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[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 54 (Monday, March 21, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 15224]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-6576]

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Proposed Rules
                                                Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________

This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.

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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 54 / Monday, March 21, 2011 / 
Proposed Rules

[[Page 15224]]

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

5 CFR Chapter XLII

20 CFR Chapters IV, V, VI, VII, and IX

29 CFR Subtitle A and Chapters II, IV, V, XVII, and XXV

30 CFR Chapter I

41 CFR Chapters 50, 60, and 61

48 CFR Chapter 29

Reducing Regulatory Burden; Retrospective Review Under E.O. 13563

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Labor.

ACTION: Request for Information.

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SUMMARY: In response to the President's Executive Order 13563 on 
improving regulation and regulatory review, the Department of Labor 
(DOL or the Department) is preparing a preliminary plan to review its 
existing significant regulations. The purpose of this notice is to 
invite public comment on how the Department can improve any of its 
significant regulations by modifying, streamlining, expanding, or 
repealing them.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 31, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments through the Department's Regulations 
Portal at http://www.dol.gov/regulations/regreview.htm.
    All comments will be available for public inspection at http://www.dol.gov/regulations/regreview.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: e. christi cunningham, Associate 
Assistant Secretary for Regulatory Policy, U.S. Department of Labor, 
200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room S-2312, Washington, DC 20210, 
cunningham.christi@dol.gov, (202) 693-5959 (this is not a toll-free 
number). Individuals with hearing impairments may call 1-800-877-8339 
(TTY/TDD).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 18, 2011, President Obama issued 
Executive Order 13563, ``Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review.'' 
The Order explains the Administration's goal of creating a regulatory 
system that protects ``public health, welfare, safety, and our 
environment while promoting economic growth, innovation, 
competitiveness, and job creation'' while using ``the best, most 
innovative, and least burdensome tools to achieve regulatory ends.'' 
The Executive Order requires agencies to develop and submit a 
preliminary plan within 120 days from the January 18 issuance date that 
explains how each agency will review existing significant regulations 
to identify whether any regulations may be made more effective or less 
burdensome.

Request for Comments

    As a first step in developing its regulatory review plan, the 
Department is requesting public comment on how the Department can 
increase the effectiveness of its significant regulations while 
minimizing the burden on regulated entities. The Department recognizes 
the knowledge of programs and their implementing regulations that 
exists within our regulated communities, academia and the public, and 
therefore is requesting public comment on how the Department can 
foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job 
seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; 
advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-
related benefits and rights in ways that are more effective and less 
burdensome.
    This request for public input will inform development of the 
Department's plan to review its existing significant regulations. To 
facilitate receipt of the information, the Department has created an 
Internet portal specifically designed to capture your input and 
suggestions, http://www.dol.gov/regulations/regreview.htm. The portal 
contains a series of questions designed to gather information on how 
DOL can best meet the requirements of the Executive Order. The portal 
will be open to receive comments from March 16, 2011 through March 31, 
2011.

Questions for the Public

    The Department intends the questions on the portal to represent a 
starting point for discussion of the criteria that can be used to 
prioritize its regulatory review. The questions are meant to initiate 
public dialogue, and are not intended to restrict the issues that may 
be raised or addressed. The questions were developed with the intent to 
probe a range of areas, including tools that can be used to prioritize 
regulations for review; strategies that can be used to increase 
flexibility of regulations; and ensuring scientific integrity of data. 
Please note that these questions do not pertain to DOL rulemakings 
currently open for public comment. To comment on an open rulemaking, 
please visit regulations.gov and submit comments by the deadline 
indicated in that rulemaking.
    When addressing these questions, the Department requests that 
commenters identify with specificity the regulation or reporting 
requirement at issue, providing legal citation(s) where available. The 
Department also requests that submitters provide, in as much detail as 
possible, an explanation of why a regulation or reporting requirement 
should be modified, streamlined, expanded, or repealed, as well as 
specific suggestions of ways the Department can better achieve its 
regulatory objectives. Whenever possible, please provide empirical 
evidence and data to support your response.
    The Department will consider public comment as we develop this plan 
to periodically review the Department's significant rules. The 
Department is issuing this request solely to seek useful information as 
it develops its review plan. While responses to this request do not 
bind the Department to any further actions related to the response, all 
submissions will be made available to the public on http://www.dol.gov/regulations/regreview.htm.

    Authority:  E.O. 13653, 76 FR 3821, Jan. 21, 2011; E.O. 12866, 
58 FR 51735, Oct. 4, 1993.

    Dated: March 15, 2011.
Seth D. Harris,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2011-6576 Filed 3-18-11; 8:45 am]
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