Modernizing Retrospective Regulatory Review

This bill pushes federal agencies to clean up and modernize their existing rules. It directs the Office of Management and Budget to issue guidance on using technology, including AI, to look back at current regulations and spot problems like outdated rules, conflicts, typos, and bad cross-references. Agencies must also train staff to use these tools.

It also requires a report on making regulations available in a computer-friendly format, and asks for updates on recognizing the online Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR) as an official legal edition. Today, the eCFR’s content is authoritative but still unofficial .

• Who is affected: Federal agencies and the offices that manage federal rules.
• What changes:
  • Use tech and AI to find and fix outdated, overlapping, or error-filled rules; train staff to use these tools.
  • Make rules easier for computers to read; report on progress and on recognizing the eCFR as official.
• When:
  • Report on machine-readable rules due within 180 days of enactment.
  • Tech guidance due within 18 months.
  • Agency plans due within 2 years, and implementation within 180 days after each plan is submitted.