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# 									Rulemaking							

Office of Directives Management

## Recent Rules Activity

Listing of the recent rule activity of the Department from the Federal Register.

## What is the rulemaking process?

After Congressional bills become laws, federal agencies are responsible for putting those laws into actions, usually through regulations. This process may include the following steps:
        - An agency initiates a rulemaking activity, and adds an entry to its submission to the semi-annual Unified Agenda of Regulatory and De-regulatory Actions
        - The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) will review the rule to determine whether the rule is non-significant or significant under Executive Order 12866; it will also determine if the rule is “major” under the Congressional Review Act (CRA).
        - The “major” designation triggers a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and a delayed effective date, and Congress may consider whether it will pass a resolution of disapproval of the rule to send to the President.
        - The CRA requires Federal agencies to submit final rules to Congress along with a report that includes whether the rule is “major,” as well as the proposed effective date of the rule per Memorandum M-19-14 dated April 11, 2019.
        - The rule or other document is published to Regulations.gov
        - If the rules provides for public comment, the public is given the opportunity to comment on this rule for a specified timeframe.
        - Final Rules can be accessed on Regulations.gov

Rules are published by the National Archives and Records Administration in the U.S. government’s Federal Register. You can view the website here: https://www.federalregister.gov/

## What is the purpose of the rulemaking process?

The rulemaking process is generally designed to ensure that:
        - the public is informed of rules before they take effect;
        - the public can comment on proposed rules and provide additional data to the agency;
        - the public can access the rulemaking record and analyze data and analysis behind a proposed rule;
        - the agency analyzes and responds to the public’s comments;
        - the agency creates a permanent record of its analysis and the rulemaking process;
        - the agency’s actions can be reviewed by appropriate officials to ensure the correct procedure was followed.

## FDMS

Federal Document Management System (FDMS) is a document management solution structured by dockets (or file folders) which offer a wide range of regulatory activities routinely performed by the Department of State.

## References

### White House

        - Executive Order 12866  (as amended) – Regulatory Planning and Review (September 30, 1993)
        - Executive Order 13610  – Identifying and Reducing Regulatory Burdens (May 10, 2012)
        - Executive Order 13563  – Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review (January 18, 2011)
        - Presidential Memorandum  – Regulatory Compliance (January 18, 2011)

### Department of State

        - Public Notice 7447  – Reducing Regulatory Burden; Retrospective Review under E.O. 13563 (May 9, 2011)
        - Travel.state.gov  – Information related to international travel, passports, and visas

### Office of Management and Budget

        - OIRA  – Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
        - Reg Map  – chart that gives an overview of the “informal rulemaking” process
        - Regulatory Actions Currently under Review

### Other Agencies

        - Regulations.gov
        - Data.gov

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