ALERT Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.2779 | Sponsor: Rep. Good, Bob (R-VA)
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
All Economic Regulations are Transparent Act of 2021 or the ALERT Act of 2021
This bill establishes various reporting requirements with respect to federal agency rulemaking.  Specifically, each agency must submit a monthly report to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for each rule the agency expects to propose or finalize during the following year, including information about the objectives and legal basis for the rule as well as whether the rule is subject to periodic review based on its significant economic impact. Additionally, each agency must submit a monthly report for any rule expected to be finalized during the following year for which the agency has issued a general notice of proposed rulemaking, including an approximate schedule for completing action on the rule and an estimate of its cost and economic effects. OIRA must publish this information online and, subject to certain exceptions, a rule may not take effect until the information has been published for at least six months.  The bill also requires OIRA to annually publish in the Federal Register specified information it receives from agencies under this bill, including a list of each rule an agency has proposed and the total cost of all rules proposed or finalized. OIRA must further publish online (1) any analysis of the costs or benefits of rules that were proposed or finalized during the previous year, and (2) a list of rules that were subjected to various forms of review during the previous year.

To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for the publication, 
  by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, of information 
            relating to rulemakings, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``All Economic Regulations are 
Transparent Act of 2021'' or the ``ALERT Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. OFFICE OF INFORMATION AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS PUBLICATION OF 
              INFORMATION RELATING TO RULES.

    (a) Amendment.--Title 5, United States Code, is amended by 
inserting after chapter 6, the following new chapter:

``CHAPTER 6A--OFFICE OF INFORMATION AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS PUBLICATION 
                    OF INFORMATION RELATING TO RULES

``Sec. 651. Agency monthly submission to office of information and 
                            regulatory affairs.
``Sec. 652. Office of information and regulatory affairs publications.
``Sec. 653. Requirement for rules to appear in agency-specific monthly 
                            publication.
``Sec. 654. Definitions.

``SEC. 651. AGENCY MONTHLY SUBMISSION TO OFFICE OF INFORMATION AND 
              REGULATORY AFFAIRS.

    ``On a monthly basis, the head of each agency shall submit to the 
Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs 
(referred to in this chapter as the `Administrator'), in such a manner 
as the Administrator may reasonably require, the following information:
            ``(1) For each rule that the agency expects to propose or 
        finalize during the following year:
                    ``(A) A summary of the nature of the rule, 
                including the regulation identifier number and the 
                docket number for the rule.
                    ``(B) The objectives of and legal basis for the 
                issuance of the rule, including--
                            ``(i) any statutory or judicial deadline; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) whether the legal basis restricts or 
                        precludes the agency from conducting an 
                        analysis of the costs or benefits of the rule 
                        during the rulemaking, and if not, whether the 
                        agency plans to conduct an analysis of the 
                        costs or benefits of the rule during the 
                        rulemaking.
                    ``(C) Whether the agency plans to claim an 
                exemption from the requirements of section 553 pursuant 
                to section 553(b)(B).
                    ``(D) The stage of the rulemaking as of the date of 
                submission.
                    ``(E) Whether the rule is subject to review under 
                section 610.
            ``(2) For any rule for which the agency expects to finalize 
        during the following year and has issued a general notice of 
        proposed rulemaking--
                    ``(A) an approximate schedule for completing action 
                on the rule;
                    ``(B) an estimate of whether the rule will cost--
                            ``(i) less than $50,000,000;
                            ``(ii) $50,000,000 or more but less than 
                        $100,000,000;
                            ``(iii) $100,000,000 or more but less than 
                        $500,000,000;
                            ``(iv) $500,000,000 or more but less than 
                        $1,000,000,000;
                            ``(v) $1,000,000,000 or more but less than 
                        $5,000,000,000;
                            ``(vi) $5,000,000,000 or more but less than 
                        $10,000,000,000; or
                            ``(vii) $10,000,000,000 or more; and
                    ``(C) any estimate of the economic effects of the 
                rule, including any estimate of the net effect that the 
                rule will have on the number of jobs in the United 
                States, that was considered in drafting the rule. If 
                such estimate is not available, a statement affirming 
                that no information on the economic effects, including 
                the effect on the number of jobs, of the rule has been 
                considered.

``SEC. 652. OFFICE OF INFORMATION AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS PUBLICATIONS.

    ``(a) Agency-Specific Information Published Monthly.--Not later 
than 30 days after the submission of information pursuant to section 
651, the Administrator shall make such information publicly available 
on the Internet.
    ``(b) Cumulative Assessment of Agency Rulemaking Published 
Annually.--
            ``(1) Publication in the federal register.--Not later than 
        October 1 of each year, the Administrator shall publish in the 
        Federal Register, for the previous year the following:
                    ``(A) The information that the Administrator 
                received from the head of each agency under section 
                651.
                    ``(B) The number of rules and a list of each such 
                rule--
                            ``(i) that was proposed by each agency, 
                        including, for each such rule, an indication of 
                        whether the issuing agency conducted an 
                        analysis of the costs or benefits of the rule; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) that was finalized by each agency, 
                        including for each such rule an indication of 
                        whether--
                                    ``(I) the issuing agency conducted 
                                an analysis of the costs or benefits of 
                                the rule;
                                    ``(II) the agency claimed an 
                                exemption from the procedures under 
                                section 553 pursuant to section 
                                553(b)(B); and
                                    ``(III) the rule was issued 
                                pursuant to a statutory mandate or the 
                                rulemaking is committed to agency 
                                discretion by law.
                    ``(C) The number of agency actions and a list of 
                each such action taken by each agency that--
                            ``(i) repealed a rule;
                            ``(ii) reduced the scope of a rule;
                            ``(iii) reduced the cost of a rule; or
                            ``(iv) accelerated the expiration date of a 
                        rule.
                    ``(D) The total cost (without reducing the cost by 
                any offsetting benefits) of all rules proposed or 
                finalized, and the number of rules for which an 
                estimate of the cost of the rule was not available.
            ``(2) Publication on the internet.--Not later than October 
        1 of each year, the Administrator shall make publicly available 
        on the Internet the following:
                    ``(A) The analysis of the costs or benefits, if 
                conducted, for each proposed rule or final rule issued 
                by an agency for the previous year.
                    ``(B) The docket number and regulation identifier 
                number for each proposed or final rule issued by an 
                agency for the previous year.
                    ``(C) The number of rules and a list of each such 
                rule reviewed by the Director of the Office of 
                Management and Budget for the previous year, and the 
                authority under which each such review was conducted.
                    ``(D) The number of rules and a list of each such 
                rule for which the head of an agency completed a review 
                under section 610 for the previous year.
                    ``(E) The number of rules and a list of each such 
                rule submitted to the Comptroller General under section 
                801.
                    ``(F) The number of rules and a list of each such 
                rule for which a resolution of disapproval was 
                introduced in either the House of Representatives or 
                the Senate under section 802.

``SEC. 653. REQUIREMENT FOR RULES TO APPEAR IN AGENCY-SPECIFIC MONTHLY 
              PUBLICATION.

    ``(a) In General.--Subject to subsection (b), a rule may not take 
effect until the information required to be made publicly available on 
the Internet regarding such rule pursuant to section 652(a) has been so 
available for not less than 6 months.
    ``(b) Exceptions.--The requirement of subsection (a) shall not 
apply in the case of a rule--
            ``(1) for which the agency issuing the rule claims an 
        exception under section 553(b)(B); or
            ``(2) which the President determines by Executive order 
        should take effect because the rule is--
                    ``(A) necessary because of an imminent threat to 
                health or safety or other emergency;
                    ``(B) necessary for the enforcement of criminal 
                laws;
                    ``(C) necessary for national security; or
                    ``(D) issued pursuant to any statute implementing 
                an international trade agreement.

``SEC. 654. DEFINITIONS.

    ``In this chapter, the terms `agency', `agency action', `rule', and 
`rulemaking' have the meanings given those terms in section 551.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of chapters for 
part I of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 
the item relating to chapter 5, the following:

``6.  The Analysis of Regulatory Functions..................       601 
``6A.  Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs              651''.
                            Publication of Information 
                            Relating to Rules.
    (c) Effective Dates.--
            (1) Agency monthly submission to the office of information 
        and regulatory affairs.--The first submission required pursuant 
        to section 651 of title 5, United States Code, as added by 
        subsection (a), shall be submitted not later than 30 days after 
        the date of the enactment of this Act, and monthly thereafter.
            (2) Cumulative assessment of agency rulemaking.--
                    (A) In general.--Subsection (b) of section 652 of 
                title 5, United States Code, as added by subsection 
                (a), shall take effect on the date that is 60 days 
                after the date of the enactment of this Act.
                    (B) Deadline.--The first requirement to publish or 
                make available, as the case may be, under subsection 
                (b) of section 652 of title 5, United States Code, as 
                added by subsection (a), shall be the first October 1 
                after the effective date of such subsection.
                    (C) First publication.--The requirement under 
                section 652(b)(2)(A) of title 5, United States Code, as 
                added by subsection (a), shall include for the first 
                publication, any analysis of the costs or benefits 
                conducted for a proposed or final rule, for the 10 
                years before the date of the enactment of this Act.
            (3) Requirement for rules to appear in agency-specific 
        monthly publication.--Section 653 of title 5, United States 
        Code, as added by subsection (a), shall take effect on the date 
        that is 8 months after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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