I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2010 

To require the periodic review and automatic termination of Federal 

regulations. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 23, 2015 

Mr. HULTGREN (for himself, Mr. RIBBLE, and Mr. FRANKS of Arizona) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committee on the 

Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To require the periodic review and automatic termination 

of Federal regulations. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Regulatory Review and 

5 Sunset Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

7 The purposes of this Act are— 


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1 (1) to require agencies to regularly review sig2 nificant rules to determine whether the rules should 

3 be continued without change, modified, consolidated 

4 with another rule, or terminated; 

5 (2) to require agencies to consider the com6 ments of the public, the regulated community, and 

7 Congress regarding the actual costs and burdens of 

8 rules reviewed under this Act, and whether the rules 

9 are obsolete, unnecessary, duplicative, conflicting, or 

10 otherwise inconsistent; 

11 (3) to require that any rules continued in effect 

12 under this Act meet all the legal requirements that 

13 would apply to the issuance of a new rule, including 

14 any applicable Federal cost-benefit and risk assess15 ment requirements; 

16 (4) to provide for the review of significant rules 

17 and other rules through a sunset review process and 

18 to provide for the repeal or other change in such 

19 rules in accordance with chapters 5 and 7 of title 5, 

20 United States Code; 

21 (5) to provide for a petition process that allows 

22 the public and appropriate committees of Congress 

23 to request that other rules that are not significant 

24 be reviewed in the same manner as significant rules; 

25 and 


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1 (6) to require the Administrator to coordinate 

2 and be responsible for sunset reviews conducted by 

3 agencies. 

4 SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF RULES FOR SUNSET REVIEW. 

5 (a) COVERED RULES.—A covered rule shall be sub6 ject to sunset review in accordance with this Act. 

7 (b) PUBLIC PETITIONS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any person adversely af9 fected by a rule that is not a significant rule may 

10 submit a petition to the agency that has jurisdiction 

11 over the rule requesting that the agency designate 

12 the rule for sunset review, which shall— 

13 (A) be in writing, but is not otherwise re14 quired to be in any particular form; and 

15 (B) identify the rule for which sunset re16 view is requested with reasonable specificity and 

17 state on its face that the petitioner seeks sunset 

18 review of the rule. 

19 (2) RESPONSE REQUIRED FOR NONCOMPLYING

20 PETITIONS.—If an agency determines that a petition 

21 submitted under paragraph (1) does not meet the 

22 requirements of this subsection, the agency shall 

23 provide a response to the petitioner not later than 

24 30 days after the date on which the agency received 

25 the petition, which shall— 


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1 (A) notify the petitioner of the problem; 

2 and 

3 (B) provide information on how to formu4 late a petition that meets those requirements. 

5 (3) DECISION WITHIN 90 DAYS.—Not later 

6 than 90 days after the date on which an agency re7 ceives a petition under paragraph (1) that meets the 

8 requirements of this subsection, the agency shall 

9 transmit a response to the petitioner stating whether 

10 the petition was granted or denied, except that the 

11 agency may extend such period by a total of not 

12 more than 30 days. 

13 (4) PETITIONS DEEMED GRANTED FOR SUB14 STANTIAL INEXCUSABLE DELAY.—A petition sub15 mitted under paragraph (1) is deemed to have been 

16 granted by an agency, and such agency is deemed to 

17 have designated the rule for sunset review, if a court 

18 finds there is a substantial and inexcusable delay, 

19 beyond the period specified in paragraph (3), in no20 tifying the petitioner of the determination of the 

21 agency to grant or deny the petition. 

22 (5) PUBLIC LOG.—Each agency shall maintain 

23 a public log of petitions submitted under paragraph 

24 (1), which shall include the status or disposition of 

25 each petition. 


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1 (c) CONGRESSIONAL REQUESTS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—An appropriate committee of 

3 Congress, or a majority of the majority party mem4 bers or a majority of nonmajority party members of 

5 such committee, may request in writing that the Ad6 ministrator designate any rule that is not a signifi7 cant rule for sunset review. 

8 (2) DESIGNATION BY ADMINISTRATOR.—Not 

9 later than 30 days after the date on which the Ad10 ministrator receives a request under paragraph (1), 

11 the Administrator shall designate the rule for sunset 

12 review, unless the Administrator determines that it 

13 would not be in the public interest to conduct a sun14 set review of the rule. 

15 (3) NOTICE OF DENIAL.—If the Administrator 

16 denies a request under paragraph (1), the Adminis17 trator shall transmit to the committee of Congress 

18 making the request a notice stating the reasons for 

19 the denial. 

20 (d) PUBLICATION OF NOTICE OF DESIGNATION FOR

21 SUNSET REVIEW.—After designating a rule under sub22 section (b) or (c) for sunset review, the agency or the Ad23 ministrator, as applicable, shall promptly publish a notice 

24 of that designation in the Federal Register. 


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1 SEC. 4. CRITERIA FOR SUNSET REVIEW. 

2 (a) COMPLIANCE WITH OTHER LAWS.—In order for 

3 any rule subject to sunset review to continue without 

4 change or to be modified or consolidated in accordance 

5 with this Act, such rule shall be authorized by law and 

6 meet all applicable requirements that would apply if it 

7 were issued as a new rule pursuant to section 553 of title 

8 5, United States Code, or other statutory rulemaking pro9 cedures required for that rule. 

10 (b) GOVERNING LAW.—If there is a conflict between 

11 applicable requirements and an Act under which a rule 

12 was issued, the conflict shall be resolved in the same man13 ner as such conflict would be resolved if the agency were 

14 issuing a new rule. 

15 (c) APPLICABLE REQUIREMENTS DEFINED.—In this 

16 section, the term ‘‘applicable requirements’’ includes any 

17 requirement for— 

18 (1) cost-benefit analysis; and 

19 (2) standardized risk analysis and risk assess20 ment. 

21 SEC. 5. SUNSET REVIEW PROCEDURES. 

22 (a) FUNCTIONS OF THE ADMINISTRATOR.— 

23 (1) NOTICE OF RULES SUBJECT TO REVIEW.— 

24 (A) INVENTORY AND FIRST LIST.—Not 

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1 duct an inventory of rules in effect on the date 

2 of the enactment of this Act and publish a first 

3 list of covered rules, which shall— 

4 (i) specify the particular group to 

5 which each significant rule is assigned 

6 under paragraph (2), and state the review 

7 deadline for all significant rules in each 

8 such group in accordance with section 

9 6(a)(1); and 

10 (ii) include other rules subject to sun11 set review for any other reason, and state 

12 the review deadline for each such rule in 

13 accordance with section 6(a)(1). 

14 (B) SUBSEQUENT LISTS.—After publica15 tion of the first list under subparagraph (A), 

16 the Administrator shall publish an updated list 

17 of covered rules at least annually, specifying the 

18 review deadline for each rule on the list. 

19 (2) GROUPING OF SIGNIFICANT RULES IN FIRST

20 LIST.— 

21 (A) STAGGERED REVIEW.—To permit or22 derly and prioritized sunset reviews, the Admin23 istrator shall— 

24 (i) assign each significant rule in ef25 fect on the date of the enactment of this 


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1 Act to 1 of 4 groups established by the Ad2 ministrator; and 

3 (ii) specify for each such group an ini4 tial review deadline in accordance with sec5 tion 6(a)(1). 

6 (B) PRIORITIZATIONS.—In determining 

7 which rules shall be given priority in time in the 

8 assignment under subparagraph (A)(i), the Ad9 ministrator shall— 

10 (i) consult with appropriate agencies; 

11 and 

12 (ii) prioritize rules based on— 

13 (I) the grouping of related rules 

14 under paragraph (3); 

15 (II) the extent of the cost of each 

16 rule and on the regulated community 

17 and the public, with priority in time 

18 given to those rules that impose the 

19 greatest cost; 

20 (III) consideration of the views of 

21 regulated persons, including State and 

22 local governments; 

23 (IV) whether a particular rule 

24 has recently been subject to cost-ben25 efit analysis and risk assessment, with 


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1 priority in time given to those rules 

2 that have not been subject to such 

3 analysis and assessment; 

4 (V) whether a particular rule was 

5 issued under a statutory provision 

6 that provides relatively greater discre7 tion to an official in issuing the rule, 

8 with priority in time given to those 

9 rules that were issued under provi10 sions that provide relatively greater 

11 discretion; 

12 (VI) the burden of reviewing each 

13 rule on the reviewing agency; and 

14 (VII) the need for orderly proc15 essing and the timely completion of 

16 the sunset reviews of rules in effect on 

17 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

18 (3) GROUPING OF RELATED RULES.—The Ad19 ministrator shall— 

20 (A) group related rules under paragraph 

21 (2) (and designate other rules) for simultaneous 

22 sunset review based upon subject matter simi23 larity, functional interrelationships, and other 

24 relevant factors to ensure comprehensive and 


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1 coordinated review of redundant, overlapping, 

2 and conflicting rules and requirements; 

3 (B) ensure simultaneous sunset reviews of 

4 covered rules without regard to whether they 

5 were issued by the same agency; and 

6 (C) shall designate any other rule for sun7 set review that is necessary for a comprehensive 

8 sunset review whether or not such other rule is 

9 otherwise a covered rule. 

10 (4) GUIDANCE.—The Administrator shall pro11 vide timely guidance to agencies on the conduct of 

12 sunset reviews and the preparation of sunset review 

13 notices and reports required under this Act to en14 sure— 

15 (A) uniform, complete, and timely sunset 

16 reviews; and 

17 (B) notice and opportunity for public com18 ment under section 7(a). 

19 (5) REVIEW AND EVALUATION OF REPORTS.— 

20 Not later than 90 days after receiving a preliminary 

21 report under subsection (b)(2), the Administrator 

22 shall— 

23 (A) review and evaluate each preliminary 

24 and final report submitted by an agency under 

25 paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (b); and 


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1 (B) transmit comments to the head of the 

2 agency regarding— 

3 (i) the quality of the analysis in the 

4 report, including whether the agency has 

5 properly applied section 4; 

6 (ii) the consistency of the proposed 

7 action of the agency with actions of other 

8 agencies; and 

9 (iii) whether the rule should be contin10 ued without change, modified, consolidated 

11 with another rule, or terminated. 

12 (b) AGENCY SUNSET REVIEW PROCEDURE.— 

13 (1) SUNSET REVIEW NOTICE.—Not less than 30 

14 months before the review deadline under section 6(a) 

15 for a covered rule issued by an agency, the agency 

16 shall— 

17 (A) publish a sunset review notice in ac18 cordance with section 7(a) in the Federal Reg19 ister and, to the extent reasonable and prac20 ticable, in other publications or media that are 

21 designed to reach those persons most affected 

22 by the covered rule; and 

23 (B) request the views of the Administrator 

24 and the appropriate committees of Congress on 


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1 whether to continue without change, modify, 

2 consolidate, or terminate the covered rule. 

3 (2) PRELIMINARY REPORT.—In reviewing a cov4 ered rule, the agency shall— 

5 (A) consider public comments and other 

6 recommendations generated by a sunset review 

7 notice under paragraph (1); and 

8 (B) not less than 1 year before the review 

9 deadline under section 6(a) for the covered rule, 

10 publish in the Federal Register, in accordance 

11 with section 7(b), and transmit to the Adminis12 trator and the appropriate committees of the 

13 Congress a preliminary report. 

14 (3) FINAL REPORT.—The agency shall— 

15 (A) consider the public comments and 

16 other recommendations generated by the pre17 liminary report under paragraph (2) for a cov18 ered rule; 

19 (B) consult with the appropriate commit20 tees of Congress before issuing a final report; 

21 and 

22 (C) not less than 90 days before the review 

23 deadline of the covered rule, publish in the Fed24 eral Register, in accordance with section 7(c)(2) 

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1 ministrator and the appropriate committees of 

2 Congress. 

3 (4) OPEN PROCEDURES REGARDING SUNSET

4 REVIEW.—In any sunset review conducted under this 

5 Act, the agency conducting the review shall make a 

6 written record describing the subject of all contacts 

7 the agency or Administrator made with non-govern8 mental persons outside the agency relating to the re9 view, which shall be made available, upon request, to 

10 the public. 

11 (c) EFFECTIVENESS OF AGENCY RECOMMENDA12 TION.—If a final report under subsection (b)(3)— 

13 (1) recommends that a covered rule should be 

14 continued without change, the covered rule shall be 

15 continued; and 

16 (2) recommends that a covered rule should be 

17 modified, consolidated with another rule, or termi18 nated, the rule may be modified, so consolidated, or 

19 terminated in accordance with section 7(d). 

20 (d) PRESERVATION OF INDEPENDENCE OF FEDERAL

21 BANK REGULATORY AGENCIES.—The head of any appro22 priate Federal banking agency, the Federal Housing Fi23 nance Board, the National Credit Union Administration, 

24 and the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight 

25 shall have the authority with respect to that agency that 


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1 would otherwise be granted under subsection (a) to the 

2 Administrator. 

3 SEC. 6. REVIEW DEADLINES FOR COVERED RULES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this Act, the re5 view deadline of a covered rule is as follows: 

6 (1) EXISTING SIGNIFICANT RULES.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—For a significant rule 

8 in effect on the date of the enactment of this 

9 Act, the initial review deadline is the last day 

10 of the 4-year, 5-year, 6-year, or 7-year period 

11 beginning on the date of the enactment of this 

12 Act, as specified by the Administrator under 

13 section 5(a)(2)(A). 

14 (B) OTHER SIGNIFICANT RULES.—For a 

15 significant rule that is not assigned to such a 

16 group specified under section 5(a)(2)(A) on the 

17 date that is 6 months after the date of the en18 actment of this Act, the initial review deadline 

19 is the last day of the 4-year period beginning on 

20 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

21 (2) NEW SIGNIFICANT RULES.—For a signifi22 cant rule that first takes effect after the date of the 

23 enactment of this Act, the initial review deadline is 

24 the last day of the 10-year period beginning on the 

25 date on which the rule takes effect. 


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1 (3) RULES COVERED PURSUANT TO PUBLIC PE2 TITION OR CONGRESSIONAL REQUEST.—For a rule 

3 subject to sunset review pursuant to a public peti4 tion under section 3(b) or a congressional request 

5 under section 3(c), the initial review deadline is the 

6 last day of the 3-year period beginning on— 

7 (A) the date on which the agency or Ad8 ministrator so designates the rule for sunset re9 view; or 

10 (B) the date of issuance of a final court 

11 order that the agency is deemed to have des12 ignated the rule for sunset review. 

13 (4) RELATED RULE DESIGNATED FOR RE14 VIEW.—For a rule that the Administrator designates 

15 under section 5(a)(3) for sunset review because it is 

16 related to another covered rule and that is grouped 

17 with that other rule for simultaneous review, the ini18 tial review deadline is the same as the review dead19 line for that other rule. 

20 (b) TEMPORARY EXTENSION.—The review deadline 

21 under subsection (a) for a covered rule may be extended 

22 by the Administrator for not more than 6 months by pub23 lishing notice thereof in the Federal Register that de24 scribes the reasons why the temporary extension is nec25 essary to respond to or prevent an emergency situation. 


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1 (c) DETERMINATIONS WHERE RULES HAVE BEEN

2 AMENDED.—For purposes of this Act, if various provi3 sions of a covered rule were issued at different times, the 

4 rule as a whole shall be treated as if it were issued on 

5 the later of— 

6 (1) the date of issuance of the provision of the 

7 rule that was issued first; or 

8 (2) the date on which the most recent review 

9 and revision of the rule under this Act was com10 pleted. 

11 SEC. 7. SUNSET REVIEW NOTICES AND AGENCY REPORTS. 

12 (a) SUNSET REVIEW NOTICES.—The sunset review 

13 notice required under section 5(b)(1) for a covered rule 

14 shall— 

15 (1) request comments regarding whether the 

16 rule should be continued without change, modified, 

17 consolidated with another rule, or terminated; 

18 (2) if applicable, request comments regarding 

19 whether the rule meets the applicable Federal cost20 benefit and risk assessment criteria; and 

21 (3) solicit comments about the past implemen22 tation and effects of the rule, including— 

23 (A) the direct and indirect costs incurred 

24 because of the rule, including the net reduction 

25 in the value of private property (whether real, 


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1 personal, tangible, or intangible), and whether 

2 the incremental benefits of the rule exceeded 

3 the incremental costs of the rule, both generally 

4 and regarding each of the specific industries 

5 and sectors the rule covers; 

6 (B) whether the rule as a whole, or any 

7 major feature of it, is outdated, obsolete, or un8 necessary, whether by change of technology, the 

9 marketplace, or otherwise; 

10 (C) the extent to which the rule or infor11 mation required to comply with the rule dupli12 cated, conflicted, or overlapped with require13 ments under rules of other agencies; 

14 (D) in the case of a rule addressing a risk 

15 to health or safety or the environment, what the 

16 perceived risk was at the time of issuance and 

17 to what extent the risk predictions were accu18 rate; 

19 (E) whether the rule unnecessarily im20 peded domestic or international competition or 

21 unnecessarily intruded on free market forces, 

22 and whether the rule unnecessarily interfered 

23 with opportunities or efforts to transfer to the 

24 private sector duties carried out by the Federal 

25 Government; 


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1 (F) whether, and to what extent, the rule 

2 imposed unfunded mandates on, or otherwise 

3 affected, State and local governments; 

4 (G) whether compliance with the rule re5 quired substantial capital investment and 

6 whether terminating the rule on the next review 

7 deadline would create an unfair advantage to 

8 those who are not in compliance with the rule; 

9 (H) whether the rule constituted the least 

10 cost method of achieving its objective consistent 

11 with the criteria of the Act under which the 

12 rule was issued, and to what extent the rule 

13 provided flexibility to those who were subject to 

14 the rule; 

15 (I) whether the rule was worded simply 

16 and clearly, including clear identification of 

17 those who were subject to the rule; 

18 (J) whether the rule created negative unin19 tended consequences; 

20 (K) the extent to which information re21 quirements under the rule can be reduced; and 

22 (L) the extent to which the rule has con23 tributed positive benefits, particularly health, 

24 safety, or environmental benefits. 


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1 (b) PRELIMINARY REPORTS ON SUNSET REVIEWS.— 

2 The preliminary report required under section 5(b)(2) on 

3 the sunset review of a covered rule shall contain— 

4 (1) a request for public comments; 

5 (2) specific requests for factual findings and 

6 recommended legal conclusions regarding the appli7 cation of section 4 to the rule, the continued need 

8 for the rule, and whether the rule duplicates func9 tions of another rule; 

10 (3) a request for comments on whether the rule 

11 should be continued without change, modified, con12 solidated with another rule, or terminated; and 

13 (4) if consolidation or modification of the rule 

14 is recommended, suggestions for the proposed text of 

15 the consolidated or modified rule. 

16 (c) FINAL REPORTS ON SUNSET REVIEWS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The report required under 

18 section 5(b)(3) on the sunset review of a covered 

19 rule shall— 

20 (A) contain the factual findings and legal 

21 conclusions of the agency conducting the review 

22 regarding the application of section 5 to the 

23 rule and the proposed recommendation of the 

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1 ued without change, modified, consolidated with 

2 another rule, or terminated; 

3 (B) in the case of a rule that the agency 

4 proposes to continue without change, so state; 

5 (C) in the case of a rule that the agency 

6 proposes to modify or consolidate with another 

7 rule, contain— 

8 (i) a notice of proposed rulemaking 

9 under section 553 of title 5, United States 

10 Code, or under other statutory rulemaking 

11 procedures required for that rule, and 

12 (ii) the text of the rule as so modified 

13 or consolidated; and 

14 (D) in the case of a rule that the agency 

15 proposes to terminate, contain a notice of pro16 posed rulemaking for termination consistent 

17 with subparagraph (C)(i). 

18 (2) PUBLICATION.—A final report under para19 graph (1)(B) shall be published in the Federal Reg20 ister. 

21 (d) RULEMAKING.— 

22 (1) PUBLICATION.—A final report under sub23 paragraph (C) or (D) of subsection (c)(1) shall be 

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1 stitute publication of the notice required under sub2 section (c)(1)(C)(i). 

3 (2) REQUIREMENT.—After publication of a 

4 final report under subparagraph (C) or (D) of sub5 section (c)(1), the agency that conducted the sunset 

6 review of the covered rule shall conduct the rule7 making that is required in such final report. 

8 (e) LEGISLATIVE RECOMMENDATIONS.—In any case 

9 in which the head of an agency determines that a rule 

10 in a final report under subparagraph (C) or (D) of sub11 section (c)(1) cannot be changed, modified, or consolidated 

12 with another rule without legislative action, the head of 

13 the agency shall include in the final report a description 

14 of what legislative changes are required to implement the 

15 recommendations in the final report with regard to the 

16 rule. 

17 SEC. 8. DESIGNATION OF AGENCY REGULATORY REVIEW 

18 OFFICERS. 

19 The head of each agency shall designate an officer 

20 of the agency as the Regulatory Review Officer of the 

21 agency, who shall— 

22 (1) be responsible for the implementation of 

23 this Act by the agency; and 


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1 (2) report directly to the head of the agency 

2 and the Administrator with respect to that responsi3 bility. 

4 SEC. 9. RELATIONSHIP TO THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCE5 DURE ACT. 

6 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to supersede 

7 the provisions of chapter 5, 6, or 7 of title 5, United States 

8 Code. 

9 SEC. 10. EFFECT OF TERMINATION OF A COVERED RULE. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

11 (b), if a covered rule is terminated under this Act— 

12 (1) this Act shall not be construed to prevent 

13 the President or an agency from exercising any au14 thority that otherwise exists to implement the stat15 ute under which the rule was issued; 

16 (2) in an agency proceeding or court action be17 tween an agency and a non-agency party, the rule 

18 shall be given no conclusive legal effect, but may be 

19 submitted as evidence of prior agency practice and 

20 procedure; and 

21 (3) this Act shall not be construed to prevent 

22 the continuation or institution of any enforcement 

23 action that is based on a violation of the rule that 

24 occurred before the effectiveness of the rule termi25 nated. 


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1 (b) EFFECT ON DEADLINES.— 

2 (1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

3 ‘‘deadline’’ means any date certain for fulfilling any 

4 obligation or exercising any authority established by 

5 or under any Federal rule, or by or under any court 

6 order implementing any Federal rule. 

7 (2) EFFECT.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), 

8 any deadline for, relating to, or involving any action 

9 dependent upon, any rule terminated under this Act 

10 is suspended until the agency that issued the rule 

11 issues a new rule on the same matter, unless other12 wise provided by a law. 

13 SEC. 11. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

14 (a) PUBLIC PETITION.—A denial or substantial inex15 cusable delay in granting or denying a public petition 

16 under section 3(b) shall be considered a final agency ac17 tion subject to review under section 702 of title 5, United 

18 States Code. 

19 (b) CONGRESSIONAL REQUEST.—A denial of a con20 gressional request under section 3(c) shall not be subject 

21 to judicial review. 

22 (c) TIME LIMITATION ON FILING A CIVIL ACTION.— 

23 Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, an action 

24 seeking judicial review of a final agency action under this 

25 Act may not be brought— 


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1 (1) in the case of a final agency action denying 

2 a public petition under section 3(b) or continuing 

3 without change, modifying, consolidating, or termi4 nating a covered rule, more than 30 days after the 

5 date of that agency action; or 

6 (2) in the case of an action challenging a delay 

7 in deciding on a public petition section 3(b), more 

8 than 1 year after the period applicable to the rule 

9 under section 3(b)(4). 

10 (d) AVAILABILITY OF JUDICIAL REVIEW UNAF11 FECTED.—Except to the extent that there is a direct con12 flict with the provisions of this Act, nothing in this Act 

13 shall be construed to affect the availability or standard 

14 of judicial review for agency regulatory action. 

15 SEC. 12. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this Act: 

17 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis18 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Office of In19 formation and Regulatory Affairs in the Office of 

20 Management and Budget. 

21 (2) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the 

22 meaning given that term in section 551(1) of title 5, 

23 United States Code. 

24 (3) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEE OF CONGRESS.— 

25 The term ‘‘appropriate committee of Congress’’ 


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1 means, with respect to a rule, each standing com2 mittee of Congress having authority under the Rules 

3 of the House of Representatives or the Senate to re4 port a bill to amend the provision of law under 

5 which the rule is issued. 

6 (4) APPROPRIATE FEDERAL BANKING AGEN7 CY.—The term ‘‘appropriate Federal banking agen8 cy’’ has the meaning given that term under section 

9 3(q) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 

10 U.S.C. 1813(q)). 

11 (5) COVERED RULE.—The term ‘‘covered rule’’ 

12 means a rule that— 

13 (A) is determined by the Administrator to 

14 be a significant rule; or 

15 (B) is any other rule designated by an 

16 agency or the Administrator for sunset review 

17 under this Act. 

18 (6) MAJOR RULE.—The term ‘‘major rule’’ 

19 means any rule that the Administrator finds has re20 sulted in or is likely to result in— 

21 (A) an annual effect on the economy of 

22 $100,000,000 or more; 

23 (B) a major increase in costs or prices for 

24 consumers, individual industries, Federal, 


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1 State, or local government agencies, or geo2 graphic regions; or 

3 (C) significant adverse effects on competi4 tion, employment, investment, productivity, in5 novation, or the ability of United States-based 

6 enterprises to compete with foreign-based enter7 prises in domestic and export markets. 

8 (7) RULE.—The term ‘‘rule’’— 

9 (A) means— 

10 (i) any agency statement of general 

11 applicability and future effect, including 

12 agency guidance documents, designed to 

13 implement, interpret, or prescribe law or 

14 policy, or describing the procedures or 

15 practices of an agency, or intended to as16 sist in such actions; and 

17 (ii) each set of rules— 

18 (I) designated in the Code of 

19 Federal Regulations as a part; and 

20 (II) that do not appear in the 

21 Code of Regulations and are com22 parable to a part of that Code under 

23 guidelines established by the Adminis24 trator; and 

25 (B) does not include— 


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1 (i) regulations or other agency state2 ments— 

3 (I) issued in accordance with for4 mal rulemaking provisions of sections 

5 556 and 557 of title 5, United States 

6 Code, or in accordance with other 

7 statutory formal rulemaking proce8 dures required for such regulations or 

9 statements; 

10 (II) that are limited to agency or11 ganization, management, or personnel 

12 matters; 

13 (III) issued with respect to a 

14 military or foreign affairs function of 

15 the United States; or 

16 (IV) that the Administrator cer17 tifies in writing are necessary for the 

18 enforcement of the Federal criminal 

19 laws; 

20 (ii) regulations, statements, or other 

21 agency actions that are reviewed and usu22 ally modified each year (or more fre23 quently), or are reviewed regularly and 

24 usually modified based on changing eco25 nomic or seasonal conditions; or 


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1 (iii) regulations or other agency ac2 tions that grant an approval, license, per3 mit, registration, or similar authority or 

4 that grant or recognize an exemption or re5 lieve a restriction, or any agency action 

6 necessary to permit new or improved appli7 cations of technology or to allow the manu8 facture, distribution, sale, or use of a sub9 stance or product. 

10 (8) SIGNIFICANT RULE.—The term ‘‘significant 

11 rule’’ means a rule that the Administrator deter12 mines— 

13 (A) has resulted in or is likely to result in 

14 an annual effect on the economy of 

15 $100,000,000 or more; 

16 (B) is a major rule; or 

17 (C) was issued pursuant to a significant 

18 regulatory action, as that term is defined in Ex19 ecutive Order 12866 (5 U.S.C. 601 note; relat20 ing to regulatory planning and review), as in ef21 fect on September 30, 1993. 

22 (9) SUNSET REVIEW.—The term ‘‘sunset re23 view’’ means a review of a rule under this Act. 


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1 SEC. 13. SUNSET OF THIS ACT. 

2 This Act shall have no force or effect after the 10- 

3 year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this 

4 Act. 

Æ 


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