Sponsors (12)
The bill increases political accountability and procedural clarity for major informal rules through senior official sign-off and OIRA oversight, but does so at the cost of slower, potentially politicized rulemaking and added administrative burdens that can reduce agencies' agility in emergencies.
Federal agencies (and the public) will have clearer political accountability because major informal rules must be signed by senior, Senate-confirmed officials, making responsibility for significant regulatory actions explicit.
OIRA guidance and monitoring will create more consistent procedures across agencies for who may initiate and sign rulemakings, reducing procedural uncertainty for agencies and state governments.
When agencies invoke safety/security exceptions, the requirement to notify OIRA and publish reasons (consistent with safety/privacy) increases transparency for taxpayers and small businesses about why normal rulemaking was bypassed.
State and local governments, small businesses, and the public may face delayed protections or benefits because requiring senior appointee sign-off can slow rulemaking when agencies need to act quickly.
Concentrating signatory authority in politically appointed officials may politicize routine regulatory decisions and reduce reliance on career expertise, affecting federal employees and regulated entities.
Narrow exceptions and the nondelegable determination requirement could limit agencies' operational flexibility in emergencies if publication or confirmation is impractical, constraining rapid national- or local-level responses.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Introduced January 15, 2025 by Benjamin Cline · Last progress January 15, 2025
Requires that federal informal rulemakings under the Administrative Procedure Act (the section 553 notice-and-comment process) be initiated by a senior political appointee and issued and signed by a Presidential appointee confirmed by the Senate, unless the agency head documents and certifies that doing so would impede public safety or security. Agencies claiming the safety/security exception must notify the OIRA Administrator and publish that notice in the Federal Register to the extent possible; the OIRA Administrator must issue guidance and monitor agency compliance.