[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1556 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1556
To require the review of promulgated agency regulations and prohibit
rulemaking by agencies, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 1, 2025
Mr. Risch (for himself and Mr. Crapo) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the review of promulgated agency regulations and prohibit
rulemaking by agencies, 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 ``Zero Based Regulations Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Agency.--The term ``agency'' has the meaning given that
term in section 551 of title 5, United States Code.
(2) Rule; regulation.--The terms ``rule'' and
``regulation'' have the meaning given the term ``rule'' in
section 551 of title 5, United States Code.
SEC. 3. ONGOING REVIEW PROCESS FOR EXISTING RULES.
(a) In General.--Effective on the date of enactment of this Act,
each agency shall conduct a review of each part of any title of the
Code of Federal Regulations promulgated by the agency according to a
schedule established by the Administrator of the Office of Information
and Regulatory Affairs.
(b) Schedule.--
(1) In general.--The Administrator of the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs shall annually develop a
schedule of the parts of the Code of Federal Regulations that
agencies shall review under subsection (a).
(2) Volume of rules under review.--In developing the review
schedule required under paragraph (1), the Administrator of the
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs shall ensure that
the volume of rules that are reviewed by agencies in any given
year is such that the public can engage and provide meaningful
input in any individual rulemaking, with approximately 20
percent of the total regulations of an agency subject to review
each year.
(3) Publication.--
(A) In general.--The review schedule shall be
published on the website of the Office of Information
and Regulatory Affairs not later than January 1 of each
year.
(B) Code of federal regulations.--The Director of
the Federal Register shall publish on the cover sheet
of each individual part in each new edition of the Code
of Federal Regulations the date of any completed or
scheduled review for that part.
(c) Repeal of Rule Prior to Review.--Prior to the date of a review
pursuant to the schedule developed by the Administrator of the Office
of Information and Regulatory Affairs under subsection (b), each agency
shall repeal the part of the Code of Federal Regulations that is under
review.
(d) Retrospective Analysis.--
(1) In general.--Each agency shall perform a retrospective
analysis of the part being reviewed to determine--
(A) whether the goals of the rule are being
achieved, based on the legislative intent articulated
in the statute under which the rule was promulgated;
(B) whether the goals of the rule justify the costs
of the rule; and
(C) whether there are less restrictive alternatives
to accomplish the goals of the rule.
(2) Process.--The Administrator of the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs shall--
(A) develop a standardized process for the required
retrospective analysis; and
(B) publish the process on the website of the
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs not later
than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
(e) Reinstatement of a Rule.--
(1) In general.--An agency seeking to reinstate a rule that
has been repealed under subsection (c)--
(A) shall promulgate a new rule in accordance with
the provisions of subchapter II of chapter 5, and
chapter 7, of title 5, United States Code (commonly
known as the ``Administrative Procedure Act''); and
(B) shall not promulgate the rule without
completing a retrospective analysis under subsection
(d) of the original rule.
(2) Notice of proposed rulemaking.--
(A) In general.--An agency shall publish a notice
of proposed rulemaking and hold, at minimum, 2 public
hearings designed to maximize public participation in
the rulemaking process.
(B) Publication.--The agency shall publish a copy
of the retrospective analysis on the website of the
agency prior to the date of the public hearings
required under subparagraph (A).
(3) Regulatory burden.--A new rule promulgated by an agency
under this subsection shall not impose more than 70 percent of
the original estimated cost of the repealed version of the
rule.
SEC. 4. DESIGNATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE RULES COORDINATOR.
Each agency head shall designate an officer within the office of
the general counsel of the agency, to be known as the administrative
rules coordinator, to oversee the implementation of this Act.
SEC. 5. PROCESS FOR NEW OR AMENDED RULES.
(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (c), and subject
to the requirements under subsection (d), effective on the date of
enactment of this Act and ending on the last day of the fiscal year in
which this Act is enacted, an agency may not conduct any new rulemaking
action unless the following conditions are met:
(1) The rulemaking is narrowly-tailored to achieve 1 or
more of the following objectives:
(A) To reduce or remove a regulatory burden.
(B) To remove obsolete, outdated, or unnecessary
regulations.
(C) To comply with a new statutory requirement or
court order.
(D) To prevent a substantiated and well-documented
threat to public health, peace, or safety.
(2) At least 1 existing rule is repealed or significantly
simplified in conjunction with the new or amended rule so that
the net regulatory burden is decreased. Upon approval of the
Director of the Office of Management and Budget, this condition
shall not apply if the rulemaking is mandated by Federal law or
by court order.
(3) At least 1 public hearing is conducted.
(4) The agency--
(A) completes a cost-benefit analysis of the new or
amended rule, using a standardized form developed by
the Administrator of the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs pursuant to subsection (b);
(B) publishes such form on the website of the
agency not later than 90 days after the date on which
the review under subparagraph (A) begins; and
(C) publishes a copy of the prospective analysis on
the website of the agency.
(b) OIRA Forms.--The Administrator of the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs shall develop a standardized form to be distributed
to agencies for the purpose of conducting a prospective analysis of new
or amended regulations.
(c) Exceptions.--An agency may conduct a new rulemaking action
during the period specified under subsection (a) if--
(1) there is good cause for the rulemaking action under
section 553(b)(B) of title 5, United States Code; or
(2) the President waives the requirements under subsection
(a).
(d) Additional Requirements.--
(1) Single rulemaking docket.--All proposed amendments to
an existing part of a title of the Code of Federal Regulations
shall be contained in a single rulemaking docket and shall be
published on regulations.gov, or a successor website.
(2) Review.--
(A) In general.--If the new rulemaking action
results in a new part in the Code of Federal
Regulations, the agency shall conduct the retrospective
analysis described under section 3(d) on the new part
not later than 5 years after the rule becomes final and
every 5 years thereafter.
(B) Publication of review date.--
(i) Cover sheet.--The agency shall publish
the agency review date for any completed or
scheduled review on the cover sheet of each
individual part.
(ii) Website.--The Director of the Federal
Register and the Director of the Government
Publishing Office shall publish the agency
review date for each completed and scheduled
review on ecfr.gov, or a successor website.
(3) Amendments.--Effective on the date of enactment of this
Act and ending on the last day of the fiscal year in which this
Act is enacted, an agency shall, to the extent practicable,
only amend regulations in conjunction with the reinstatement of
those regulations under section 3(e).
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