Sponsors (2)
The bill increases transparency, early public and state/local input, and analytic rigor for major federal rules—potentially improving rule fit and preventing unfunded mandates—at the cost of greater administrative burdens, slower rulemaking, concentrated OIRA control, and higher litigation and reporting expenses that could weaken non‑monetizable protections.
State, local, and Tribal governments (and the businesses and residents they serve) get earlier, clearer notice of major federal rules and better opportunities to weigh in during rule design, improving fit and reducing downstream implementation burdens.
Small businesses, nonprofits, and members of the public can review initial analyses and propose alternatives before rules are drafted, increasing the chance of less-burdensome, better-targeted regulatory designs.
Agencies are required to favor regulatory options that increase net benefits and to document their analyses and justifications—improving transparency and evidence-based decisionmaking for taxpayers and state/local governments.
Federal agencies and stakeholders face substantial new analytic and procedural requirements that will increase administrative costs and frequently slow rulemaking, delaying protections or benefits for the public.
Centralizing tougher justification and review at OIRA concentrates decisionmaking power, risks politicizing approvals, and could further delay or skew regulatory outcomes.
Expanded judicial review and new procedural remedies will likely increase litigation, raise costs for agencies and regulated parties, and enable procedural tactics that can be used to vacate or delay substantive protections.
Based on analysis of 10 sections of legislative text.
Tightens UMRA: defines 'major rule,' requires detailed impact analyses and early consultation, expands OIRA oversight and judicial review, broadens mandate coverage, and exempts Fed monetary policy.
Introduced March 19, 2026 by Debra Fischer · Last progress March 19, 2026
Requires federal agencies to treat high‑impact rules as "major rules," prepare detailed initial and final regulatory impact analyses (including direct and indirect costs), and begin broad consultations with state, local, and Tribal officials and affected private parties early in rule development. It centralizes oversight and corrective authority with the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), creates new initiation and docketing requirements before a proposed major rule, expands congressional point‑of‑order language to cover private‑sector mandates, and adds a private right to seek judicial review for agency compliance with analytic and consultation requirements. Adds reporting duties for OIRA, requires agencies to select the net‑benefit maximizing regulatory alternative (subject to OIRA waivers for specified reasons), and exempts Federal Reserve monetary policy actions from certain UMRA requirements; several provisions become effective 120 days after enactment for specified sections.