Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
Introduced
In Committee
On Floor
Passed Chamber
Enacted
The Experts Protect Effective Rules, Transparency, and Stability Act of 2025, or EXPERTS Act, seeks to reform federal agency rulemaking by increasing transparency, public participation, and accountability. It mandates that interested persons submitting scientific, economic, or technical studies to agencies during rulemaking must disclose all funding sources, sponsoring entities, and financial relationships related to the research. Agencies are required to make these studies publicly available and disclose any significant conflicts of interest, with the power to exclude non-compliant submissions. The bill introduces greater transparency in the inter-governmental review process by requiring agencies to disclose any changes made to draft regulatory actions during review by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) or other federal officials. Furthermore, agencies must publish detailed justifications for withdrawing regulatory actions, including whether the decision was influenced by OIRA or other federal entities. This aims to shed light on the internal deliberations and external pressures affecting regulatory decisions. Significant changes are made to the process of negotiated rulemaking, limiting its application exclusively to Federal, State, local, or Tribal governments, thereby removing private entities from direct participation. To streamline the regulatory process, the bill sets a 60-day deadline for OIRA to complete its review of significant regulatory actions, with a possible 30-day extension requiring public justification. If OIRA fails to meet these timelines, the agency may proceed with publishing the rule. To deter misinformation, the Act imposes substantial civil penalties, starting at $250,000, on public companies that submit materially false or misleading information during rulemaking, with higher penalties for repeat offenses. Such submissions may be excluded from agency consideration. A new Office of the Public Advocate is established within the Office of Management and Budget, led by a Senate-confirmed National Public Advocate, to assist agencies and individuals in rulemaking participation, conduct social equity impact research, and facilitate outreach to underrepresented populations. The legislation also clarifies the scope of judicial review, affirming that courts must defer to an agency's reasonable interpretation of ambiguous statutes, irrespective of the rule's perceived significance. It defines specific instances of "unreasonable delay" in rulemaking that could trigger judicial intervention and sets a 6-year statute of limitations for commencing judicial review of agency actions. Agencies performing cost-benefit analyses are now required to consider non-quantifiable public benefits, distributional effects, and social equity impacts, prioritizing rules that offer public benefits. Finally, the bill aims to expand public awareness of rulemaking proceedings and proposed/final rules, requiring agencies to maintain a participation log and notify interested persons of publications. It mandates a written response from agencies within 60 days to public petitions receiving over 100,000 signatures. The Act also amends the Congressional Review Act by removing a provision that prevented agencies from reissuing rules previously disapproved by Congress and allows for the fast-track reinstatement of such rules within one year of the Act's enactment, or through standard rulemaking procedures thereafter.
The Experts Protect Effective Rules, Transparency, and Stability Act of 2025, or EXPERTS Act, seeks to reform federal agency rulemaking by increasing transparency, public participation, and accountability. It mandates that interested persons submitting scientific, economic, or technical studies to agencies during rulemaking must disclose all funding sources, sponsoring entities, and financial relationships related to the research. Agencies are required to make these studies publicly available and disclose any significant conflicts of interest, with the power to exclude non-compliant submissions. The bill introduces greater transparency in the inter-governmental review process by requiring agencies to disclose any changes made to draft regulatory actions during review by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) or other federal officials. Furthermore, agencies must publish detailed justifications for withdrawing regulatory actions, including whether the decision was influenced by OIRA or other federal entities. This aims to shed light on the internal deliberations and external pressures affecting regulatory decisions. Significant changes are made to the process of negotiated rulemaking, limiting its application exclusively to Federal, State, local, or Tribal governments, thereby removing private entities from direct participation. To streamline the regulatory process, the bill sets a 60-day deadline for OIRA to complete its review of significant regulatory actions, with a possible 30-day extension requiring public justification. If OIRA fails to meet these timelines, the agency may proceed with publishing the rule. To deter misinformation, the Act imposes substantial civil penalties, starting at $250,000, on public companies that submit materially false or misleading information during rulemaking, with higher penalties for repeat offenses. Such submissions may be excluded from agency consideration. A new Office of the Public Advocate is established within the Office of Management and Budget, led by a Senate-confirmed National Public Advocate, to assist agencies and individuals in rulemaking participation, conduct social equity impact research, and facilitate outreach to underrepresented populations. The legislation also clarifies the scope of judicial review, affirming that courts must defer to an agency's reasonable interpretation of ambiguous statutes, irrespective of the rule's perceived significance. It defines specific instances of "unreasonable delay" in rulemaking that could trigger judicial intervention and sets a 6-year statute of limitations for commencing judicial review of agency actions. Agencies performing cost-benefit analyses are now required to consider non-quantifiable public benefits, distributional effects, and social equity impacts, prioritizing rules that offer public benefits. Finally, the bill aims to expand public awareness of rulemaking proceedings and proposed/final rules, requiring agencies to maintain a participation log and notify interested persons of publications. It mandates a written response from agencies within 60 days to public petitions receiving over 100,000 signatures. The Act also amends the Congressional Review Act by removing a provision that prevented agencies from reissuing rules previously disapproved by Congress and allows for the fast-track reinstatement of such rules within one year of the Act's enactment, or through standard rulemaking procedures thereafter.