Outside Communications and OIRA Review of Agency Regulations
30 Pages Posted: 30 Jan 2012
Date Written: January 26, 2012
Abstract
Although the review of agency regulations by the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) has been a fundamental aspect of the rulemaking process for three decades, there is little empirical evidence regarding the operation and effects of regulatory review. In this research, we examine a longstanding expectation regarding the involvement of outside parties in OIRA review, namely, that participation on the part of regulated entities is tied to reviews that take particularly long to complete and that are especially likely to result in changes to agency rules. Taking advantage of information about outside communications that OIRA discloses via the Internet, we find that although participation was associated with lengthy review times and rule revisions during the period between 2002 and 2006, these delays and amendments were not specifically linked with the involvement of business firms and industry organizations. These results imply that outside communications do not, as a general matter, serve as an institutionalized forum for regulated entities to slow OIRA reviews and alter the content of agency regulations.
Keywords: Office of Management and Budget, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, regulation, regulatory review, rulemaking, political participation, OMB review, OIRA review, business domination, delay in policymaking
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