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SEC. 6. SUNSET REVIEW PROCEDURES.
(a) FUNCTIONS OF THE ADMINISTRATOR.—
(1) NOTICE OF RULES SUBJECT TO RE-
VIEW.—
(A) INVENTORY
AND
FIRST
LIST.—
Within 6 months after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Adminis-
trator shall conduct an inventory of
existing rules and publish a first list
of covered rules. The list shall—
(i) 
specify 
the 
particular
group to which each significant
rule is assigned under paragraph
(2), and state the review deadline
for all significant rules in each
such group; and
(ii) include other rules subject
to sunset review for any other
reason, and state the review dead-
line for each such rule.
(B) SUBSEQUENT LISTS.—After pub-
lication of the first list under sub-
paragraph 
(A), 
the 
Administrator
shall publish an updated list of cov-
ered rules at least annually, specify-
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ing the review deadline for each rule
on the list.
(2) GROUPING OF SIGNIFICANT RULES IN
FIRST LIST.—
(A) STAGGERED
REVIEW.—The Ad-
ministrator shall assign each signifi-
cant rule in effect on the date of en-
actment of this Act to one of 4 groups
established by the Administrator to
permit orderly and prioritized sunset
reviews, and specify for each group
an initial review deadline in accord-
ance with section 7(a)(1).
(B) 
PRIORITIZATIONS.—In 
deter-
mining which rules shall be given pri-
ority in time in that assignment, the
Administrator shall consult with ap-
propriate 
agencies, 
and 
shall
prioritize rule based on—
(i) the grouping of related
rules in accordance with para-
graph (3);
(ii) the extent of the cost of
each rule and on the regulated
community and the public, with
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priority in time given to those
rules that impose the greatest
cost;
(iii) 
consideration 
of 
the
views of regulated persons, in-
cluding State and local govern-
ments;
(iv) whether a particular rule
has recently been subject to cost/
benefit analysis and risk assess-
ment, with priority in time given
to those rules that have not been
subject to such analysis and as-
sessment;
(v) whether a particular rule
was issued under a statutory pro-
vision that provides relatively
greater discretion to an official in
issuing the rule, with priority in
time given to those rules that
were issued under provisions that
provide relatively greater discre-
tion;
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(vi) the burden of reviewing
each rule on the reviewing agen-
cy; and
(vii) the need for orderly
processing and the timely comple-
tion of the sunset reviews of exist-
ing rules.
(3) GROUPING OF RELATED RULES.—Ad-
ministrator shall group related rules
under paragraph (2) (and designate other
rules) for simultaneous sunset review
based upon their subject matter similar-
ity, 
functional 
interrelationships, 
and
other relevant factors to ensure com-
prehensive and coordinated review of re-
dundant, overlapping, and conflicting
rules and requirements. The Adminis-
trator shall ensure simultaneous sunset
reviews of covered rules without regard
to whether they were issued by the same
agency, and shall designate any other
rule for sunset review that is necessary
for 
a 
comprehensive 
sunset 
review
whether or not such other rule is other-
wise a covered rule under this Act.
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(4) 
GUIDANCE.—The 
Administrator
shall provide timely guidance to agencies
on the conduct of sunset reviews and the
preparation of sunset review notices and
reports required by this Act to ensure
uniform, complete, and timely sunset re-
views and to ensure notice and oppor-
tunity for public comment consistent
with section 8.
(5) REVIEW
AND
EVALUATION
OF
RE-
PORTS.—The Administrator shall review
and evaluate each preliminary and final
report submitted by the agency pursuant
to this section. Within 90 days after re-
ceiving a preliminary report, the Admin-
istrator shall transmit comments to the
head of the agency regarding—
(A) the quality of the analysis in
the report, including whether the
agency has properly applied section
5;
(B) the consistency of the agen-
cy’s proposed action with actions of
other agencies; and
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(C) whether the rule should be
continued without change, modified,
consolidated with another rule, or
terminated.
(b) AGENCY SUNSET REVIEW PROCEDURE.—
(1) SUNSET
REVIEW
NOTICE.—At least
21⁄2
years before the review deadline
under section 7(a) for a covered rule is-
sued by an agency, the agency shall—
(A) publish a sunset review notice
in accordance with section 8(a) in the
Federal Register and, to the extent
reasonable and practicable, in other
publications or media that are de-
signed to reach those persons most
affected by the covered rule; and
(B) request the views of the Ad-
ministrator and the appropriate com-
mittees of the Congress on whether to
continue 
without 
change, 
modify,
consolidate, or terminate the covered
rule.
(2) PRELIMINARY
REPORT.—In review-
ing a covered rule, the agency shall—
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(A) consider public comments and
other recommendations generated by
a sunset review notice under para-
graph (1); and
(B) at least 1 year before the re-
view deadline under section 7(a) for
the covered rule, publish in the Fed-
eral Register, in accordance with sec-
tion 8(b), and transmit to the Admin-
istrator and the appropriate commit-
tees of the Congress a preliminary re-
port.
(3) FINAL
REPORT.—The agency shall
consider the public comments and other
recommendations generated by the pre-
liminary report under paragraph (2) for a
covered rule, and shall consult with the
appropriate committees of the Congress
before issuing a final report. At least 90
days before the review deadline of the
covered rule, the agency shall publish in
the Federal Register, in accordance with
section 8(c)(2) or 8(d), and transmit a
final report to the Administrator and the
appropriate committees of the Congress.
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(4) OPEN PROCEDURES REGARDING SUN-
SET
REVIEW.—In any sunset review con-
ducted pursuant to this Act, the agency
conducting the review shall make a writ-
ten record describing the subject of all
contacts the agency or Administrator
made with non-governmental persons
outside the agency relating to such re-
view. The written record of such contact
shall be made available, upon request, to
the public.
(c) 
EFFECTIVENESS
OF
AGENCY
REC-
OMMENDATION.—If a final report under sub-
section (b)(3) recommends that a covered rule
should be continued without change, the cov-
ered rule shall be continued. If a final report
under subsection (b)(3) recommends that a
covered rule should be modified, consolidated
with another rule, or terminated, the rule
may be modified, so consolidated, or termi-
nated in accordance with section 8(d).
(d) PRESERVATION
OF
INDEPENDENCE
OF
FEDERAL BANK REGULATORY AGENCIES.—The
head of any appropriate Federal banking
agency (as that term is defined in section 3(q)
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of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12
U.S.C. 1813(q)), the Federal Housing Finance
Board, the National Credit Union Administra-
tion, and the Office of Federal Housing Enter-
prise Oversight shall have the authority with
respect to that agency that would otherwise
be granted under section 7(a)(2)(B) to the Ad-
ministrator or other officer designated by the
President.
SEC. 7. REVIEW DEADLINES FOR COVERED RULES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this Act,
the review deadline of a covered rule is as fol-
lows:
(1) EXISTING SIGNIFICANT RULES.—For a
significant rule in effect on the date of
the enactment of this Act, the initial re-
view deadline is the last day of the 4-
year, 5-year, 6-year, or 7-year period be-
ginning on the date of the enactment of
this Act, as specified by the Adminis-
trator under section 6(a)(2)(A). For any
significant rule that 6 months after the
date of enactment is not assigned to such
a group specified under section 6(a)(2)(A),
the initial review deadline is the last day
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of the 4-year period beginning on the
date of enactment of this Act.
(2) NEW SIGNIFICANT RULES.—For a sig-
nificant rule that first takes effect after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the
initial review deadline is the last day of
either—
(A) the 3-year period beginning
on the date the rule takes effect, or
(B) if the Administrator deter-
mines as part of the rulemaking proc-
ess that the rule is issued pursuant to
negotiated rulemaking procedures or
that compliance with the rule re-
quires substantial capital investment,
the 7-year period beginning on the
date the rule takes effect.
(3) RULES COVERED PURSUANT TO PUB-
LIC
PETITION
OR
CONGRESSIONAL
RE-
QUEST.—For any rule subject to sunset re-
view pursuant to a public petition under
section 4(c) or a congressional request
under section 4(d), the initial review
deadline is the last day of the 3-year pe-
riod beginning on—
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(A) the date the agency or Admin-
istrator so designates the rule for re-
view; or
(B) the date of issuance of a final
court 
order 
that 
the 
agency 
is
deemed to have designated the rule
for sunset review.
(4) RELATED RULE DESIGNATED FOR RE-
VIEW.—For a rule that the Administrator
designates under section 6(a)(3) for sun-
set review because it is related to an-
other covered rule and that is grouped
with that other rule for simultaneous re-
view, the initial review deadline is the
same as the review deadline for that
other rule.
(b) TEMPORARY
EXTENSION.—The review
deadline under subsection (a) for a covered
rule may be extended by the Administrator
for not more than 6 months by publishing no-
tice thereof in the Federal Register that de-
scribes reasons why the temporary extension
is necessary to respond to or prevent an emer-
gency situation.
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(c) DETERMINATIONS WHERE RULES HAVE
BEEN AMENDED.—For purposes of this Act, if
various provisions of a covered rule were is-
sued at different times, then the rule as a
whole shall be treated as if it were issued on
the later of—
(1) the date of issuance of the provi-
sion of the rule that was issued first; or
(2) the date the most recent review
and revision of the rule under this Act
was completed.
SEC. 8. SUNSET REVIEW NOTICES AND AGENCY REPORTS.
(a) SUNSET REVIEW NOTICES.—The sunset
review notice under section 6(b)(1) for a rule
shall—
(1) 
request 
comments 
regarding
whether the rule should be continued
without change, modified, consolidated
with another rule, or terminated;
(2) if applicable, request comments
regarding whether the rule meets the ap-
plicable Federal cost/benefit and risk as-
sessment criteria; and
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(3) solicit comments about the past
implementation and effects of the rule,
including—
(A) the direct and indirect costs
incurred because of the rule, includ-
ing the net reduction in the value of
private property (whether real, per-
sonal, tangible, or intangible), and
whether the incremental benefits of
the rule exceeded the incremental
costs of the rule, both generally and
regarding each of the specific indus-
tries and sectors it covers;
(B) whether the rule as a whole,
or any major feature of it, is out-
dated, 
obsolete, 
or 
unnecessary,
whether by change of technology, the
marketplace, or otherwise;
(C) the extent to which the rule
or information required to comply
with the rule duplicated, conflicted,
or 
overlapped 
with 
requirements
under rules of other agencies;
(D) in the case of a rule address-
ing a risk to health or safety or the
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environment, what the perceived risk
was at the time of issuance and to
what extent the risk predictions were
accurate;
(E) whether the rule unneces-
sarily impeded domestic or inter-
national competition or unnecessarily
intruded on free market forces, and
whether the rule unnecessarily inter-
fered with opportunities or efforts to
transfer to the private sector duties
carried out by the Government;
(F) whether, and to what extent,
the rule imposed unfunded mandates
on, or otherwise affected, State and
local governments;
(G) whether compliance with the
rule required substantial capital in-
vestment and whether terminating
the rule on the next review deadline
would create an unfair advantage to
those who are not in compliance with
it;
(H) whether the rule constituted
the least cost method of achieving its
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objective consistent with the criteria
of the Act under which the rule was
issued, and to what extent the rule
provided flexibility to those who were
subject to it;
(I) whether the rule was worded
simply and clearly, including clear
identification of those who were sub-
ject to the rule;
(J) whether the rule created nega-
tive unintended consequences;
(K) the extent to which informa-
tion requirements under the rule can
be reduced; and
(L) the extent to which the rule
has contributed positive benefits, par-
ticularly health or safety or environ-
mental benefits.
(b) PRELIMINARY REPORTS ON SUNSET RE-
VIEWS.—The preliminary report under section
6(b)(2) on the sunset review of a rule shall re-
quest public comments and contain—
(1) specific requests for factual find-
ings and recommended legal conclusions
regarding the application of section 5 to
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the rule, the continued need for the rule,
and whether the rule duplicates func-
tions of another rule;
(2) a request for comments on wheth-
er the rule should be continued without
change, modified, consolidated with an-
other rule, or terminated; and
(3) if consolidation or modification of
the rule is recommended, suggestions for
the proposed text of the consolidated or
modified rule.
(c) FINAL REPORTS ON SUNSET REVIEWS.—
The report under section 6(b)(3) on the sunset
review of a rule shall—
(1) contain the factual findings and
legal conclusions of the agency conduct-
ing the review regarding the application
of section 5 to the rule and the agency’s
proposed recommendation as to whether
the rule should be continued without
change, modified, consolidated with an-
other rule, or terminated;
(2) on the case of a rule that the agen-
cy proposes to continue without change,
so state;
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(3) in the case of a rule that the agen-
cy proposes to modify or consolidate with
another rule, contain—
(A) a notice of proposed rule-
making under section 553 of title 5,
United States Code or under other
statutory rulemaking procedures re-
quired for that rule, and
(B) the text of the rule as so modi-
fied or consolidated; and
(4) in the case of a rule that the agen-
cy proposes to terminate, contain a no-
tice of proposed rulemaking for termi-
nation consistent with paragraph (3)(A).
A final report described in paragraph (2) shall
be published in the Federal Register.
(d) RULEMAKING.—The final report under
subsection (c)(3) or (c)(4) shall be published in
the Federal Register and its publication shall
constitute publication of the notice required
by subsection (c)(3)(A). After publication of
the final report under subsection (c)(3) or
(c)(4) on a sunset review of a rule, the agency
which conducted such review shall conduct
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the rulemaking which is called for in such re-
port.
SEC. 9. DESIGNATION OF AGENCY REGULATORY REVIEW
OFFICERS.
The head of each agency shall designate
an officer of the agency as the Regulatory Re-
view Officer of the agency. The Regulatory
Review Officer of an agency shall be respon-
sible for the implementation of this Act by the
agency and shall report directly to the head
of the agency and the Administrator with re-
spect to that responsibility.
SEC. 10. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW; SEVERABILITY.
(a) RELATIONSHIP TO APA.—Nothing in this
Act is intended to supersede the provisions of
chapters 5, 6, and 7 of title 5, United States
Code.
(b) SEVERABILITY.—If any provision of this
Act, or the application of any provision of this
Act to any person or circumstance, is held in-
valid, the application of such provision to
other persons or circumstances, and the re-
mainder of this Act, shall not be affected
thereby.
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SEC. 11. EFFECT OF TERMINATION OF A COVERED RULE.
(a) EFFECT OF TERMINATION, GENERALLY.—
If a covered rule is terminated pursuant to
this Act—
(1) this Act shall not be construed to
prevent the President or an agency from
exercising any authority that otherwise
exists to implement the statute under
which the rule was issued;
(2) in an agency proceeding or court
action between an agency and a non-
agency party, the rule shall be given no
conclusive legal effect but may be submit-
ted as evidence of prior agency practice
and procedure; and
(3) this Act shall not be construed to
prevent the continuation or institution of
any enforcement action that is based on a
violation of the rule that occurred before
the effectiveness of the rule terminated.
(b) EFFECT ON DEADLINES.—
(1) 
IN
GENERAL.—Notwithstanding
subsection (a), any deadline for, relating
to, or involving any action dependent
upon, any rule terminated under this Act
is suspended until the agency that issued
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the rule issues a new rule on the same
matter, unless otherwise provided by a
law.
(2) DEADLINE
DEFINED.—In this sub-
section, the term ‘‘deadline’’ means any
date certain for fulfilling any obligation
or exercising any authority established
by or under any Federal rule, or by or
under any court order implementing any
Federal rule.
SEC. 12. JUDICIAL REVIEW.
(a) IN GENERAL.—A denial or substantial
inexcusable delay in granting or denying a pe-
tition under section 4(c) shall be considered
final agency action subject to review under
section 702 of title 5, United States Code. A de-
nial of a congressional request under section
4(d) shall not be subject to judicial review.
(b) TIME LIMITATION ON FILING A CIVIL AC-
TION.—Notwithstanding any other provisions
of law, an action seeking judicial review of a
final agency action under this Act may not be
brought—
(1) in the case of a final agency action
denying a public petition under section
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4(c) or continuing without change, modi-
fying, consolidating, or terminating a
covered rule, more than 30 days after the
date of that agency action; or
(2) in the case of an action challeng-
ing a delay in deciding on a petition for
a rule under section 4(c), more than 1
year after the period applicable to the
rule under section 4(c)(4).
(c) AVAILABILITY OF JUDICIAL REVIEW UNAF-
FECTED.—Except to the extent that there is a
direct conflict with the provisions of this Act,
nothing in this Act is intended to affect the
availability or standard of judicial review for
agency regulatory action.
SEC. 13. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Ad-
ministrator’’ means the Administrator of
the Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs in the Office of Management and
Budget.
(2) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has
the meaning given that term in section
551(1) of title 5, United States Code.
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(3) APPROPRIATE
COMMITTEE
OF
THE
CONGRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate com-
mittee of the Congress’’ means, with re-
spect to a rule, each standing committee
of Congress having authority under the
rules of the House of Representatives or
the Senate to report a bill to amend the
provision of law under which the rule is
issued.
(4) RULE.—
(A) GENERAL
RULE.—Subject to
subparagraph (B), the term ‘‘rule’’
means any agency statement of gen-
eral applicability and future effect,
including 
agency 
guidance 
docu-
ments, designed to implement, inter-
pret, or prescribe law or policy, or de-
scribing the procedures or practices
of an agency, or intended to assist in
such actions, but does not include—
(i) regulations or other agen-
cy statements issued in accord-
ance with formal rulemaking pro-
visions of sections 556 and 557 of
title 5, United States Code, or in
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tion necessary to permit new or
improved applications of tech-
nology or to allow the manufac-
ture, distribution, sale, or use of a
substance or product; and
(vi) regulations or other agen-
cy statements that the Adminis-
trator certifies in writing are nec-
essary for the enforcement of the
Federal criminal laws.
(B) SCOPE
OF
A
RULE.—For pur-
poses of this Act, each set of rules
designated in the Code of Federal
Regulations as a part shall be treated
as one rule. Each set of rules that do
not appear in the Code of Federal
Regulations and that are comparable
to a part of that Code under guide-
lines established by the Adminis-
trator shall be treated as one rule.
(5) SUNSET REVIEW.—The term ‘‘sunset
review’’ means a review of the rule under
this Act.
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SEC. 14. SUNSET OF THIS ACT.
This Act shall have no force or effect after
the 10-year period beginning on the date of
the enactment of this Act.
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