E-Rulemaking

Feb 8, 2016

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

As Americans were gathering party supplies to greet the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released their annual report of cumulative tax data reported on the 400 tax r...

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Feb 4, 2016

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

Chlorine bleach plants across the U.S. put millions of Americans in danger of a chlorine gas release, a substance so toxic it has been used as a chemical weapon. Greenpeace’s new repo...

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Jan 25, 2016

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for 2014 is now available. The good news: total toxic releases by reporting facilities decreased by nearly six percent from 2013 levels. Howe...

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Jan 22, 2016

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

UPDATE (Jan. 22, 2016): Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed rule to reduce methane emissions...

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Big Upgrade for Federal Register Online

Aug 4, 2010 by Matthew Madia

The Federal Register unveiled a slick new website last week that should allow the public to find proposed and final rules more easily.

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White House Issues Guidance on E-rulemaking and Paperwork Practices

On May 28, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) issued two memoranda to federal agencies that impact key features of the regulatory process. The memos direct agencies to change practices related to electronic rulemaking dockets and to paperwork clearances that agencies request when collecting information from the public.

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OIRA Looks to Improve Online Access to Rulemaking Material

Jun 1, 2010 by Matthew Madia

White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) Administrator Cass Sunstein issued a memo Friday that could expand public access to rulemaking documents. The memo encourages agencies to align their paper rulemaking dockets, housed in agency offices and difficult for most citizens to access, with their online dockets on Regulations.gov.

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At Agencies, Open Government and E-Rulemaking Go Hand in Hand

Several agencies are highlighting their rulemaking activities as part of the Obama administration's push to improve government transparency and public participation. The Department of Transportation (DOT), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and Department of Labor (DOL) all recognized the importance of regulation by including rulemaking and regulatory innovations in their Open Government Plans.

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White House Tries to Ease Tracking of Rules

Apr 7, 2010 by Matthew Madia

In an effort to increase transparency and expand public participation in the rulemaking process, White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) Administrator Cass Sunstein issued a memo today encouraging agencies to consistently use Regulation Identifier Numbers, or RINs, to tag documents.

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Rulemaking and the Open Government Agenda

Mar 17, 2010 by Matthew Madia

It’s Sunshine Week, which means it’s as good a time as any to talk about rulemaking transparency.

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Patchwork Improvements Continue for E-Rulemaking

Several federal government websites have recently incorporated changes that better highlight regulatory issues and expand online access to rulemaking information. However, the changes appear independent of one another, not parts of a conscious effort by the Obama administration to transform the government's beleaguered e-rulemaking systems.

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Public Comments Lost after Regulations.gov Glitch

Sep 1, 2009 by Matthew Madia

A glitch on the federally run Regulations.gov website prevented more than 100 users from successfully submitting comments to several rulemaking agencies, according to Nextgov.com reporter Aliya Sternstein. Unfortunately, even though the service disruption occurred in late July, the problem is far from resolved.

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Bureaucratic Unrest Surrounds New Regulations.gov Site

Jul 31, 2009 by Matthew Madia

In his “In the Loop” column in today’s Washington Post, Al Kamen reports that Department of Transportation officials are unhappy with the new version of Regulations.gov, the federally run website that allows users to comment on proposed regulations. (I blogged about the redesign here.)

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New Version of Regulations.gov Unveiled

Jul 28, 2009 by Matthew Madia

The Obama administration has launched a new version of Regulations.gov – the federally run website that allows users to comment on proposed regulations and find information in rulemaking dockets.

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