HR710-119

What This Bill Does

The Regulation Decimation Act creates a ten-for-one regulatory repeal requirement for agencies. An agency may not issue a rule unless it repeals ten or more related rules to the extent practicable. For a major rule, the agency must repeal ten or more related rules and the cost of the new major rule must be less than or equal to the cost of the repealed rules, with the OIRA Administrator certifying the cost comparison. Repealed rules must be published in the Federal Register. The requirement applies to rules and major rules that impose costs or responsibilities on nongovernmental persons or state or local governments. It does not apply to agency internal policy or procurement rules, or to revisions that make a rule less burdensome by reducing requirements or compliance costs. Within 90 days, every agency head must report to Congress and OMB on rules that are costly, ineffective, duplicative, or outdated and list unnecessary restrictions. Within five years, the President must report to Congress on the number of rules in effect and reduction status.

Who Benefits and How

Regulated businesses, small businesses, state governments, local governments, tribal governments, and compliance officers benefit if agencies must offset new burdens by repealing multiple existing rules and keeping major-rule costs at or below repeal savings. OIRA analysts and Congress benefit from new reporting on outdated, duplicative, ineffective, and costly rules.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Federal agencies, program offices, agency lawyers, OIRA economists, Federal Register staff, and public-interest groups that favor new protections face major procedural burdens. Agencies must identify ten repeal candidates, estimate costs, publish repeals, obtain OIRA certification for major rules, and prepare reports before issuing cost-imposing rules. Beneficiaries of existing health, safety, labor, consumer, environmental, or civil-rights rules may bear risk if protective rules are repealed to permit new rules.

Key Provisions

• Requires agencies to repeal ten or more related rules before issuing a new cost-imposing rule.
• Requires major rules to be cost-neutral or cost-reducing compared with the rules repealed.
• Requires OIRA certification that a new major rule costs no more than the repealed rules.
• Requires repealed rules to be published in the Federal Register.
• Exempts internal agency policy, procurement rules, and revisions that reduce burdens or compliance costs.
• Requires 90-day agency reports and a five-year presidential report on regulatory reduction.