Law Commons^™

Midnight Regulations And Regulatory Review, Jerry Brito

Jerry Brito

The term “midnight regulations” describes the dramatic spike of new regulations promulgated at the end of presidential terms, especially during transitions to an administration of the opposite party. As commentators have pointed out, this phenomenon is problematic because it is the result of a lack of presidential accountability during the midnight period—the time after the November election and before Inauguration Day. Midnight regulations, however, present another problem that receives little attention. It is the prospect that an increase in the number of regulations promulgated in a given time-period could overwhelm the institutional review process that serves to ensure that new …

Toward A More Perfect Union: Regulatory Analysis And Performance Management, Jerry Brito, Jerry Ellig

Jerry Brito

Two separate but similar federal initiatives attempt to apply a scientific approach to improve government decision-making and results: performance management and regulatory analysis. Performance management finds its legislative home in the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993, while the main regulatory analysis mandate can be found in Executive Order 12,866.

Both initiatives seek to identify the nature of the problems government is trying to solve, develop alternative solutions, and evaluate the effectiveness and costs of the alternatives. Both require measurement of costs and outcomes. Both involve rigorous analysis to identify whether, and to what extent, government actions cause particular …