REGWRITER ALERT
February 10, 2021
President Biden issued several Presidential Actions on his first day in office, including those affecting the regulatory process summarized below. You can review all the actions here https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/page/2/
Executive Order on Revocation of Certain Executive Orders Concerning Federal Regulation January 20, 2021
President Biden issued this Executive Order to revoke policies and directives that may “frustrate the Federal Government’s ability” to use appropriate regulatory tools to address the urgent challenges facing the Nation at this time. This Executive Order revokes the following:
· Executive Order 13771 of January 30, 2017 (Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs)
· Executive Order 13777 of February 24, 2017 (Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda)
· Executive Order 13875 of June 14, 2019 (Evaluating and Improving the Utility of Federal Advisory Committees)
· Executive Order 13891 of October 9, 2019 (Promoting the Rule of Law Through Improved Agency Guidance Documents)
· Executive Order 13892 of October 9, 2019 (Promoting the Rule of Law Through Transparency and Fairness in Civil Administrative Enforcement and Adjudication)
· Executive Order 13893 of October 10, 2019 (Increasing Government Accountability for Administrative Actions by Reinvigorating Administrative PAYGO)
This Executive Order directs the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the heads of agencies to “promptly take steps to rescind any orders, rules, regulations, guidelines, or policies, or portions thereof, implementing or enforcing the Executive Orders” listed above.
The order also abolishes “any personnel positions, committees, task forces, or other entities established pursuant to the Executive Orders identified in section 2 of this order, including the regulatory reform officer positions and regulatory reform task forces established by sections 2 and 3 of Executive Order 13777…”
Modernizing Regulatory Review, January 2021
Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies
This memorandum reaffirms the principles set forth in Executive Order 12866 (Regulatory Planning and Review), as amended and Executive Order 13563. To address the many challenges facing the Nation, President Biden has directed the Director of OMB to produce recommendations for improving and modernizing regulatory review to promote “public health and safety, economic growth, social welfare, racial justice, environmental stewardship, human dignity, equity, and the interests of future generations.” OMB is directed to consider revisions to OMB’s Circular A-4, Regulatory Analysis, 68 Fed. Reg. 58,366 (Oct. 9, 2003) to ensure the review process promotes new developments in scientific and economic understanding and fully accounts for regulatory benefits.
Read the memorandum. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/modernizing-regulatory-review/
Regulatory Freeze Pending Review, January 20, 2021
Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies
This memorandum prohibits heads of agencies to propose or issue a rule, or send a rule to the Office of the Federal Register (OFR) until a department or agency head appointed by President Biden, or an approved designated person, reviews and approves the rule. This directive is subject to exceptions the Director of OMB allows for emergency situations or other urgent circumstances. Rules that have been sent to the OFR but have not been published must be immediately withdrawn for review and approval. Heads of agencies also are directed to consider postponing the effective dates of rules that have been published in the Federal Register or issued in any manner, but have not taken effect for the purpose of review and consider opening a 30-day comment period to provide the opportunity for additional public input on these actions.
This type of memorandum is typical for a new administration and is referred to as a freeze memorandum, as its goal is to freeze the actions of the outgoing administration while the incoming administration gets established. The freeze memorandum issued by the Trump administration is available on our website. https://www.regulationwriters.com/downloads/Presidential_Documents_Jan_2017/Preibus_Memo_-_Regulatory_Freeze_Pending_Review.pdf
Read the current memorandum. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/regulatory-freeze-pending-review/