“To require an agency to prepare a household cost impact analysis before publishing a proposed and final rule, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section amends the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) by inserting after §553 new §§553a and 553b to require federal agencies to prepare household cost impact analyses—covering whether a proposed rule would substantially increase household costs (defined as $50 or more per year in average annual out-of-pocket expenditures for basic necessities such as housing, utilities, transportation, food, health care, child care, education, household products, and taxes)—for rules subject to notice-and-comment rulemaking. Specifically, §553a requires agencies to (1) publish an initial analysis with the notice of proposed rulemaking, including effects by household income level, affected goods/services categories, and alternative recommendations; (2) prepare a final analysis responding to public comments; (3) publish the final analysis with any final rule; and (4) prohibit promulgation of a final rule that substantially increases household costs unless required by law or necessary to address an imminent national security threat, major disaster, or emergency under the Stafford Act (with congressional certification), in which case the rule expires after one year unless authorized by law. Additionally, §553a directs the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director to issue compliance guidance within 180 days of enactment and, annually thereafter, to report on major rules (as defined in APA §804) that substantially increase household costs, with recommendations for amendments, repeals, or legislation. Section 553b provides for judicial review under APA chapter 7 of agency compliance by any adversely affected household.