OIRA Issues Final Guidance for Implementing Executive Order on Reducing Regulatory Costs

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) issued final guidance on the implementation of Executive Order 13771: Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs. The guidance describes how agencies should implement the Executive Order’s directives to ensure the net costs of regulations in fiscal year 2017 are no greater than zero and to identify two regulations for repeal for everyone one regulation that is proposed.

This final version is an update to interim guidance that was published on Feb. 2, 2017. It clarifies that agencies should consider only costs and not benefits when calculating the total cost of rulemakings (or cost savings of deregulatory actions): it states that that anything traditionally viewed as a “benefit” in regulatory cost-benefit analysis should not be considered when calculating cost savings of a rule.

The underpinning Executive Order has been challenged in a lawsuit filed by Public Citizen, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Communications Workers of America.

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