Apparently initial efforts have begun to develop data quality and data access legislation at the state level. OMB Watch has obtained model legislation for both bills that was reportedly drafted by the The Center for Regulatory Effectiveness (CRE), a strong supporter of both policy efforts at the federal level. Both state level model bills are clearly patterned after federal policies. The state data quality bill borrows heavily from the just recently completed Federal Data Quality Guidelines.

The Department of Defense(DOD) is seeking very broad legislative exemptions from a host of environmental laws, claiming that military readiness has been adversely impacted, while Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz is asking military leaders to submit cases in which President Bush could issue executive waivers.

The Bureau of National Affairs recently reported (“Drive Under Way to Enact Legislation On Data Quality, Access at State Level” February 12, 2003) that the Center for Regulatory Effectiveness (CRE), a conservative clearinghouse that focuses on data quality and data access issues, has drafted and is making efforts to promote a state version of the federal Data Quality Act along with a state Data Access Bill. Apparently CRE has submitted the two model bills to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a conservative policy group that advocates specific legislation at the state level.

The Bush administration has been screening nominees for federal scientific advisory committees based on their political views rather than their scientific qualifications. Inevitably, as the list below documents, this has meant tilting committees -- whose findings frequently form the basis for regulation -- in favor of corporate interests and conservative ideologues. If you know of any examples we are missing, please e-mail our Regulatory Policy staff CDC Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning