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subsection (d). No less than 270 days from publication 
of the interim rule (or 18 months in the case of a major 
rule or high-impact rule), the agency shall complete rule 
making under subsections (d) through (f) of this sub-
section and take final action to adopt a final rule or re-
scind the interim rule. If the agency fails to take timely 
final action, the interim rule will cease to have the effect 
of law. 
‘‘(C) Other than in cases involving interests of na-
tional security, upon the agency’s publication of an interim 
rule without compliance with subsections (c), (d), or (e) 
or requirements to render final determinations under sub-
section (f) of this section, an interested party may seek 
immediate judicial review under chapter 7 of this title of 
the agency’s determination to adopt such interim rule. The 
record on such review shall include all documents and in-
formation considered by the agency and any additional in-
formation presented by a party that the court determines 
necessary to consider to assure justice. 
‘‘(3) When the agency for good cause finds (and in-
corporates the finding and a brief statement of reasons 
therefor in the rules issued) that notice and public proce-
dure thereon are unnecessary, including because agency 
rule making is undertaken only to correct a de minimis 
technical or clerical error in a previously issued rule or 
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for other noncontroversial purposes, the agency may pub-
lish a rule without compliance with subsections (c), (d), 
(e), or (f)(1)–(3) and (f)(4)(B)–(F). If the agency receives 
significant adverse comment within 60 days after publica-
tion of the rule, it shall treat the notice of the rule as 
a notice of proposed rule making and complete rule mak-
ing in compliance with subsections (d) and (f). 
‘‘(h) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR HEARINGS.— 
When a hearing is required under subsection (e) or is oth-
erwise required by statute or at the agency’s discretion 
before adoption of a rule, the agency shall comply with 
the requirements of sections 556 and 557 in addition to 
the requirements of subsection (f) in adopting the rule and 
in providing notice of the rule’s adoption. 
‘‘(i) DATE OF PUBLICATION OF RULE.—The required 
publication or service of a substantive final or interim rule 
shall be made not less than 30 days before the effective 
date of the rule, except— 
‘‘(1) a substantive rule which grants or recog-
nizes an exemption or relieves a restriction; 
‘‘(2) interpretive rules and statements of policy; 
or 
‘‘(3) as otherwise provided by the agency for 
good cause found and published with the rule. 
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‘‘(j) RIGHT TO PETITION.—Each agency shall give an 
interested person the right to petition for the issuance, 
amendment, or repeal of a rule. 
‘‘(k) RULE MAKING GUIDELINES.—(1)(A) The Ad-
ministrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs shall establish guidelines for the assessment, in-
cluding quantitative and qualitative assessment, of the 
costs and benefits of proposed and final rules and other 
economic issues or issues related to risk that are relevant 
to rule making under this title. The rigor of cost-benefit 
analysis required by such guidelines shall be commensu-
rate, in the Administrator’s determination, with the eco-
nomic impact of the rule. 
‘‘(B) To ensure that agencies use the best available 
techniques to quantify and evaluate anticipated present 
and future benefits, costs, other economic issues, and risks 
as accurately as possible, the Administrator of the Office 
of Information and Regulatory Affairs shall regularly up-
date guidelines established under paragraph (1)(A) of this 
subsection. 
‘‘(2) The Administrator of the Office of Information 
and Regulatory Affairs shall also issue guidelines to pro-
mote coordination, simplification and harmonization of 
agency rules during the rule making process and other-
wise. Such guidelines shall assure that each agency avoids 
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regulations that are inconsistent or incompatible with, or 
duplicative of, its other regulations and those of other 
Federal agencies and drafts its regulations to be simple 
and easy to understand, with the goal of minimizing the 
potential for uncertainty and litigation arising from such 
uncertainty. 
‘‘(3) To ensure consistency in Federal rule making, 
the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regu-
latory Affairs shall— 
‘‘(A) issue guidelines and otherwise take action 
to ensure that rule makings conducted in whole or 
in part under procedures specified in provisions of 
law other than those of subchapter II of this title 
conform to the fullest extent allowed by law with the 
procedures set forth in section 553 of this title; and 
‘‘(B) issue guidelines for the conduct of hear-
ings under subsections 553(d)(4) and 553(e) of this 
section, including to assure a reasonable opportunity 
for cross-examination. Each agency shall adopt regu-
lations for the conduct of hearings consistent with 
the guidelines issued under this subparagraph. 
‘‘(4) The Administrator of the Office of Information 
and Regulatory Affairs shall issue guidelines pursuant to 
the Information Quality Act to apply in rule making pro-
ceedings under sections 553, 556, and 557 of this title. 
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In all cases, such guidelines, and the Administrator’s spe-
cific determinations regarding agency compliance with 
such guidelines, shall be entitled to judicial deference. 
‘‘(l) INCLUSION IN THE RECORD OF CERTAIN DOCU-
MENTS AND INFORMATION.—The agency shall include in 
the record for a rule making, and shall make available by 
electronic means and otherwise, all documents and infor-
mation prepared or considered by the agency during the 
proceeding, including, at the discretion of the President 
or the Administrator of the Office of Information and Reg-
ulatory Affairs, documents and information communicated 
by that Office during consultation with the Agency. 
‘‘(m) MONETARY POLICY EXEMPTION.—Nothing in 
subsection (b)(6), subparagraphs (F) and (G) of sub-
section (d)(1), subsection (e), subsection (f)(3), and sub-
paragraphs (C) and (D) of subsection (f)(5) shall apply 
to rule makings that concern monetary policy proposed or 
implemented by the Board of Governors of the Federal 
Reserve System or the Federal Open Market Committee.’’. 
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SEC. 4. AGENCY GUIDANCE; PROCEDURES TO ISSUE MAJOR 
GUIDANCE; PRESIDENTIAL AUTHORITY TO 
ISSUE GUIDELINES FOR ISSUANCE OF GUID-
ANCE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 5 of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 553 the 
following new section: 
‘‘§ 553a. Agency guidance; procedures to issue major 
guidance; authority to issue guidelines 
for issuance of guidance 
‘‘(a) Before issuing any major guidance, or guidance 
that involves a novel legal or policy issue arising out of 
statutory mandates, an agency shall— 
‘‘(1) make and document a reasoned determina-
tion that— 
‘‘(A) assures that such guidance is under-
standable and complies with relevant statutory 
objectives and regulatory provisions (including 
any statutory deadlines for agency action); 
‘‘(B) summarizes the evidence and data on 
which the agency will base the guidance; 
‘‘(C) identifies the costs and benefits (in-
cluding all costs to be considered during a rule 
making under section 553(b) of this title) of 
conduct conforming to such guidance and 
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assures that such benefits justify such costs; 
and 
‘‘(D) describes alternatives to such guid-
ance and their costs and benefits (including all 
costs to be considered during a rule making 
under section 553(b) of this title) and explains 
why the agency rejected those alternatives; and 
‘‘(2) confer with the Administrator of the Office 
of Information and Regulatory Affairs on the 
issuance of such guidance to assure that the guid-
ance is reasonable, understandable, consistent with 
relevant statutory and regulatory provisions and re-
quirements or practices of other agencies, does not 
produce costs that are unjustified by the guidance’s 
benefits, and is otherwise appropriate. 
Upon issuing major guidance, or guidance that involves 
a novel legal or policy issue arising out of statutory man-
dates, the agency shall publish the documentation required 
by subparagraph (1) by electronic means and otherwise. 
‘‘(b) Agency guidance— 
‘‘(1) is not legally binding and may not be re-
lied upon by an agency as legal grounds for agency 
action; 
‘‘(2) shall state in a plain, prominent and per-
manent manner that it is not legally binding; and 
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‘‘(3) shall, at the time it is issued or upon re-
quest, be made available by the issuing agency to in-
terested persons and the public by electronic means 
and otherwise. 
Agencies shall avoid the issuance of guidance that is in-
consistent or incompatible with, or duplicative of, the 
agency’s governing statutes or regulations, with the goal 
of minimizing the potential for uncertainty and litigation 
arising from such uncertainty. 
‘‘(c) The Administrator of the Office of Information 
and Regulatory Affairs shall have authority to issue guide-
lines for use by the agencies in the issuance of major guid-
ance and other guidance. Such guidelines shall assure that 
each agency avoids issuing guidance documents that are 
inconsistent or incompatible with, or duplicative of, the 
law, its other regulations, or the regulations of other Fed-
eral agencies and drafts its guidance documents to be sim-
ple and easy to understand, with the goal of minimizing 
the potential for uncertainty and litigation arising from 
such uncertainty.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code, is amended 
by inserting after the item relating to section 553 the fol-
lowing new item: 
‘‘553a. Agency guidance; procedures to issue major guidance; authority to issue 
guidelines for issuance of guidance.’’. 
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SEC. 5. HEARINGS; PRESIDING EMPLOYEES; POWERS AND 
DUTIES; 
BURDEN 
OF 
PROOF; 
EVIDENCE; 
RECORD AS BASIS OF DECISION. 
Section 556 of title 5, United States Code, is amend-
ed by striking subsection (e) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(e)(1) The transcript of testimony and exhibits, to-
gether with all papers and requests filed in the proceeding, 
constitutes the exclusive record for decision in accordance 
with section 557 and shall be made available to the parties 
and the public by electronic means and, upon payment of 
lawfully prescribed costs, otherwise. When an agency deci-
sion rests on official notice of a material fact not appear-
ing in the evidence in the record, a party is entitled, on 
timely request, to an opportunity to show the contrary. 
‘‘(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of this sub-
section, in a proceeding held under this section pursuant 
to section 553(d)(4) or 553(e), the record for decision 
shall also include any information that is part of the 
record of proceedings under section 553. 
‘‘(f) When an agency conducts rule making under this 
section and section 557 directly after concluding pro-
ceedings upon an advance notice of proposed rule making 
under section 553(c), the matters to be considered and 
determinations to be made shall include, among other rel-
evant matters and determinations, the matters and deter-
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minations described in subsections (b) and (f) of section 
553. 
‘‘(g) Upon receipt of a petition for a hearing under 
this section, the agency shall grant the petition in the case 
of any major rule, unless the agency reasonably deter-
mines that a hearing would not advance consideration of 
the rule or would, in light of the need for agency action, 
unreasonably delay completion of the rule making. The 
agency shall publish its decision to grant or deny the peti-
tion when it renders the decision, including an explanation 
of the grounds for decision. The information contained in 
the petition shall in all cases be included in the adminis-
trative record. This subsection shall not apply to rule mak-
ings that concern monetary policy proposed or imple-
mented by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System or the Federal Open Market Committee.’’. 
SEC. 6. ACTIONS REVIEWABLE. 
Section 704 of title 5, United States Code, is amend-
ed— 
(1) by striking ‘‘Agency action made’’ and in-
serting ‘‘(a) Agency action made’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Denial 
by an agency of a correction request or, where ad-
ministrative appeal is provided for, denial of an ap-
peal, under an administrative mechanism described 
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in subsection (b)(2)(B) of the Information Quality 
Act, or the failure of an agency within 90 days to 
grant or deny such request or appeal, shall be final 
action for purposes of this section. 
‘‘(b) Other than in cases involving interests of na-
tional security, notwithstanding subsection (a) of this sec-
tion, upon the agency’s publication of an interim rule with-
out compliance with section 553(c), (d), or (e) or require-
ments to render final determinations under subsection (f) 
of section 553, an interested party may seek immediate 
judicial review under this chapter of the agency’s deter-
mination to adopt such rule on an interim basis. Review 
shall be limited to whether the agency abused its discre-
tion to adopt the interim rule without compliance with sec-
tion 553(c), (d), or (e) or without rendering final deter-
minations under subsection (f) of section 553.’’. 
SEC. 7. SCOPE OF REVIEW. 
Section 706 of title 5, United States Code is amend-
ed— 
(1) by striking ‘‘To the extent necessary’’ and 
inserting ‘‘(a) To the extent necessary’’; 
(2) in paragraph (2)(A) of subsection (a) (as 
designated by paragraph (1) of this section), by in-
serting after ‘‘in accordance with law’’ the following: 
‘‘(including the Information Quality Act)’’; and 
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