The Trump Administration is continuing to advance its regulatory reform agenda, even as public attention is primarily focused elsewhere. In the latest development, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has issued an internal memorandum to federal regulatory agencies outlining a revised review process to ensure that final agency “guidance” documents are not issued without first being cleared by OMB.
Under Executive Order 12866, issued in 2013, federal agencies are already required to submit draft proposed and final regulations to OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for interagency review before publication. The new OMB memo appears clearly intended to create a more robust review process to ensure that significant agency subregulatory actions are also subject to OMB review, and appears to be broad enough to encompass such common documents as enforcement guidance, directives, opinion letters, and even frequently asked questions.
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