Summary

Creates new and tighter rules for how federal agencies write, propose, and finalize regulations. It defines terms like “guidance,” “major guidance,” and “major rule,” requires agencies to prepare and publish detailed analyses and supporting materials, expands pre- and post-publication review and oversight by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), lengthens and specifies public comment and docketing requirements, and narrows some forms of judicial review of agency actions. The bill also makes many technical cross-reference changes throughout federal law so the new rulemaking structure fits existing statutes.

Key Points

• Adds definitions for “guidance,” “major guidance,” “major rule,” OIRA, and Administrator to the Administrative Procedure Act.
• Requires more detailed analyses, alternatives, and supporting materials for proposed and final rules, with heightened requirements for major rules.
• Expands OIRA pre-publication review, post-publication oversight, and annual agency-compliance reporting.
• Lengthens and standardizes public comment periods (60 days normally, 90 days for major rules) and requires public dockets of underlying studies and data.
• Imposes advanced-notice, timetable, and retrospective-assessment duties for major-rule proceedings and enables OIRA to coordinate and publish assessments centrally.
• Restricts certain ex parte advocacy after proposal and tightens rules about post-proposal communications.
• Alters judicial-review standards (whole-record review, new substantial-evidence language, limited review of Administrator actions, and constrained review of some guidance).
• Contains many technical conforming amendments across federal statutes to align cross-references and terminology.
• Applies only to future rulemakings (not rules pending or completed at enactment) and excludes some categories (e.g., monetary policy rules).

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