OMB PLANNING TO STEP UP REVIEWS OF FEDERAL AGENCY RULEMAKINGS
Office of Management & Budget’s Office of Information & Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) said it would intensify reviews of regulatory costs and benefits and would continue to develop “transparent and open approach to regulatory oversight” to “demystify” process. It said late last week in draft of its annual report to Congress that in assessing federal department and independent agency rulemakings, it found FTC and FCC contrasted sharply in degree to which they provided financial impact data. Basing conclusion primarily on General Accounting Office reports, OMB said FTC “consistently considered benefits and costs in their rulemaking processes while [FCC] did not prepare benefit-cost analyses.”
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Despite OIRA’s emphasis on what it said were agencies’ contrasting approaches to “economically significant rules,” it used as example one FTC proceeding -- involving privacy of consumer financial information -- while referring to 8 FCC dockets. FCC rules involved: (1) Competitive bidding procedures. (2) Assessment and collection of regulatory fees for fiscal year 2000. (3) Assessment and collection of regulatory fees for FY2001. (4) Extension of wireless telecom services to tribal lands. (5) Promotion of competitive networks in local telecom markets. (6) Installment payment financing for PCS licensees. (7) 24 GHz service licensing and operation. (8) Narrowband PCS.
Although it’s not clear how it intends to address issue of benefit-cost analyses, OMB said it needed to increase OIRA staff levels “to support Presidential management of the regulatory state.” It criticized 20-year decline in OIRA staffing, which it said was steeper than overall staff decrease at OMB: “These staffing declines have occurred at the same time that OIRA has assumed new statutory responsibilities from the Congress on issues concerning unfunded mandates, paperwork reduction, small business, regulatory accounting and information policy.”
Bush Administration has created 7 new positions at OIRA, including 4 that bolster its science and engineering capabilities, bringing total to 54 full-time slots: “This will enable us to develop a more diversified pool of expertise to ask penetrating technical questions about agency proposals.” Remaining positions will be used to support IT and policy “for the E-government initiative.” OIRA also is forming scientific advisory panel to help in evaluating national and international regulatory policy developments and recruitment of OIRA staff. Panel will be composed of academics specializing in economics, regulatory analysis, engineering. It will meet twice yearly, with first meeting expected this summer.
Regulatory agency use of guidance documents is another area of concern by OMB in draft report. In addition to being exempt from notice-and-comment procedures, such documents may not be subject to judicial, OMB or interagency reviews, it said: “The misuse of agency guidance also can impose significant costs on or limit the freedom of regulated parties without affording the opportunity for public participation.” OIRA said guidance documents and other policy statements often were used “for good reasons,” enabling agencies to help stakeholders “interpret existing law, through an interpretative rule, or to clarify how the agency will treat or enforce a governing legal norm.” However, it said “experience has shown” those documents had been used improperly, particularly since they could be distributed “quickly and inexpensively” on Internet.
Comments on draft report are due May 28. OMB also invites regulation reform suggestions “that, if adopted, would increase overall net benefits to the public.” Proposed reforms could include: (1) Extending or expanding existing regulatory programs. (2) Simplifying or modifying existing rules. (3) Rescinding outmoded or unnecessary rules -- 202- 395-7316.