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Evaluating Retrospective Review of Regulations in 2014

President Obama has encouraged agencies to review existing regulations and to modify, streamline, expand, or repeal them.

Salience, Complexity, and State Resistance to Federal Mandates

Although state resistance to federal mandates is a prevalent characteristic of contemporary American federalism, little is known about the factors that separate resisting states from states that do not oppose federal policy. This article examines state resistance through a framework that classifies public policies by salience and complexity and identifies societal interests and government officials who are hypothesized to influence policy making on issues of varying types.

The Ozone Charade

New EPA standard seems driven by economic tradeoffs, despite agency's assertion

OMB Reports Higher Costs and Lower Benefits in 2015 Draft Report

The Office Management and Budget (OMB) released its annual Draft Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulations (“the Report”), which provides a window into regulatory activity conducted by federal agencies in Fiscal Year 2014. The Report indicates that the new regulations issued last fiscal year have both higher costs and lower benefits than those issued in FY 2013, and that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) remains by far the largest contributor to both regulatory costs and benefits in this Report.

The Tension between Optimization and Competition in Rulemaking: The Case of Proposed Fuel-Efficiency Standards for Trucks

Executive Order No. 12866, signed by President Clinton, directs agencies to analyze the benefits and costs of regulations, and to try to maximize the excess of the former over the latter.  It is a sound principle, but it needs to be applied with an appropriate measure of humility. 

EPA’s Ozone Rule and the Scientization of Policy

EPA standards on Clean Air Act reflect hidden policy choices

EPA and NHTSA's Proposed Rule: Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium and Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles – Phase 2

In response to a directive from President Obama, and using their respective statutory authorities, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have jointly proposed a set of standards to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and (almost equivalently) fuel efficiency for medium and heavy-duty engines and vehicles.