Principled Rulemaking Act of 2015

To amend title 5, United States Code, to reform the rule making process of agencies. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Principled Rulemaking Act of 2015 2. Definitions In this Act— (1) the terms agency rule rule making (2) the term regulatory action 3. Rule making considerations Section 553 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: (f) Rule making considerations (1) In general An agency shall only promulgate a rule under this section that is— (A) required by law; (B) necessary to interpret a law; or (C) made necessary by compelling public need, such as a material failure of the private markets to protect or improve the health and safety of the public, the environment, or the wellbeing of the people of the United States. (2) Considerations Before promulgating a rule under this section, an agency shall— (A) identify and assess the significance of the problem that the agency intends to address with the rule, including, where applicable, the failures of private markets or public institutions that warrant new agency action; (B) consider the legal authority under which the rule may be proposed, including whether a rule making is required by statute, and if so, whether by a specific date, or whether the agency has discretion to commence a rule making; (C) examine whether existing rules or other laws— (i) have created or contributed to the problem identified under subparagraph (A); and (ii) should be modified to achieve the intended regulatory objective more effectively; (D) identify and assess available alternatives to direct regulation, including by providing— (i) economic incentives to encourage the desired behavior, such as user fees or marketable permits; or (ii) information upon which choices may be made by the public; (E) consider, to the extent reasonable, the degree and nature of the risks posed by various substances or activities within the jurisdiction of the agency; (F) if after determining that a rule is the best available method of achieving the regulatory objective, design the rule in the most cost-effective manner to achieve the regulatory objective; (G) in carrying out subparagraph (F), consider— (i) incentives for innovation, consistency, predictability, flexibility, distributive impacts, and equity; and (ii) the costs of enforcement and compliance to the Federal Government, regulated entities, and the public; (H) assess the costs and the benefits of the intended rule and, recognizing that some costs and benefits (including quantifable and qualitative measures) are difficult to quantify— (i) propose or adopt a rule only upon a reasoned determination that the benefits of the intended rule justify the costs of the rule; and (ii) select approaches that maximize net benefits, unless a statute requires another regulatory approach; (I) base decisions on the best reasonably obtainable scientific, technical, economic, and other information concerning the need for, and consequences of, the intended rule; (J) identify and assess alternative forms of regulation and, to the extent feasible, specify performance objectives, and not the behavior or manner of compliance that regulated entities are required to adopt; (K) seek views of appropriate State, local, and tribal officials before imposing regulatory requirements that may significantly or uniquely affect those governmental entities; (L) assess the effects of rules on State, local, and tribal governments, including specifically the availability of resources to carry out those mandates, and seek to minimize those burdens that uniquely or significantly affect those governmental entities, consistent with achieving the regulatory objective of the agency; (M) as appropriate, seek to harmonize agency action with related State, local, and tribal regulatory and other governmental functions; (N) avoid the promulgation of a rule that is inconsistent, incompatible, or duplicative with other rules of the agency or those of other agencies; (O) tailor the rule— (i) to impose the least burden on society, including individuals, businesses of differing sizes, and other entities, including small communities and governmental entities; and (ii) in a manner that is consistent with obtaining the regulatory objective, taking into account, and to the extent practicable, the costs of cumulative rules; and (P) in order to minimize the potential for uncertainty and litigation arising from such uncertainty, draft the rule in a manner that is simple and easy to understand. . 4. Public participation (a) In general To promote an open exchange with the public, each agency shall, consistent with section 553 of title 5, United States Code, and other applicable requirements, issue rules through a process that involves public participation, including— (1) providing the public with an opportunity to participate in the regulatory process; and (2) to the extent feasible— (A) affording the public a meaningful opportunity to submit comments through the Internet on any proposed rule for a period of not less than 60 days; (B) providing, for both proposed and final rules, timely online access to the rule making docket of the agency on an easily accessible Federal website, including relevant scientific and technical findings, in an open, searchable, and downloadable format; and (C) providing an opportunity for public comment on all pertinent parts of the proposed rule making docket of the agency, including relevant scientific and technical findings. (b) Comments from affected parties Before issuing a notice of proposed rule making, each agency shall, when feasible and appropriate, seek the views of those who are likely to be affected by the rule, including those who are likely to benefit from and those who are potentially subject to the rule. 5. Integration and innovation In developing regulatory actions and identifying appropriate approaches, each agency shall— (1) attempt to promote coordination, simplification, and harmonization; and (2) seek to identify, as appropriate, means to achieve regulatory goals that are designed to promote innovation. 6. Flexible approaches Where relevant, feasible, and consistent with regulatory objectives, and to the extent permitted by law, each agency shall identify and consider regulatory approaches that— (1) reduce burdens and maintain flexibility and freedom of choice for the public; (2) include warnings, appropriate default rules, and disclosure requirements; and (3) provide information to the public in a form that is clear and intelligible. 7. Science Each agency shall ensure the objectivity of any scientific and technological information and processes used to support each regulatory action of the agency.

Summary: Principled Rulemaking Act of 2015 (Sec. 3) This bill revises the federal agency rulemaking process to require a agencies to promulgate only rules (defined to exclude agency actions involving a military or foreign affairs function of the United States or a matter relating to agency management or personnel or to public property, loans, grants, benefits, or contracts) that are required by law, necessary to interpret a law, or made necessary by public need, to protect or improve the health and safety of the public, the environment, or the wellbeing of the people of the United States. Before promulgating such a rule, an agency must: assess the significance of the problem the agency intends to address; consider the legal authority under which the rule may be proposed; examine whether existing rules have created or contributed to the problem and should be modified to achieve the regulatory objective more effectively; assess available alternatives to direct regulation; consider the risks posed by various substances or activities within the agency's jurisdiction; design the rule to maximize net benefits while justifying the costs; consider incentives for innovation, consistency, predictability, flexibility, distributive impacts, and equity on the regulated entities and the public and the cost of enforcement and compliance to the government, regulated entities, and the public; base decisions on the best reasonably obtainable information concerning the need for, and consequences of, the rule; assess alternative forms of regulation and specify performance objectives; seek views of governmental entities before imposing regulatory requirements that may significantly or uniquely affect them and seek to minimize those burdens; assess the effects of rules on state, local, and tribal governments and the private sector; seek to harmonize agency action with related governmental functions; avoid promulgating a rule that is inconsistent, incompatible, or duplicative with other rules; tailor the rule to maximize benefits while imposing the least burden on society; and draft the rule in a manner that is simple and easy to understand. Such considerations shall be included as part of the rulemaking record and shall be considered by a court only in determining whether the final rule is: (1) arbitrary, capricious, or an abuse of discretion; or (2) unsupported by substantial evidence where the standard is otherwise provided by law. This bill shall not apply: to interpretative rules, general statements of policy, or rules of agency organization, procedures, or practice; if the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) waives these requirements for good cause; or if the statute on which a proposed rule is based specifically exempts a rule from any of these procedures. Judicial review of agency or OIRA compliance with this bill is limited. (Sec. 4) Agencies must issue rules through a process that involves public participation, including by providing for timely online access to the rulemaking docket of the agency on an easily accessible federal website. Before issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking, each agency shall seek the views of those who are likely to be affected by the rule. (Sec. 5) In developing regulatory actions and identifying appropriate approaches, each agency shall: (1) attempt to promote coordination, simplification, and harmonization; and (2) seek to identify means to achieve regulatory goals that are designed to promote innovation. (Sec. 6) When issuing a rule, each agency shall ensure that any scientific and technological information and processes used to support any regulatory action of the agency is the best objective, peer-reviewed, and reproducible information publicly available.