a major rule should ideally include some form of accountability to prevent arbitrary exemptions.
Potential Regulatory Burden: By classifying rules with an economic impact of $100 million or more as major, the bill could lead to a significant number of rules falling under its purview. This classification could place substantial demands on agencies to conduct comprehensive analyses and seek public input, which might strain resources. The financial impact metric, while intended to prioritize economically significant rules, might inadvertently overwhelm the regulatory process with too many rules requiring advance notices.
In summary, while the bill sets a clear financial threshold for identifying major rules, the inclusion of broad qualitative criteria and the lack of judicial review over exceptions could lead to interpretive challenges and concerns over regulatory transparency. The substantial financial impact of $100 million ensures a focus on economically significant regulations, yet it also implies potential burdens on both agencies and stakeholders navigating the regulatory process.
Issues
The definition of 'major rule' as provided in Section 2 part 1(C) includes criteria that are not clearly defined for 'significant effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity, innovation, health, safety, the environment, or the ability of United States-based enterprises to compete with foreign-based enterprises'. This lack of clarity could lead to broad interpretations and potential regulatory overreach.
Section 2 contains provisions allowing the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs to make certain determinations not subject to judicial review (Section 2(4)(A)), potentially limiting oversight and accountability of what qualifies as exceptions to advance notice requirements, raising concerns about transparency.
The bill, in Section 2, grants discretion to the Administrator to exempt major rules from publishing an advance notice if it is deemed that doing so would not serve the public interest or would be duplicative (Section 2(3)(B)). However, the criteria for making such determinations are not clearly defined, which could lead to arbitrary decisions.
The definition of 'major rule' (Section 2(1)(C)) could potentially be too broad, resulting in a large number of rules being classified as major, which might impose excessive regulatory burdens on agencies and stakeholders.
Sections
Sections are presented as they are annotated in the original legislative text. Any missing headers, numbers, or non-consecutive order is due to the original text.
1. Short title Read Opens in new tab
Summary AI
The first section of the Act states that it will be officially called the "Early Participation in Regulations Act of 2025."
2. Advance notice of proposed rule making Read Opens in new tab
Summary AI
The section amends U.S. law to require federal agencies, in most cases, to publish an advance notice at least 90 days before proposing a major new rule, which is defined as having a significant impact on the economy or society. This advance notice must describe the issue being addressed, possible regulatory options, and the legal authority for the rule, and must invite public feedback for at least 30 days, although there are exceptions for routine rules or when compliance isn't feasible or necessary.
Money References
- Subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code, is amended— (1) in section 551— (A) in paragraph (13), by striking “and” at the end; (B) in paragraph (14), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and (C) by adding at the end the following: “(15) ‘major rule’ means any rule that the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs determines is likely to impose— “(A) an annual effect on the economy of $100,000,000 or more; “(B) a major increase in costs or prices for consumers, individual industries, Federal, State, local, or Tribal government agencies, or geographic regions; or “(C) significant effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity, innovation, health, safety, the environment, or the ability of United States-based enterprises to compete with foreign-based enterprises in domestic and export markets; and “(16) ‘Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs’ means the office established under section 3503 of title 44 and any successor to that office.”; and (2) in section 553, by adding at the end the following: “(f) Advance notice of proposed rule making for major rules.— “(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in paragraph (3), not later than 90 days before the date on which an agency publishes a notice of proposed rule making for a major rule in the Federal Register, the agency shall publish an advance notice of proposed rule making for the major rule in the Federal Register.