OMB has issued a memo instructing agencies on implementing an amendment to a January executive order on regulatory planning and review that calls for requiring all agency regulatory policy officers to be appointed by the White House.
OMB said the original order was meant to increase the quality, transparency, accountability, and coordination of guidance documents. The memo states that when an agency issues a guidance document that has a significant impact on society it should be subject to review.
The amendment to the executive order principally establishes "interagency coordination and review of significant guidance documents prior to their issuance,” explained Susan Dudley, the head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in guidance accompanying memo.
Dudley’s confirmation was blocked in the last Congress over comments she’d made regarding public safety, environmental standards and the cost of regulations, but she was given a recess appointment April 4, already having served in the White House since January as an advisor.
Dudley’s memo further states that the amended executive order modifies the procedures for an agency’s adoption of its annual regulatory plan and requires that an agency’s regulatory policy officer be a presidential appointee.
