Sec. 204. Agency guidance; procedures to issue major guidance; presidential authority to issue guidelines for issuance of guidance
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/bill/113/hr/4/pcs/section-204A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 553 the following new section: Before issuing any major guidance, or guidance that involves a novel legal or policy issue arising out of statutory mandates, an agency shall— make and document a reasoned determination that— assures that such guidance is understandable and complies with relevant statutory objectives and regulatory provisions (including any statutory deadlines for agency action); summarizes the evidence and data on which the agency will base the guidance; identifies the costs and benefits (including all costs to be considered during a rule making under section 553(b) of this title) of conduct conforming to such guidance and assures that such benefits justify such costs; and describes alternatives to such guidance 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 confer with the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on the issuance of such guidance to assure that the guidance is reasonable, understandable, consistent with relevant statutory and regulatory provisions and requirements 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 mandates, the agency shall publish the documentation required by subparagraph
(1)by electronic means and otherwise. Agency guidance— is not legally binding and may not be relied upon by an agency as legal grounds for agency action; shall state in a plain, prominent and permanent manner that it is not legally binding; and shall, at the time it is issued or upon request, be made available by the issuing agency to interested persons and the public by electronic means and otherwise. Agencies shall avoid the issuance of guidance that is inconsistent 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. The Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs shall have authority to issue guidelines for use by the agencies in the issuance of major guidance 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 Federal agencies and drafts its guidance documents to be simple and easy to understand, with the goal of minimizing the potential for uncertainty and litigation arising from such uncertainty. . 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 following new item: 553a. Agency guidance; procedures to issue major guidance; authority to issue guidelines for issuance of guidance. .