New Executive Order Mandates Two Regulations Be Identified For Repeal For Every New Regulation Promulgated
On January 30, days after publishing its regulatory freeze memorandum, the new administration published an executive order titled “REDUCING REGULATION AND CONTROLLING REGULATORY COSTS.” The order mandates that “for every one new regulation issued, at least two prior regulations be identified for elimination.”
For FY 2017, the order directs agencies and executive departments to identify two existing regulations to be repealed for every new regulation to be issued. Additionally, a regulatory cap is established, which directs agencies to establish a limit such that the total incremental cost of all new regulations and repealed regulations finalized in FY 2017 does not exceed zero, unless required by law or consistent with the advice of the Director of Office of Management and Budget. Any new incremental costs associated with new regulations must be offset by the elimination of existing costs associated with two prior regulations. The Director will provide guidance to the agencies to implement this order.
For FY 2018 and future fiscal years, agency heads will identify two offsetting regulations for each regulation that increases incremental costs and provide the agency’s best approximation of costs or savings with each new regulation or repealed regulation. Each regulation approved by the Director will be included in the Unified Regulatory Agenda and will not be issued by an agency, if it is not included, unless required by law. During the presidential budget process, the Director will identify the total amount of incremental costs that will be allowed for each agency. No regulations exceeding the agency’s total incremental costs for the fiscal year will be permitted, unless required by law or approved by the Director. The Director will provide the heads of the agencies with guidance to implement this order.
It is unclear how this order will affect the regulatory process at HUD. NAHRO awaits further published guidance.
The full executive order can be found here.
Additional analysis on how the order impacts the federal bureaucracy as a whole can be found here and here.