White House releases spring regulatory agenda

The Trump administration released its semiannual regulatory and deregulatory agenda for spring on Wednesday, mapping out what actions federal agencies plan to take in the coming months.

The Spring Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions released by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) represents the administration’s ongoing efforts to cut regulations and includes notices of rules the federal agencies plan to cut in the next 12 months.

The Labor Department included its already reported plan to reconsider, revise or remove an Obama-era rule that requires certain industries to track workplace injuries and illnesses and submit them electronically to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. That proposed rule change is expected to be released in July.

The Environmental Protection Agency included its plan to propose a new fuel emission standard for cars and light trucks that are model years 2022 through 2025.

The agency, however, announced it was delaying a rule creating new steps that water utilities must take to reduce the amount of lead in drinking water.  The agency had said it would release its proposed rule in August. That rulemaking has now been pushed to February.

The Department of Justice, meanwhile, listed its already announced plan to ban bump stocks, devices that allow semi-automatic guns to be modified to shoot hundreds of rounds per minute. A final rule is slated to be released in September.

“The main takeaway from this unified agenda, as demonstrated by the further delay in the EPA’s lead in drinking water rule, is that the Administration continues to stall critical regulations that protect consumers, children, and hardworking families while fast-tracking deregulation that benefits corporate special interests,” Amit Narang, a regulatory policy advocate at Public Citizen’s Congress Watch, said.