In a Bloomberg Law article, “White House Urges More Public Outrach in Agencies’ Rulemaking,” PPR Director Cary Coglianese, the Edward B. Shils Professor of Law and Professor of Political Science, remarks on the merits of a new memo issued by the Office of Management and Budget encouraging broader public participation and community engagement in the regulatory process.
From Bloomberg Law:
Cary Coglianese, a regulatory law professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School who has studied this issue, said any moves to encourage “early, broad, and equitable public outreach about regulation” is to be lauded.
“Regulatory decisions affect the public, but not everyone affected has time to follow regulatory developments,” he said. “Agency officials have a lot that they can learn by affirmatively reaching out and listening to those who their rules will impact.”
Coglianese said he was especially pleased by the directive for agencies to start including specific information about opportunities for public participation in their regulatory agendas, calling it “a great idea to nudge agencies along in thinking concretely about public participation.”
He also approved of the commitment OIRA made to give agencies flexibility under the Paperwork Reduction Act when that statute might slow down their efforts to engage with relevant populations.
“There’s always been a tension between the Paperwork Reduction Act’s requirements and the value of systematic efforts to gather input needed to inform regulations,” Coglianese said. “Seeing OIRA go on record about Paperwork Reduction Act flexibility strikes me as helpful.”
Read the full article at Bloomberg Law.
