To require a guidance clarity statement on certain agency guidance, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
ReportedReported by Mr. Paul, with an amendment
Mr. Lankford (for himself and Mr. Johnson) introduced the following …
Mr. Lankford (for himself, Mr. Johnson, and Mrs. Moody) introduced …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Guidance Clarity Act of 2025 requires every federal agency to add a disclaimer to any guidance documents they issue. The disclaimer must clearly state that the guidance doesn't have the force of law and cannot legally bind the public or the agency itself - it's only meant to clarify existing rules. The Office of Management and Budget has 90 days to issue instructions for how agencies should comply.
Who Benefits and How
Businesses and industries regulated by federal agencies benefit from this bill. The required disclaimer reduces the legal weight of agency guidance documents, making it clearer that companies don't have to treat guidance as mandatory regulations. This lowers compliance risk and could reduce the perception that companies must follow non-binding guidance.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Federal regulatory agencies and the Office of Management and Budget bear the administrative burden of this bill. Every agency must update their guidance document templates, train staff on the new requirement, and ensure all future guidance includes the disclaimer. OMB must develop and distribute implementation guidance within 90 days.
Key Provisions
- All federal agencies must include a prominent disclaimer on the first page of guidance documents
- The disclaimer text is standardized: "The contents of this document do not have the force and effect of law and do not, of themselves, bind the public or the agency. This document is intended only to provide clarity to the public regarding existing requirements under the law or agency policies."
- The requirement applies to guidance issued under specific sections of the Administrative Procedure Act (5 USC 553(b)(3)(A) and 553(b)(4)(A))
- OMB must issue implementation guidance within 90 days of enactment
- The requirement takes effect 30 days after OMB issues its implementation guidance
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Requires federal agencies to include a statement on guidance documents clarifying that such guidance does not have the force of law
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Reduce perceived regulatory overreach by clarifying the non-binding nature of agency guidance documents"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Regulated industries
- Businesses subject to federal oversight
- Anti-regulatory advocacy groups
Likely Burden Bearers
- Federal regulatory agencies (administrative compliance burden)
- OMB (must issue implementation guidance)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "each_agency"
- → Any agency as defined in section 551 of title 5, United States Code
- "the_director"
- → Director of the Office of Management and Budget
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
As defined in section 551 of title 5, United States Code (covers all federal agencies)
Guidance issued under section 553(b)(3)(A) or section 553(b)(4)(A) of title 5, United States Code
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology