S. 30 — ERASER Act

This section defines key terms for purposes of the Act, including (1) "agency" and "rule" as those terms are defined in 5 U.S.C. §551 of the Administrative Procedure Act; (2) "major rule" as defined in 5 U.S.C. §804 of the Congressional Review Act; and (3) "State" as each of the several states, the District of Columbia, each territory or possession of the United States, and each federally recognized Indian tribe.

This section prohibits an agency from issuing a rule unless it first repeals at least three prior rules issued through notice-and-comment rulemaking under 5 U.S.C. §553 (excluding interpretative rules, general statements of policy, or rules of agency organization, procedure, or practice) that, to the extent practicable, are related to the new rule, with the repeals published in the Federal Register. For a major rule, the agency additionally must ensure the cost of the new major rule is less than or equal to the cost of the repealed rules, as certified by the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs; the requirement applies only to rules imposing a cost or responsibility on nongovernmental persons or state or local governments (not to rules relating to agency management, organization, personnel, or procurement).

This section directs the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study and submit a report to Congress, not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act and every five years thereafter, that identifies, as of the report submission date, (1) the number of rules in effect, (2) the number of major rules in effect, and (3) the total estimated economic cost imposed by such rules.