# Presentation: 657500

## eRulemaking InitiativePublic ForumAugust 2004

**  **

**eRulemaking Initiative****Public Forum****August 2004**

## Agenda 

**Purpose: Discuss the eRulemaking Initiative and the development of a new federal docket management system.**
**Overview of Federal Rulemaking **
- Background on Federal Rulemaking
**Current Regulatory Environment **
- Regulations.gov
- Questions and Answers
**Future Regulatory Environment **
- Design of the new federal docket management system
- Feedback
**Other considerations**

**Notes:**
Time schedule:
Old Regulatory Environment:  		30 minutes
Current Regulatory Environment:		45 minutes
Proposed Adjustments to Regulatory Environment	1 hour 40 minutes
Closing				5 minutes

Establish groundrules:
To allow each organization/individual here, keep comments brief and to the point.

Focus is on accepting comments on the design and eventual utilization of the proposed Federal Docket Management System.

Seek to stay to the eRulemaking initiative and is it applies to the regulatory environment.   This initiative does not address all issues related to the regulatory process.  Other groups are also looking at those issues.  

## Overview of Federal Rulemaking 

**Over 150 federal entities involved in federal regulatory activities**
- From large Departments to small Commissions
** ****Regulations impact all aspects of our existence**
- Public health, environmental controls, snowmobiling access
**Access dependent on understanding process**
- Must know agency responsible for developing regulation in order to access information on it
**Online systems exist**
- More than 20 agencies currently operate on-line systems that accept and/or post comments on-line

**Notes:**
What is a rule? – Under US law, a rule is any requirement of general applicability and future effect.

Rule process:
Agencies publish proposed rules in Federal Register for public comment. Opportunity for public to submit comments comes after posting in Federal Register.  Agencies respond to public comment, amends the CFR, and sets effective date.  Agencies then publish final rule in Federal Register

## Overview of Federal Rulemaking

**Questions:  **
- Have you participated in the federal rulemaking process?
- If so, how did you find the process of gathering information, providing comments, and keeping informed?
- What was your level of satisfaction?
- Have you used any of the current on-line systems?
- Were they easy to use and navigate?**  **
- What other features did you like?  What did you not like?
- How did you use this information (for what purpose)?
- How much did you spend doing this (in dollars or man-hours)?** **

## Strengthening E-Democracy 

**President’s Management Agenda**
- Citizen-centered, not bureaucracy-centered
- Results-oriented
- Market-based, actively promoting innovation
- E-rulemaking, one of the expanding electronic-government initiatives
**E-Government Act of 2002**
- Section 206 requires all agencies to make public regulatory dockets electronically accessible.

**Notes:**
President Bush:  “government needs to reform its operations – how it goes about its business and how it treats the people it serves.

Five Components of the PMA:
Expanding Electronic Government  (24 initiatives)
Competitive Sourcing
Budget Integration
Financial Management 
Human Capital 

## eRulemaking Initiative

**eRulemaking Vision: **help citizens easily access and participate in a high quality, efficient and open rulemaking process
**Initiative Goals:**
**Expand public understanding of the rulemaking process**
- Provide easy and consistent way for public to search, view, and comment on proposed federal rules** **
**Improve the quality of federal rulemaking decisions**
- Evolve regulatory policies and outcomes through greater quality, management efficiency, and transparency of the rulemaking process
- Provide useful tools for federal regulation writers that create efficiencies within non-standard processes
- Ultimately ensure public is better protected, safer, and more secure in their daily lives
**Increase the amount, breadth, and ease of citizen and intergovernmental access and participation in rulemaking**
- Use the Internet to enhance public access to information on federal rulemaking
- Cultivate public participation in federal decision-making

## eRulemaking Initiative

**Scope:   Focuses on the more than 150 federal entities (e.g., Cabinet Departments, Independent Agencies, Boards, Commissions) that enact rules**

**Partner Departments/Agencies****:**
- EPA – lead partner
- Federal Communication Commission
- General Services Administration
- Government Printing Office
- Health and Human Services
- Homeland Security
- Housing and Urban Development
- Small Business Administration
- Equal Employment Opp. Comm.
- National Archives and Records Admin.

- Agriculture
- Commerce
- Defense
- Energy
- Interior
- Justice
- Labor
- Transportation
- Treasury

## eRulemaking Initiative

**Project Plan:   **
**Module 1: *****Regulations.gov *****(Public Access 1/03)**
- Web site for the public to find, view, retrieve Federal Register rule notices and comment on those federal regulations open for comment
**Module 2: Federal Docket Management System**
- Expansion of capabilities of Regulations.gov allowing public to search all documents in a federal rulemaking docket (e.g., Federal Register notices, scientific and legal analyses, and public comments)
- Staged roll-out to agencies in six phases
- Public access early 2005
**Module 3: Rule writer eToolbox**
- Internet & desktop tools available for federal rulewriters and the public
- Tools, templates and best practices can assist with rule writing – gather, process, analyze and communicate information

## Module 1 – www.Regulations.gov

**Provides one-stop ability to find, view, and comment on all federal rules**
**4.3 million total hits (15,000 per day), 440,000 unique visitors**
**8,300 comments**
**2.6 million pages viewed or downloaded (since July 2003)**
**Jointly operated by NARA, GPO and EPA**
**Awards:**
- 2004 Public Access to Gov Info Award (Am Assn of Law Libraries)
- 2004 AFFIRM Service to the Citizen
- 2004 Excellence.gov finalist
- 2003 Grace Hopper Award
- 2003 Colborn Award
- 2003 eGov Pioneer
- 2003 FOSE Showcase of Excellence finalist
- 2003 Citizen Service Secure EBiz Leadership

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## Current Regulatory Environment

**Questions:  **
- Have you ever used _[www.Regulations.gov](http://www.regulations.gov/)_?
- What do you think of Regulations.gov?
- Is it easy to use and understand?
- What features do you like? Dislike?
- What features and services would you like that Regulations.gov does not currently offer?

## Future Regulatory Environment

**Past**
**Spend money and time (hours/days) searching**
**...****right agency**
**...****docket room, **
**...****and reading hundreds of *****paper***** files**

**Present**
***Regulations.gov***** posts all **_**rules open for comment**_** on Internet **
**No cost**
**Anyone and anyplace**
**Minutes to find, view, submit comments**

**Future**
***Federal docket management system***** will post **_**rules**_**, **_**notices**_**, **_**public comments**_** on Internet**
**No cost, anyone and anyplace, in minutes**
**See all documents in docket (scientific analyses, comments)**
**Accept paper, email, webform, fax**
**Electronic records management**
**Listserve**

## Module 2 - Federal Docket Management System

**Builds upon Regulations.gov to establish a robust docket management system**
- Serves as a central repository for federal rulemaking, supporting materials (e.g., scientific, legal and economic analyses) and public comments
- Includes non-rulemaking documents such as Information Collection Requests that agencies can post for public comment
**Key features:**
- Image and text-based system
- Simple and sophisticated search capabilities (Boolean and compound)
- Email notifications
- Citizen and agency reporting capabilities
- Data import and export
- Electronic system of records
- Secure access (log-in, authentication)
- Modular development for expansion

## Home Page 
& Search Functionality

**& Search Functionality**

**Preliminary Draft **
**These screen shots are meant to serve for discussion purposes and are not to be considered final design and format.**

## Quick Search/Home Page 	

**Preliminary Draft**

## Quick Search Results by Topic

**Preliminary Draft**

## Quick Search Results - Index

**Preliminary Draft**

## Quick Search Results – Detail Record

**Preliminary Draft**

## Advanced Search

## Advanced Search  	

**Preliminary Draft**

## Advanced Document Search Results

**Preliminary Draft**

## Advanced Document Search Results - Details

**Preliminary Draft**

## “Notify Me” and Reports

## Home Page 

**Preliminary Draft**

## “Notify Me” Quick Search Results

**Preliminary Draft**

## “Notify Me” Registration

**“****Notify Me” *****Registration***

**Preliminary Draft**

## Reports - Top Requested Dockets Report 

**Preliminary Draft**

## Reports - Recently Published FR Items Report 

**Preliminary Draft**

## Reports - Document Type Report

**Preliminary Draft**

## Reports - Daily Filings Report

**Preliminary Draft**

## Comment Management

## Comment Management - Home/Quick Search View

**Preliminary Draft**

## Comments Management - Search Results 

**Preliminary Draft**

## Comments Management - Docket Detail View 

**Preliminary Draft**

## Comment Management - Create Comment 

## Comment Management - Review Comment Submission View 

## Comment Management - Submit 

**Preliminary Draft**

## Comment Management - Printer Friendly 

## Feedback on Module 2

**Questions:  **
- What do you think of the planned federal docket management system?
- Is it easy to use and understand?
- What features do you like? Dislike?
- Does it contain the right features and services (e.g., tracking federal rules, search functions, comment submission)?  If not, which one would you want to see included?
- What additional services would you like to see the system provide?
- What functions in the system would be most beneficial to how stakeholders do business?
- Other considerations?

## eRulemaking Initiative Public Benefits

**One-stop Internet access to all federal rulemakings and dockets**
**Ability to search, navigate, view, retrieve, download, and comment on both rules and non-regulatory content**
**Cross agency searches **
**Increased access to and participation in federal decision-making**
**Greater transparency, increased understanding**
**Improved quality of federal rules**

## Purpose: Strengthen federal rulemaking by deploying information technology tools to assist in the development, review, and publication of federal regulations and the analysis of public comments.

Tools will be available to federal regulation writers and the public

Tools to Help Gather Information:
Electronic library (or reading room) on topics of interest 
Collaboration Zone for Managers/Rule writers/Lawyers to hold virtual meeting

Tools to Help Process Information: 
Workflow tools to facilitate/enhance the drafting of a rule
Scheduling tool to keep process on track/on time

Tools to Help Analyze Information: 
Content Categorization
Online Models (Economic, Environmental)
Data Mining Tools

Tools to Help Communicate Information: 
Dashboard to display the real-time performance of the process
Online rule writing handbook

**	**
**Tools will be available to federal regulation writers and the public**
**Tools to Help Gather Information:**
**Electronic library (or reading room) on topics of interest **
**Collaboration Zone for Managers/Rule writers/Lawyers to hold virtual meeting**
**Tools to Help Process Information:**
**Workflow tools to facilitate/enhance the drafting of a rule**
**Scheduling tool to keep process on track/on time**
**Tools to Help Analyze Information: **
**Content Categorization**
**Online Models (Economic, Environmental)**
**Data Mining Tools**
**Tools to Help Communicate Information:**** **
**Dashboard to display the real-time performance of the process**
**Online rule writing handbook**

**Module 3 –Rulewriter’s eToolbox**

## Other Considerations

**Questions:  **
- What additional services would you like to see the system provide?
- What functions in the system would be most beneficial to how stakeholders do business?

## eRulemaking Initiative

**Additional comments can be provided to:**
**	****	****Kristin Tensuan**
**	****	****Program Outreach and Communications**
**	****	****US Environmental Protection Agency**
**	****	****1200 Pennsylvania Ave, NW (MC:  2822V)**
**	****	****Washington, DC  20406**
**	****	****tensuan.kristin@epa.gov**
**	****	****202/632-0338****	**
**Harvard University is also hosting on-line dialogue on the initiative and its projects**

## eRulemaking Initiative

**Initiative Contact Information**
**Rick Otis****	****	****	****	****	**
**Deputy Assistant Administrator**
**Office of Environmental Information**
**US Environmental Protection Agency**
**otis.rick@epa.gov**
**202-564-6665**
**Oscar Morales**
**Director**
**eRulemaking Initiative**
**US Environmental Protection Agency**
**morales.oscar@epa.gov**
**202-566-2141**