Improving Regulations–With Your Help

After reading this blog post, you should check out yesterday's article by Kel Kelly outlining the hidden evils of government regulation.

By Tracy Russo

As part of its implementation of the Executive Order, “Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review” issued by President Obama on January 18, 2011, the Department of Justice prepared a plan for the retrospective review of its existing significant regulations to determine if any should be modified, streamlined, expanded, or repealed.

On June 1, 2011, we posted our preliminary plan on our Open Government website to solicit public input. On June 10, 2011, we published a request for comments in the Federal Register.  We reviewed the comments we received and revised the plan accordingly.

First, we refined metrics to clarify that the top priorities for retrospective review are those rules that could result in greater net benefits to the public if modified, or that could be replaced by other, less burdensome regulatory alternatives without compromising regulatory objectives.

Second, the Department established a process for members of the public to communicate with us regarding regulations or the retrospective review process throughout the year.

Third, the Department continued to place a strong emphasis on the balance between active rulemaking and retrospective review.

Finally, the Department made note of the specific regulations identified as candidates for retrospective review and will consider these suggestions as part of the review process.

Going forward, the Department will establish a working group that will help institutionalize a culture of retrospective review and collaborate with rulemaking components as necessary.  Once the working group reviews the initial candidate rules identified in the plan, we will report to the public on the outcome of our assessment.  Through this process, the Department seeks to build upon our commitment to open government, and to promote evidence‐based decision‐making with respect to regulations.

Members of the public are encouraged to suggest additional candidate rules and identify why those rules should be prioritized for review under the criteria described in the plan.  Members of the public may submit these comments to olpregs@usdoj.gov year-round, or take advantage of formal comment periods announced in the Federal Register.