On Friday, February 24, 2017, President Trump signed a new Executive Order aimed at reforming rulemaking within the Executive Branch.

The "Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda" order establishes Administration policy to alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens. A link to the executive order is included at the end of this alert. We encourage you to read it. Here are some highlights:

The order requires every agency head to appoint a Regulatory Reform Officers (RRO) by April, unless the agency head receives a waiver. The RRO oversees the President’s regulatory reform initiatives in each Federal agency. The individual, appointed by the agency head, is responsible for enforcing the President's regulatory priorities, including eliminating costly, duplicative, or ineffective regulations and guidance to reduce the regulatory burden on the U.S. economy.

Sections 3 of the order requires each agency to create a Regulatory Reform Task Force, generally chaired by the RRO, to evaluate existing regulations and make recommendations to the agency head about which rules to repeal, replace, or modify. Within 90 days, and on a schedule determined by the agency head thereafter, the Task Force must provide a report to the agency head detailing its progress on two goals: (1) improving implementation of regulatory reform initiatives and policies; and (2) identifying regulations for repeal, replacement, or modification. The Task Force must include the agency Regulatory Policy Officer designated under EO 12866. Some people may recall President George W. Bush’s Executive Order 13422 (revoked by Obama EO 13497), which required each agency have a presidential appointee fill the role of Regulatory Policy Officer. Also, note the reference in section 3, paragraph (d)(v) to the Information Quality Act (aka Data Quality Act) and the OMB guidance to agencies implementing that act.

• Read here:
  The President's remarks at the signing
  The White House Press Release: "President Trump Cuts Through More Red Tape"
  The Executive Order