All Publications

  

Joint Letter to the Dept. of Energy

We served as members of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Review of Methods for Setting Building and Equipment Performance Standards. We write to request that the Committee’s report and recommendations, “Review of Methods Used by the U.S. Department of Energy in Setting Appliance and Equipment Standards,”1 be placed on the rulemaking docket for rule EERE–2021–BT–STD–0003, “Energy Conservation Program for Appliance Standards: Procedures, Interpretations, and Policies for Consideration in New or Revised Energy Conservation Standards and Test Procedures for Consumer Products and Commercial/Industrial Equipment.”

A Study To Evaluate OIRA Review of Treasury Regulations

In a new study, we aim to learn more about the effect of Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) review of Treasury Department regulations interpreting the Internal Revenue Code. What contributions does OIRA review offer the tax regulatory process? What are its limitations?

Regulatory Reform: Tracking the Watchwords of a Movement

This commentary examines the history of the phrase “regulatory reform,” tracking the phrase from the early 20th century to its proliferation during the Ford administration to today.

Federal Agencies are Publishing Fewer but Larger Regulations

The pace of rulemaking has declined for several decades, with the number of final and proposed rules falling from 1995 to 2020. One plausible explanation for this trend is that federal agencies are crafting bigger rules over time, in terms of both page length and economic impact.

Jerry Ellig on Dynamic Competition and Rational Regulation

The works of Jerry Ellig represent a legacy rooted in rational regulation driven by benefit-cost analysis and greater societal benefits

The Fall 2021 Unified Agenda

On Friday, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs released its annual Regulatory Plan and semiannual Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. Most agencies echo the Biden administration’s desire to focus on equity concerns in rulemaking in their statements of regulatory priorities. Aside from routine rulemakings, most of the large rules published for the first time in the Fall 2021 Unified Agenda are regulatory actions related to the COVID-19 pandemic or environmental policy.

Happy Birthday, APA!

The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) of 1946 celebrated a milestone birthday this year. Its requirements—that regulations be grounded in statutory law and an administrative record that includes public notice-and-comment—have guided executive branch rulemaking without significant amendment for 75 years. It is one of the most important and enduring pieces of legislation ever enacted, yet its passage wasn’t always assured. This commentary, excerpted from my recent Daedalus essay on “Milestones in the Evolution of the Administrative State,” reviews the contentious and messy, yet constructive, process that yielded this landmark act.

National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Regulations

On October 7, 2021, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to revise its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) implementing regulations.