Federal Manager's Daily Report

OMB Issues Data Call, Guidance on Regulatory Agendas

OMB has told agencies to submit by September 18 their Regulatory Plan and Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, stressing that they are to “give particular attention” to a Trump administration executive order on reducing regulations and the costs they impose.

In particular, OMB said, that order requires agencies to identify offsetting cost reductions by reducing regulations for each regulation that imposes a new cost. “In its Agenda, an agency should counterbalance the costs of anticipated regulatory actions issued within the fiscal year with cost savings from anticipated deregulatory actions in order to demonstrate anticipated compliance with its total incremental cost allowance,” OMB said.

“Agencies should further offset the number of anticipated regulatory actions they plan to issue in FY 2018 with anticipated deregulatory actions. By the end of FY 2018, this should result in at least two deregulatory actions taken for each regulatory action (absent waivers),” it added.

The guidance includes instructions for preparing an agency’s submission, noting that under the order, agencies must publish and assign “regulatory identification numbers” to all anticipated regulatory and deregulatory rulemakings.

Also, agencies are to: classify actions as deregulatory, regulatory, exempt, waived, or “other”; address recent legislative and programmatic activities that affect regulation and provide context for the regulatory actions identified in their Plan; and highlight rulemakings expected to have large net benefits, that promote open government, that streamline regulations, or that are of special interest to small businesses.

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