OIRA Insight, Reform, and Accountability Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1204 To amend title 44, United States Code, to require the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs to review regulations, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 13, 2019 Mr. MITCHELL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Oversight and Reform, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris- diction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend title 44, United States Code, to require the Ad- ministrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs to review regulations, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘OIRA Insight, Reform, 4 and Accountability Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Feb 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1204.IH H1204 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1204 IH SEC. 2. OFFICE OF INFORMATION AND REGULATORY AF- 1 FAIRS. 2 (a) AMENDMENT.—Subchapter I of chapter 35 of 3 title 44, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 4 end the following new sections: 5 ‘‘§ 3522. Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs 6 Regulatory Working Group; regulatory 7 plan; Unified Agenda 8 ‘‘(a) REGULATORY WORKING GROUP.— 9 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT; MEMBERS.—The Admin- 10 istrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory 11 Affairs shall convene a working group to be known 12 as the Regulatory Working Group, whose members 13 shall consist of the following: 14 ‘‘(A) The Administrator. 15 ‘‘(B) Representatives selected by the head 16 of each agency that the Administrator deter- 17 mines to have significant domestic regulatory 18 responsibility. 19 ‘‘(C) Other executive branch officials as 20 designated by the Administrator. 21 ‘‘(2) CHAIR.—The Chair of the Regulatory 22 Working Group shall be the Administrator, who 23 shall periodically advise Congress on the activities of 24 the Regulatory Working Group. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Feb 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1204.IH H1204 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1204 IH ‘‘(3) PURPOSE.—The Regulatory Working 1 Group shall serve as a forum to assist agencies in 2 identifying and analyzing important regulatory 3 issues, including, at a minimum— 4 ‘‘(A) the development of innovative regu- 5 latory techniques; 6 ‘‘(B) the methods, efficacy, and utility of 7 comparative risk assessment in regulatory deci- 8 sionmaking; 9 ‘‘(C) the development of streamlined regu- 10 latory approaches for small businesses and 11 other entities; and 12 ‘‘(D) the methods used to ensure agencies 13 coordinate with State, local, and Tribal govern- 14 ments. 15 ‘‘(4) MEETINGS.—The Regulatory Working 16 Group shall meet not less than quarterly and may 17 meet as a whole or in subgroups of members with 18 an interest in particular issues or subject areas. 19 ‘‘(5) ANALYTICAL STUDIES.—To inform the 20 discussion of the Regulatory Working Group, the 21 Regulatory Working Group may request analytical 22 studies and reports by the Office of Information and 23 Regulatory Affairs, the Administrative Conference of 24 the United States, or any other agency. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Feb 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1204.IH H1204 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1204 IH ‘‘(b) REGULATORY PLAN.— 1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 2 ‘‘(A) DEADLINE FOR AND DESCRIPTION OF 3 REGULATORY PLAN.—Not later than June 1 of 4 each year, the head of each agency shall ap- 5 prove and submit to the Administrator a regu- 6 latory plan that includes each significant regu- 7 latory action that the agency reasonably expects 8 to issue in proposed or final form in the fol- 9 lowing fiscal year or thereafter and the retro- 10 spective review described in paragraph (2). The 11 regulatory plan shall also contain, at a min- 12 imum, the following: 13 ‘‘(i) A statement of the regulatory ob- 14 jectives and priorities of the agency. 15 ‘‘(ii) A summary of each planned sig- 16 nificant regulatory action including, to the 17 extent possible, alternatives to be consid- 18 ered and preliminary estimates of the an- 19 ticipated costs and benefits of such action. 20 ‘‘(iii) A summary of the legal basis for 21 each such action, including whether any 22 aspect of the action is required by statute 23 or court order. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Feb 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1204.IH H1204 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1204 IH ‘‘(iv) A statement of the need for each 1 such action and, if applicable, how the ac- 2 tion will reduce risk to public health, safe- 3 ty, or the environment, as well as how the 4 magnitude of the risk addressed by the ac- 5 tion relates to any other risk within the ju- 6 risdiction of the agency. 7 ‘‘(v) A summary of the agency’s plan 8 to coordinate with State, local, and Tribal 9 governments throughout the regulatory 10 process. 11 ‘‘(vi) A description of any action 12 taken by the agency to ensure that each 13 planned significant regulatory action is not 14 duplicative or conflicting with any other 15 existing or planned regulatory action. 16 ‘‘(vii) The schedule for each such ac- 17 tion, including a statement of any applica- 18 ble statutory or judicial deadline. 19 ‘‘(viii) The name, email address, and 20 telephone number of a knowledgeable agen- 21 cy employee the public may contact for ad- 22 ditional information about each such ac- 23 tion. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Feb 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1204.IH H1204 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1204 IH ‘‘(B) CIRCULATION OF REGULATORY 1 PLAN.—Not later than 10 days after receiving 2 the regulatory plan under subparagraph (A), 3 the Administrator shall circulate the regulatory 4 plan to any other agency the Administrator de- 5 termines may be affected by the plan. 6 ‘‘(C) AGENCY NOTIFICATION TO OIRA OF 7 CONFLICTING SIGNIFICANT REGULATORY AC- 8 TIONS.—The head of an agency shall promptly 9 notify the Administrator in writing if any 10 planned significant regulatory action in the reg- 11 ulatory plan of another agency may conflict 12 with the policy or action taken or planned by 13 that agency. The Administrator shall forward 14 any notification received under this subpara- 15 graph to the other agency involved. 16 ‘‘(D) NOTIFICATION OF CONFLICTING SIG- 17 NIFICANT REGULATORY ACTIONS.—The Admin- 18 istrator shall notify the head of an agency in 19 writing if any planned significant regulatory ac- 20 tion conflicts with any policy or action taken or 21 planned by another agency. 22 ‘‘(E) REQUIREMENT TO PUBLISH IN UNI- 23 FIED AGENDA.—Each regulatory plan sub- 24 mitted by the head of an agency under subpara- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Feb 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1204.IH H1204 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1204 IH graph (A) shall be included in the October pub- 1 lication of the Unified Agenda described under 2 subsection (c). 3 ‘‘(2) RETROSPECTIVE REVIEW.— 4 ‘‘(A) LIST OF OUTDATED REGULATIONS.— 5 The head of each agency shall include in the 6 regulatory plan submitted under paragraph 7 (1)(A) a list of regulations that have been iden- 8 tified by the agency (including any comments 9 submitted to the agency) as unjustified, unnec- 10 essary, duplicative of other regulations or laws, 11 inappropriately burdensome, or otherwise rec- 12 ommended for removal. 13 ‘‘(B) DESCRIPTION OF RETROSPECTIVE 14 REVIEW.—The head of each agency shall in- 15 clude in the regulatory plan submitted under 16 paragraph (1)(A) a description of any program 17 or other effort to review existing regulations to 18 determine whether any such regulations should 19 be modified or eliminated in order to increase 20 the effectiveness in achieving the regulatory ob- 21 jectives of the agency or to reduce the burden 22 of regulations. The agency shall include any 23 statutory requirements that require the agency 24 to promulgate or continue to impose regulations 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Feb 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1204.IH H1204 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1204 IH that the agency believes are unnecessary or out- 1 dated by reason of changed circumstances. 2 ‘‘(C) OIRA COORDINATED REVIEW.—The 3 head of each agency shall submit the program 4 descriptions required in subparagraph (B) to 5 the Administrator. The Administrator shall 6 work with other interested entities and agen- 7 cies, including through the processes established 8 under subsection (d), to review the list of regu- 9 lations identified under subparagraph (A) and 10 such entities may assist OIRA and the agencies 11 with identifying regulations or groups of regula- 12 tions that— 13 ‘‘(i) impose significant or unique bur- 14 dens on governmental entities and that are 15 no longer justified; or 16 ‘‘(ii) affect a particular group, indus- 17 try, or sector of the economy. 18 ‘‘(c) UNIFIED AGENDA.— 19 ‘‘(1) SUBMISSION OF REGULATIONS UNDER DE- 20 VELOPMENT OR REVIEW.—Not later than March 15 21 and September 15 of each year, the head of each 22 agency shall submit to the Administrator an agenda 23 of each regulation under development or review in 24 accordance with any guidance issued under this sec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Feb 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1204.IH H1204 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1204 IH tion. Each agenda shall include, to the extent prac- 1 ticable, the following: 2 ‘‘(A) For each regulation— 3 ‘‘(i) a regulation identifier number; 4 ‘‘(ii) a brief summary of the regula- 5 tion; 6 ‘‘(iii) a citation to the legal authority 7 to issue the regulation; 8 ‘‘(iv) any legal deadline for the 9 issuance of the regulation; 10 ‘‘(v) the name and phone number for 11 a knowledgeable agency employee; and 12 ‘‘(vi) the stage of review for issuing 13 the regulation. 14 ‘‘(B) For each regulation expected to be 15 promulgated within the following 18 months— 16 ‘‘(i) a determination of whether the 17 regulation is expected to be a significant 18 regulatory action or an economically sig- 19 nificant regulatory action; 20 ‘‘(ii) any available clear summary of 21 the expected costs or benefits; and 22 ‘‘(iii) efforts to coordinate with State, 23 local, and Tribal governments. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Feb 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1204.IH H1204 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1204 IH ‘‘(C) For any regulation included in the 1 immediately previous agenda, an explanation of 2 why the regulation is no longer included. 3 ‘‘(2) PUBLICATION OF UNIFIED AGENDA RE- 4 QUIRED.—Not later than April 15 and October 15 5 of each year, the Administrator shall compile and 6 publish online each agenda received under paragraph 7 (1) (to be known as the Unified Agenda). 8 ‘‘(3) GUIDANCE.— 9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 10 shall issue guidance for agencies on the manner 11 of submission under this subsection and on 12 meeting the requirements of this subsection, in- 13 cluding a standard definition for each stage of 14 review and any other definition that would as- 15 sist the public in understanding the different 16 terms used by agencies to submit the agenda 17 required under paragraph (1). 18 ‘‘(B) UPDATES.—The Administrator shall 19 periodically review compliance with this section 20 and issue guidance or recommendations to as- 21 sist agencies in complying with this section. 22 ‘‘(d) COORDINATION WITH STATE, LOCAL, AND 23 TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS AND THE PUBLIC.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Feb 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1204.IH H1204 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1204 IH ‘‘(1) STATE, LOCAL, AND TRIBAL GOVERN- 1 MENTS.—The Administrator shall meet not less than 2 quarterly with representatives of State, local, and 3 Tribal governments to identify both existing and 4 proposed regulations and policies that may uniquely 5 or significantly affect those government entities. 6 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC.—The Administrator shall periodi- 7 cally convene conferences with representatives of 8 businesses, nongovernmental organizations, and the 9 public to discuss regulatory issues of common con- 10 cern. 11 ‘‘(e) BEST PRACTICES.—The Administrator shall, in 12 consultation with the Regulatory Working Group and the 13 entities described in subsection (d), periodically develop 14 advice and guidance for agencies on best practices of the 15 development of regulations. 16 ‘‘§ 3523. OIRA coordinated review of significant regu- 17 latory actions 18 ‘‘(a) OIRA REVIEW.— 19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 20 conduct a Governmentwide coordinated review of 21 significant regulatory actions to ensure that such 22 regulations are consistent with applicable law and 23 that a regulatory action by one agency does not con- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Feb 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1204.IH H1204 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1204 IH flict with a policy or action taken or planned by an- 1 other agency. 2 ‘‘(2) PERIODIC AGENCY SUBMISSION OF 3 PLANNED REGULATORY ACTIONS.—The head of each 4 agency shall provide to the Administrator, at such 5 time and in such a manner as determined by the Ad- 6 ministrator, a list of each planned regulatory action 7 with an identification of whether each such regu- 8 latory action is a significant regulatory action. 9 ‘‘(3) REVIEW OF SIGNIFICANT REGULATORY AC- 10 TION REQUIRED.— 11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 12 shall make a determination of whether any 13 planned regulatory action submitted under this 14 section is a significant regulatory action and 15 shall review each such significant regulatory ac- 16 tion in accordance with this section. 17 ‘‘(B) NOT SUBJECT TO REVIEW.—Any 18 planned regulatory action determined by the 19 Administrator not to be a significant regulatory 20 action is not subject to review under this sec- 21 tion. 22 ‘‘(C) NOTIFICATION REQUIRED.—Not later 23 than 10 days after a planned regulatory action 24 has been determined to be a significant regu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Feb 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1204.IH H1204 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 1204 IH latory action, the Administrator shall notify the 1 head of the relevant agency of such determina- [Text truncated for display. 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