Regulatory Flexibility Act: Agencies' Use of the November 1996 Unified Agenda Did Not Satisfy Notification Requirements
GGD/OGC-97-77R
Published: Apr 22, 1997. Publicly Released: May 07, 1997.
Skip to Highlights
Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed whether federal agencies' entries in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions satisfy the public notification requirements of subsection 610(c) of the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Other | In fulfilling her responsibilities under Executive Order 12866 to specify how agencies should prepare their agendas, the Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), should instruct agencies that chose to use the Unified Agenda to satisfy the requirements of subsection 610(c) of title 5 on how to do so. Specifically, the Administrator, OIRA, should remind agencies using the Unified Agenda for that purpose that, to be in compliance with subsection 610(c), Agenda entries must: (1) identify existing rules with a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities that the agencies expect to review during the next 12 months; (2) describe the rules and note the need for and legal bases of the rules; and (3) invite public comment on the rules. |
On June 10, 1997, the OIRA Administrator sent a memo to regulatory policy officers at executive branch departments and agencies instructing them on how to use the Agenda for subsection 610(c) compliance. She reminded them of all three items in the recommendation, and said the next edition of the Agenda would contain a separate index for 610 entries.
|
| Other | The Executive Director, RISC, should develop an index or special section in the Unified Agenda that specifically identifies the rules that agencies plan to review under section 610 in order to provide the public with adequate notice and the opportunity to comment on those rules. |
The October 1997 and the April 1998 editions of the Unified Agenda contained indexes to "Entries That Agencies Have Designated for Section 610 Review." The indexes listed, by agency, the sequence number and title of each entry the agencies said were section 610 reviews. Therefore, this recommendation has been implemented.
|
Full Report
Public Inquiries
Topics
Agency proceedingsEconomic analysisFederal regulationsGovernment informationGovernment information disseminationGovernment publicationsLegislative proceduresRegulatory agenciesReporting requirementsWorkforce issues