The Department of Transportation is among the most active regulatory agencies (exceeded only by the Department of Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Agriculture in number of regulations issued each year). It tends to be at the vanguard of regulatory practice, having been an early mover in e-rulemaking—sharing information and soliciting public comment online, and it conducts quite rigorous retrospective review of its regulations. So, it shouldn't be too surprising that the Department is poised to publish a final rule on “Administrative Rulemaking, Guidance, and Enforcement Procedures.”
The rule codifies procedures laid out a year ago in a departmental order that itself had replaced earlier procedural orders issued in 1970 and 1980. The preamble says the new rule provides “a comprehensive set of procedures that will increase transparency, provide for more robust public participation, and strengthen the overall quality and fairness of the Department's administrative actions.”
Read Full Article »