[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 31 (Wednesday, February 15, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9851-9852]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-03181]


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 Notices
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 88 , No. 31 / Wednesday, February 15, 2023 / 
Notices  

[[Page 9851]]



ADMINISTRATIVE CONFERENCE OF THE UNITED STATES


Identifying and Reducing Burdens in Administrative Processes; 
Request for Comments

AGENCY: Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS).

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the Chairman of ACUS is requesting public input 
on how agencies can identify and reduce unnecessary procedural burdens 
that members of the public face when they engage with administrative 
programs or participate in administrative processes. Responses to this 
request may inform an ongoing ACUS project, Identifying and Reducing 
Burdens in Administrative Processes, which, if warranted, will 
recommend best practices for agencies to use.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than 10 a.m. (ET) April 17, 
2023.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by email to [email protected] (with 
``Identifying and Reducing Burdens in Administrative Processes'' in the 
subject line of the message), online by clicking ``Submit a comment'' 
near the bottom of the project web page found at https://www.acus.gov/research-projects/disclosure-agency-legal-materials, or by U.S. Mail 
addressed to Identifying and Reducing Burdens in Administrative 
Processes, Administrative Conference of the United States, 1120 20th 
Street NW, Suite 706 South, Washington, DC 20036. ACUS will ordinarily 
post comments on the project web page as they are received. Commenters 
should not include information, such as personal information or 
confidential business information, that they do not wish to appear on 
the ACUS website. For the full ACUS public comment policy, please visit 
https://www.acus.gov/policy/public-comment-policy.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Gluth, Attorney Advisor, 
Administrative Conference of the United States, 1120 20th Street NW, 
Suite 706 South, Washington, DC 20036; Telephone (202) 480-2080; email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    The Administrative Conference Act, 5 U.S.C. 591-596, established 
the Administrative Conference of the United States. The Conference 
studies the efficiency, adequacy, and fairness of the administrative 
procedures used by Federal agencies and makes recommendations to 
agencies, the President, Congress, and the Judicial Conference of the 
United States for procedural improvements (5 U.S.C. 594(1)). For 
further information about the Conference and its activities, see 
www.acus.gov.

Identifying and Reducing Burdens in Administrative Processes

    Congress and the White House have, over the past three decades, 
directed agencies to design and manage public-facing processes to 
account for the needs of public participants. Statutes, executive 
orders, and Office of Management and Budget guidance identify methods 
for identifying unnecessary administrative burdens (e.g., use of 
surveys, focus groups, user testing, data analysis) and strategies for 
reducing them (e.g., streamlining processes, simplifying forms, 
digitizing services, improving public communications). This focus on 
identifying and reducing administrative burdens is often called 
``customer service'' or ``customer experience'' because it borrows from 
similar practices used by private-sector organizations.\1\
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    \1\ 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act, Public Law 
115-336 (2018); Exec. Order No 14058, TransformingFederal Customer 
Experience and Service Delivery To Rebuild Trust in Government, 86 
FR 71357 (Dec. 16, 2021); Exec. Order No. 13985, Advancing Racial 
Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal 
Government, 86 FR 7009 (Jan. 25, 2021); Exec. Order No. 13707, Using 
Behavioral Science Insights To Better Serve the American People, 80 
FR 56365 (Sept. 18, 2015); Exec. Order. No. 13571, Streamlining 
Service Delivery and Improving Customer Service, 76 FR 24339 (Apr. 
27, 2011); Exec. Order No. 12862, Setting Customer Service 
Standards, 58 FR 48257 (Sept. 14, 1993); Off. of Mgmt. & Budget, 
Improving Access to Public Benefits Through the Paperwork Reduction 
Act, M-22-10 (Apr. 13, 2022); see also Off. of Mgmt. & Budget, Study 
to Identify Methods to Assess Equity: Report to the President 
(2021).
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    Agencies are increasingly using customer service methods to 
identify and reduce unnecessary burdens that members of the public face 
when they engage with administrative programs or participate in 
administrative processes. A growing academic literature also analyzes 
how public institutions can use customer service methods to improve the 
programs they administer, and participants at two recent ACUS forums 
also discussed promising practices for identifying and reducing 
administrative burdens.\2\
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    \2\ Admin. Conf. of the U.S., Forum on Enhancing Public Input in 
Agency Rulemaking (Dec. 1, 2021); Admin. Conf. of the U.S., Forum on 
Underserved Communities and the Regulatory Process (Nov. 3-29, 
2021).
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    ACUS has adopted many recommendations urging agencies to use 
specific customer service methods in certain circumstances. It has 
recommended, for example, that agencies seek public input on practices 
for engaging with the public during rulemakings; \3\ design and manage 
Regulations.gov to ``meet user needs;'' \4\ solicit public feedback on 
appellate systems, hearing practices, and guidance websites; \5\ 
collect anonymous feedback to assess participants' satisfaction with 
virtual hearings; \6\ gather data on the experiences of self-
represented parties and users of electronic case management systems; 
\7\

[[Page 9852]]

and use quality assurance to identify systemic barriers to 
participation in adjudicatory proceedings.\8\
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    \3\ Admin. Conf. of the U.S., Recommendation 2020-1, Rules on 
Rulemakings, ] 5, 86 FR 6613, 6613 (Jan. 22, 2021); Admin. Conf. of 
the U.S., Recommendation 2018-7, Public Engagement in Rulemaking, ] 
4, 84 FR 2146, 2148 (Feb. 6, 2019).
    \4\ Admin. Conf. of the U.S., Recommendation 2018-6, Improving 
Access to Regulations.gov's Rulemaking Dockets, ] 1, 84 FR 2143, 
2145 (Feb. 6, 2019).
    \5\ Admin. Conf. of the U.S., Recommendation 2020-3, Agency 
Appellate Systems, ] 25, 86 FR 6618, 6620 (Jan. 22, 2021); Admin. 
Conf. of the U.S., Recommendation 2016-4, Evidentiary Hearings Not 
Required by the Administrative Procedure Act, ] 31, 81 FR 94314, 
94316 (Dec. 23, 2016); Admin. Conf. of the U.S. Recommendation 2019-
3, Public Availability of Agency Guidance Documents, ] 6, 84 FR 
38931, 38932 (Aug. 8, 2019).
    \6\ Admin. Conf. of the U.S., Recommendation 2021-4, Virtual 
Hearings in Agency Adjudication, ] 14, 86 FR 36083, 36085 (July 8, 
2021); see also Admin. Conf. of the U.S., Recommendation 2014-7, 
Best Practices for Using Video Teleconferencing for Hearings, ] 12, 
79 FR 75114, 75120 (Dec. 17, 2014).
    \7\ Admin. Conf. of the U.S., Recommendation 2016-6, Self-
Represented Parties in Administrative Proceedings, ] 4, 81 FR 94319, 
94320 (Dec. 23, 2016); Admin. Conf. of the U.S. Recommendation 2018-
3, Electronic Case Management in Federal Administrative 
Adjudication, ] 4f, 83 FR 30686, 30687 (June 29, 2018).
    \8\ Admin. Conf. of the U.S., Recommendation 2021-10, Quality 
Assurance Systems in Agency Adjudication, 87 FR 1722 (Jan. 12, 
2022).
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    ACUS is undertaking this project to examine more comprehensively 
how agencies are using and might better use customer service methods to 
improve administrative programs and procedures. A team of leading 
scholars will submit a report to ACUS that will examine methods, such 
as public engagement and data analysis, that agencies can use to 
identify unnecessary burdens that members of the public face when they 
engage with administrative programs or participate in administrative 
processes. The project will also assess strategies for reducing 
unnecessary burdens, such as streamlining processes and digitizing 
services. Based on this research, a committee of ACUS members will 
develop proposed recommendations to agencies of best practices for 
possible consideration by the ACUS Assembly. Visit https://www.acus.gov/research-projects to learn more about how ACUS develops 
recommendations.

Specific Topics for Public Comment

    ACUS welcomes views, information, and data on all aspects of 
strategies that agencies are using or might use to identify and reduce 
unnecessary burdens that members of the public face when they engage 
with administrative programs or participate in administrative 
processes. ACUS also seeks specific feedback on the following questions 
related to agencies' burden-reduction efforts:
    1. What has been your experience interacting with an agency 
regarding a benefit or service that you are applying for or renewing, 
for example unemployment insurance or student loan assistance? Was any 
portion of the process especially easy or particularly difficult? Do 
you have specific suggestions for reducing burdens?
    2. What has been your experience trying to use a government benefit 
or service that you are receiving? For example, how easy or difficult 
is it to use your food stamps, Medicaid health insurance, or Medicare 
health insurance? Do you have specific suggestions for reducing burdens 
in programs with which you have interacted?
    3. Have you experienced any unintended consequences from agencies' 
burden-reduction efforts? For example, have an agency's attempts to 
reduce one burden created others, either for members of the public or 
for agency officials?
    4. Are you aware of specific, temporary burden reductions 
instituted during the COVID-19 pandemic that you believe should be made 
permanent? This can include (and please specify, if possible) burden-
reduction efforts that agencies can implement under current statutes as 
well as those that would require statutory changes.
    5. Are there existing legal impediments that have slowed or stopped 
efforts to identify or reduce burdens? If so, please describe examples, 
especially those that you believe would have the greatest burden-
reduction impact.
    6. What has been your experience regarding collaborations between 
agencies and other public- and private-sector organizations when trying 
to reduce burdens. Please describe whether these collaborations were 
successful and describe any factors (e.g., statutory, organizational, 
other) that either enhanced or impeded the collaboration.
    7. What role can private-sector groups play in helping to reduce 
burdens, and how can government agencies encourage such actions? For 
example, how might regulations on access and sharing of personal 
financial data be structured to encourage private-sector groups to 
provide tools to reduce burdens that members of the public experience 
when they apply for, engage with, or participate in federal programs?

    Dated: February 9, 2023.
Shawne McGibbon,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2023-03181 Filed 2-14-23; 8:45 am]
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