Sponsors (12)
The bill increases centralized political and OIRA oversight and clarifies what counts as a rule to boost accountability and consistency, but likely slows rulemaking, raises administrative costs, and risks politicizing technical decisions or exposing sensitive determinations.
Federal agencies, regulated parties, and the public: major rules will require signatures from Senate-confirmed appointees, increasing political accountability for high-impact regulatory actions.
Agency staff and agencies: OIRA will be required to provide guidance and monitor compliance, likely improving oversight, consistency, and inter-agency coordination in rulemaking.
State and local governments and regulated entities: a narrowed definition of what counts as a 'rule' clarifies scope and reduces uncertainty about when formal rulemaking procedures apply.
Consumers, businesses, and taxpayers: requiring Senate-confirmed signatures and increased OIRA oversight can delay or block rulemakings and add administrative costs, slowing regulatory updates and raising compliance costs.
Career agency staff and regulatory quality: concentrating nondelegable decisions with politically appointed agency heads risks politicizing technical regulatory choices and diminishing the authority of career experts.
State governments and national-security actors: routing public-notification exemptions through OIRA and publishing limited notices could expose sensitive determinations or create legal risks if exemptions are not carefully handled.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires most informal federal rules to be initiated and signed by senior Presidential appointees, with a narrow safety/security exception and OIRA oversight.
Introduced January 15, 2025 by Benjamin Cline · Last progress January 15, 2025
Requires that most informal federal rulemakings under 5 U.S.C. § 553 be initiated and issued (signed) by a senior Presidential appointee (including acting officers and certain non-career SES-equivalents), with a narrow non-delegable exception for agency heads when immediate action is required for public safety or security. Assigns agency heads responsibility to ensure compliance and directs the OIRA Administrator to issue guidance and monitor agency adherence; defines key terms and excludes purely internal procedural rules from the new signature requirement.