Regulatory Transactions

From: The CLS Blue Sky Blog

By Omri Ben-Shahar and Carl E. Schneider

The following post comes to us from Omri Ben-Shahar, Professor at the University of Chicago Law School and Carl E. Schneider, Professor at the University of Michigan Law School.  It is based on their recent paper entitled “The Futility of Cost Benefit Analysis in Financial Disclosure Regulation” and is available here.  

A fascinating debate is emerging: should financial regulations be subject to Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) just as, say, environmental regulations are? In a recent article for the Journal of Legal Studies (here), we examined financial regulation’s crown jewel—mandated disclosure—and asked what would happen if CBA were applied to it.

From: CTOvision.com

By Hudson Hollister

CTOvision Editor’s note: Hudson Hollister is the executive director of the data transparency coalition. His insightful update below covers issues of interests to technologists in and out of government. -bg

Sweeping change and open data are dawning for U.S. federal spending.

On Thursday 10 April 2014 the U.S. Senate passed the DATA Act — unanimously. In the House, Majority Leader Eric Cantor has signaled that he intends to bring the Senate bill through to final passage without changes. The House has passed the DATA Act twice already, so it seems likely that this bill will soon be on President Obama’s desk for his approval or veto.

From: Reuters

U.S. transportation regulators will propose a “comprehensive rulemaking package” next week to address standards for tank cars that carry volatile crude oil on the nation’s railroads.

“The proposal will include options for enhancing tank car standards,” a Department of Transportation official said in an email to Reuters.

“We look forward to working collaboratively with OIRA on the Administration’s proposal and initiating the formal comment process as soon as possible,” the official said.

Read Complete Article

Editor’s Note: For more information on anti-money laundering regulatory policy, please see the CRE paper, “Unwarrented Deputization: Increased Delegation of Law Enforcement Duties to Financial Institutions” available here.

From: BuckleySandler LLP

From: CCB Bart Group

Since I had a chance to write an associate today about updated 508 Refresh timing I thought I would share an update on the current track:

The Access Board recently submitted to Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) the Draft NPRM for Section 508.  That submission occurred on February 23rd, 2014.   OIRA has 90 days to review the proposed regulation and then approve or reject it.  While possible, we deem it highly unlikely that OIRA will reject the NPRM at this stage of definition and after two ANPRM drafts. That means OIRA has until May 24th, 2014 to approve or reject the NPRM draft.

From: Overdrive

 James Jaillet

The driver coercion prevention rule bouncing around the regulatory circuit could be published this month, according to a Department of Transportation rulemaking update released this week. 

The DOT projected the rule to clear the White House’s Office of Management and Budget April 14, but the rule is still being reviewed by the OMB. 

 The DOT projects in its report the rule will be published April 23, but given the delay in OMB clearance, it likely will be delayed slightly. 

From: Bloomberg/BNA

from Occupational Safety & Health Reporter™

By Robert Iafolla  

In an apparent effort to kickstart agency action on updating permissible exposure limits for hundreds of chemicals, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration asked the White House April 15 to approve a request to gather information on ways to address chemical exposure.

OSHA cited widespread agreement that the majority of the agency’s exposure limits are decades out-of-date and need revising. But agency attempts have gone nowhere since a 1992 appeals court decision scuttled a blanket measure on exposure limits for nearly 400 chemicals.

From: National Law Review

Article By: Emily J. Cook, David S. Ivill/McDermott Will & Emery

Earlier this week, the much-anticipated 340B Drug Pricing Program (340B Program) proposed rule arrived at the Office of Management and Budget for review.  Publication of this proposed rule is expected in June and will likely cover patient eligibility and contract pharmacy requirements, among other issues.  In a separate release this week, the Health Resources and Services Administration of the Office of Pharmacy Affairs released updated guidance on 340B Program hospital registration that includes a requirement to separately register each service at off-site outpatient locations.

Editor’s Note: Before making any plans for the planned rule’s “toughness,” EPA needs to make sure that it complies with OMB’s binding peer review and other data quality requirements. For more information on EPA’s peer review responsibilities, see here.

From: Reuters

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s chief said on Monday that new carbon pollution standards due in June will be flexible enough for all states to meet but will be environmentally stringent and federally enforceable.

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy gave her first remarks since the agency sent its proposed rule, which aims to curb carbon emissions from more than 1,000 existing power plants in the United States, to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget for review.

From: Credit Union National Administration

The National Credit Union Administration’s definition of “complex credit union,” as set forth in its proposed risk-based capital (RBC) regulation, “casts a regulatory net that is far too wide” and would create lasting burdens for credit unions, the Credit Union National Association said in a Wednesday letter.

The letter was sent to the Office of Management and Budget in response to that agency’s request for public assessments of the paperwork burden any new rule would create.