DOT has issued a landmark directive dealing with the development of regulations within the agency. There are a number of noteworthy components but none anymore path-breaking than the following:
Section 12 d (2):
Mandatory hearing for high-impact rule. In the case of a proposed high-impact rule, the responsible OA or OST component shall grant the petition for a formal hearing if the petition makes a plausible prima facie showing that-
(a) The proposed rule depends on conclusions concerning one or more specific scientific, technical, economic, or other complex factual issues that are genuinely in dispute or that may not satisfy the requirements of the Information Quality Act;
The essence of this directive is to allow those petitioners which have a meritorious DQA petition to build a record in its support.
The aforementioned section coupled with Section 11 k (1) (e) which states:
[The preamble to the final rule shall include-]
A reasoned, final determination that the information upon which the OA or OST component bases the rule complies with the Information Quality Act section 515 of Pub. L. No. 106-554-Appendix C, 114 Stat. 2763A-153-54 (2001), or any subsequent amendment thereto.
opens the door for judicial review of the denial of a DQA petition given the Prime Time decision.
