Sponsors (3)
The bill increases regulatory transparency and forces offsetting repeals to limit net regulatory costs—benefiting state/local governments, small businesses, and taxpayers financially—while risking delays or weakening of health, safety, and environmental protections and concentrating review power in the Executive branch.
State and local governments and small businesses face fewer new regulatory costs because agencies must repeal three related rules before issuing new ones, reducing the chance of net cost increases from new regulations.
Taxpayers and Congress get regular, public data on how many federal rules exist and their estimated economic costs, improving oversight, budgeting, and incentives for agencies to review or streamline rules.
Federal agencies get clearer, uniform definitions of 'agency' and 'rule', reducing ambiguity about when the Act applies and making implementation more predictable for agency staff.
Taxpayers, state governments, and the public could see delays or blocks to new protections because the repeal requirement may prevent agencies from issuing health, safety, or environmental rules unless offset by repeals.
All Americans risk politicized oversight because the bill shifts significant review power to OIRA, concentrating control in the Administration over whether major rules meet the required cost parity.
Federal agencies and regulated parties may face reduced regulatory flexibility and innovation and legal/administrative delays because agencies are forced into deregulatory 'swap' choices and may struggle to find three related rules to repeal.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Requires agencies to repeal three related notice-and-comment rules before issuing a new rule; major rules must meet cost parity with repeals and OIRA must certify; GAO must report on rule counts and costs every 5 years.
Introduced January 8, 2025 by Eric Stephen Schmitt · Last progress January 8, 2025
Prohibits federal agencies from issuing a new rule unless they repeal at least three existing notice-and-comment rules that are, to the extent practicable, related to the new rule. For major rules, agencies must also ensure the new rule’s cost is less than or equal to the combined cost of the repealed rules and obtain certification of cost parity from the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). Repealed rules must be published in the Federal Register. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) must report to Congress within one year and then every five years on the number of rules and major rules in effect and the total estimated economic cost of those rules.