Agencies put regulatory plans online
New unified agenda is designed to increase transparency, save money.
Agencies' regulatory priorities and planned actions now will be available online in an attempt to increase transparency and public participation and save the government money.
The General Services Administration and the Office of Management and Budget have moved online the Unified Regulatory Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, published biannually. The two agencies estimate that the shift from paper to the Internet will save an estimated $800,000 per year.
The agenda includes brief descriptions, timetables and contact information for almost 4,000 planned regulatory actions across about 60 departments and agencies, according to GSA. Regulatory actions primarily are notices of proposed rule-making or final rules anticipated during the next year. Agencies generally do not include regulations on military or foreign affairs functions, or those related solely to organization, management and personnel matters in the agenda.
The most recent one, published this week, is available on a joint GSA-OMB Web site, www.reginfo.gov, as is the one from the spring. GSA announced that prior editions dating to the fall of 1982 will be made available early in 2008.
"I am pleased that GSA has been able to help shed more light on the regulatory process while saving taxpayers money," said Kevin Messner, acting associate administrator of GSA's Office of Governmentwide Policy.
Agencies submit information to GSA's Regulatory Information Service Center twice a year in compliance with public disclosure requirements for anticipated regulatory changes. They are not required by law, however, to adhere to the published schedules and are not confined in their regulatory activities to those published in the agenda, GSA spokeswoman Jen Millikin said.
"The Unified Regulatory Agenda and annual Regulatory Plan will be more accessible on the Internet in an enhanced user-friendly, searchable database format," said Susan Dudley, administrator of OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. She said that in addition to improving transparency, the transition should "increase the public's access to the rule-making process."