President Trump Continues to Advance Regulatory Reform Agenda

On February 24, 2017, President Trump issued Executive Order 13777 (Order) instructing the heads of each agency to designate certain agency personnel who will be responsible for enforcing and advancing the President’s regulatory reform agenda. Pursuant to the Order, each agency head is instructed to designate a Regulatory Reform Officer (RRO) to oversee the implementation of regulatory reform initiatives and policies consistent with the President’s recent orders on the matter and applicable law. The RRO will report directly to the agency head and regularly consult with agency leadership. Each agency must also create a Regulatory Reform Task Force (RRTF), consisting of various members of the agency and chaired by the RRO, to evaluate existing regulations and identify those that should be repealed replaced or modified.

The agency task forces must consider several factors when deciding which regulations are in need of reform. Some of these factors include whether the regulation (i) eliminates jobs or inhibits job creation, (ii) is outdated, unnecessary, or ineffective, (iii) imposes costs that exceed benefits or (iv) is no longer required because they are derived from Executive Orders that have been rescinded. The Order also instructs each RRTF to seek input from entities significantly affected by the regulations including state and local governments, small businesses, consumers and trade associations. Each RRTF is expected to provide a report to their respective agency within ninety (90) days of the Order detailing the agency’s progress in implementation regulatory reform initiatives and policies and identifying regulations for repeal, replacement or modification.