The Future of Progressive Regulatory Reform – A Review and Critique of Two Proposals

Abstract

For decades those opposed to government regulation have introduced and in some cases managed to pass so-called regulatory reform legislation. The time has come to consider what regulatory reform might look like to those supportive of government regulation. This paper considers two proposals for such reform: a bill introduced by Senator Elizabeth Warren and a "progressive framework" authored by Professors Farber, Heinzerling, and Shane. The paper describes and critiques these proposals, and while finding much to support, it also finds some significant problems. Perhaps most interesting are the differences between these two progressive proposals.

Keywords: administrative law; rulemaking; regulatory reform; legislation