[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 168 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 168

  To provide for procedures for the review of Federal department and 
              agency regulations, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

             January 21 (legislative day, January 5), 1993

 Mr. Glenn (for himself and Mr. Akaka) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Governmental 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide for procedures for the review of Federal department and 
              agency regulations, 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 ``Regulatory Review Sunshine Act of 
1993''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act, the term--
            (1) ``agency'' means an agency as defined under section 
        551(1) of title 5, United States Code, and section 552(f) of 
        title 5, United States Code;
            (2) ``regulatory review'' means the evaluation, review, 
        oversight, supervision, or coordination of agency rulemaking 
        activity by a reviewing entity directed by the President or his 
        designee to conduct such review on an ongoing basis;
            (3) ``reviewing entity'' means any agency, or other 
        establishment in the executive branch of the Federal Government 
        established by the President, which engages, in whole or in 
        part in regulatory review;
            (4) ``review action'' means any action, including but not 
        limited to a recommendation or direction, regarding an agency 
        rulemaking activity taken by a reviewing entity; and
            (5) ``rulemaking activity'' means any activity involving a 
        rulemaking as defined under section 551(5) of title 5, United 
        States Code, and includes activity involving a schedule or plan 
        for rulemaking, strategy statements, guidelines, policy 
        manuals, grant and loan procedures, advance notices of proposed 
        rulemaking, press releases and other documents announcing or 
        implementing regulatory policy that affects the public.

SEC. 3. DISCLOSURE BY A REVIEWING ENTITY.

    (a) Public Access.--A reviewing entity shall establish procedures, 
consistent with subsection (b), to provide public access to information 
concerning each agency rulemaking activity under its review. Such 
information shall include a copy of--
            (1) all written communications, regardless of format, 
        including drafts of all proposals and associated analyses, 
        between the reviewing entity and the rulemaking agency;
            (2) all written communications, regardless of format, 
        between the reviewing entity and any person not employed by the 
        Federal Government relating to the substance of an agency 
        rulemaking activity;
            (3) a record, including the date, participants, and 
        substance, of all oral communications relating to the substance 
        of an agency rulemaking activity, including meetings, between 
        the reviewing entity and any person not employed by the Federal 
        Government;
            (4) a written explanation as required by section 4(c) and 
        the date of any significant review action; and
            (5) any notice of any extensions of review under section 6.
    (b) Procedures.--Information described under subsection (a) shall 
be made available to the public upon request--
            (1) within 14 days of conclusion of review;
            (2) in a manner consistent with the requirements of section 
        552(a) of title 5, United States Code; and
            (3) for review, and copying, in a publicly accessible 
        reading room during normal business hours.

SEC. 4. DISCLOSURE TO A RULEMAKING AGENCY BY A REVIEWING ENTITY.

    (a) Written Communications.--A reviewing entity shall transmit to 
the rulemaking agency, on a timely basis, copies of any written 
communications between the reviewing entity and any person not employed 
by the Federal Government concerning the substance of a rulemaking 
activity of that agency.
    (b) Oral Communications.--A reviewing entity shall disclose to the 
rulemaking agency, on a timely basis, all oral communications, 
including meetings, between any person not employed by the Federal 
Government and the reviewing entity concerning the substance of a 
rulemaking activity of that agency. The reviewing entity shall--
            (1) advise the rulemaking agency of the date, participants, 
        and substance of such communications; and
            (2) invite the rulemaking agency head or designee to all 
        scheduled meetings involving such communications.
    (c) Explanation of Significant Review Action.--A reviewing entity 
shall, in a timely manner, provide the rulemaking agency with a written 
explanation of any significant review action taken by the reviewing 
entity concerning an agency rulemaking activity.

SEC. 5. PUBLIC DISCLOSURE BY A RULEMAKING AGENCY.

    (a) Status of Review.--A rulemaking agency shall upon request 
identify a rulemaking activity, the date upon which it was submitted to 
a reviewing entity for review, and any notice of any extensions of 
review under section 6.
    (b) Explanations.--For each proposed and final rule, a rulemaking 
agency shall explain in its rulemaking notice any significant changes 
made to such rule as a consequence of regulatory review.
    (c) Record.--A rulemaking agency shall place in the appropriate 
rulemaking record all of the documents received from a reviewing entity 
as required under section 4.

SEC. 6. TIME LIMITS FOR REVIEW.

    (a) Time Limits.--Within 60 days after the receipt of a rulemaking 
activity submitted to a reviewing entity for review, the reviewing 
entity shall conclude review of the rulemaking activity. The reviewing 
entity may, for good cause explained to the rulemaking agency extend 
the time for review for 30 days.
    (b) Resolution of Outstanding Issues.--If the President, or such 
other person or entity as the President may designate, reviews for 
resolution an issue arising out of a regulatory review--
            (1) the applicable time limits described under subsection 
        (a) may be extended, although any such issue shall be resolved 
        as promptly as practicable; and
            (2) any such review shall be subject to the requirements of 
        this Act, except for section 6(a).
    (c) Extensions.--A reviewing entity shall notify the rulemaking 
agency of an extension beyond 60 days and provide public notice, 
pursuant to sections 3 and 7. The rulemaking agency shall promptly 
publish a notice of any such extension in the Federal Register, and 
shall give public notice pursuant to section 5.

SEC. 7. PUBLIC ACCOUNTING OF REGULATORY REVIEW.

    (a) Publication of Accounting.--The Office of Management and Budget 
shall prepare and make available to the public a monthly and an annual 
accounting of regulatory review conducted by any and all reviewing 
entities. Such accounting shall include a list of all rulemaking 
activities submitted to a reviewing entity for review, under review by 
a reviewing entity, or for which a review action was taken by a 
reviewing entity during the reporting period.
    (b) Information Included in Accounting.--The monthly accounting 
required under subsection (a) shall be prepared and made available to 
the public within 10 working days of the end of each month and shall 
include the name and type of each rulemaking activity reviewed, the 
reviewing entity, the rulemaking agency, the date of submission, the 
status of review, notice of any extensions of review under section 6, 
any review action, the date of such action, and the authority for 
review.
    (c) Federal Register Publication.--Each rulemaking agency shall 
publish in the Federal Register within 10 working days of the end of 
each month a list of all rulemaking activities undergoing regulatory 
review during the preceding month. Such list shall include the name and 
type of each rulemaking activity, the reviewing entity, the date of 
submission, any review action taken during the reporting period, and 
the date of any such action.

SEC. 8. EXCLUSIONS.

    Oral communications with the President, the Vice President, the 
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Director of 
the Office of Management and Budget, and the heads of executive 
departments as defined under section 101 of title 5, United States 
Code, are not covered by this Act.

SEC. 9. EFFECT OF ACT.

    (a) Authorization.--Nothing in this Act authorizes a reviewing 
entity to--
            (1) review a rulemaking activity; or
            (2) direct an agency to make a decision with regard to a 
        rulemaking activity unless specifically authorized by law.
    (b) Alterations.--Nothing in this Act alters in any manner--
            (1) rulemaking authority vested by law in the head of an 
        agency;
            (2) any legally mandated criteria for rulemaking; or
            (3) the application of any statutory or judicial deadline 
        or the authority of an agency to undertake rulemaking activity 
        in an emergency situation.

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