Unifying Rule-Making Information: Recommendations for the New Federal Docket Management System

26 Pages Posted: 4 Jan 2005 Last revised: 13 Jul 2014

See all articles by Cary Coglianese

Cary Coglianese

University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School

Stuart Shapiro

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey - Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy

Steven J. Balla

George Washington University - Department of Political Science

Abstract

In recent years, regulatory agencies, Congress, and the White House have taken steps to increase the use of information technology in the management of the rulemaking process. The latest such e-rulemaking effort is the design of a new, government-wide regulatory information system being developed by Bush Administration. The system, known as the Federal Docket Management System, will for the first time make all information pertaining to federal regulation available to the public via the Internet. By making information about government regulation available on-line, the Administration's eRulemaking Initiative seeks to improve the quality and legitimacy of the government's regulatory decisions. If developed properly, the Initiative's new on-line docket management system can also facilitate academic research that in the longer term should improve regulatory policymaking. The recommendations in this paper, joined by a group of fifty-five other scholars of regulation, were originally delivered in a letter to the Office of Management and Budget, which is spearheading the Administration's eRulemaking Initiative. The paper describes the information currently maintained by government agencies and emphasizes the importance of ensuring that no loss of information occurs in making the transition to the on-line system. It also offers steps that the Administration should take to ensure a high level of quality of the information stored in the new system as well as effective search and downloading capabilities.

Posted paper, uploaded January 2010, is the published version of the working paper originally posted January 2005, and formerly titled "Recommendations for the Design of the Federal Docket Management System.”

Keywords: Regulation, Rulemaking, Information Technology

JEL Classification: K23

Suggested Citation

Coglianese, Cary and Shapiro, Stuart and Balla, Steven J., Unifying Rule-Making Information: Recommendations for the New Federal Docket Management System. Administrative Law Review, Vol. 57, p. 621, 2005, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=641322 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.641322

Cary Coglianese (Contact Author)

University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School ( email )

3501 Sansom Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
United States
215-898-6867 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.law.upenn.edu/coglianese

Stuart Shapiro

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey - Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy ( email )

New Brunswick, NJ 08901
United States

Steven J. Balla

George Washington University - Department of Political Science ( email )

2201 G Street, NW
Washington, DC 20052
United States
(202) 994-4811 (Phone)
(202) 994-7743 (Fax)

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