Guidances subject to new rules
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Agencies are now required to conduct regulatory impact analyses for guidance documents, which fall under Executive Order 12866 following an amendment signed by President Bush Jan. 18. Previously the order affected only proposed and final rules. Additionally, agencies issuing "significant" guidance documents must now notify the Office of Management and Budget's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs before publication of the guidance. The definition of "significant" guidance document includes those anticipated to have an annual effect of $100 mil. or more, create a major conflict between another agency's policies or raise novel legal or policy issues "arising out of legal mandates," the amendment states. The order also gives OIRA authority to request the full content of a significant guidance document as well as a "brief explanation" of its necessity and how it will meet that need. Additionally, OIRA "shall notify the agency when additional consultation will be required" prior to the issuance of the significant guidance document...