OECD Regulatory Policy Outlook 2025

The Administrative Procedure Act governs the rulemaking process, requiring agencies to provide public notice and seek comments when proposing new regulations or revising or repealing existing ones. Agencies must consider the comments and in the final rule explain how they addressed significant issues raised by commenters. A final rule is subject to judicial review to ensure it conforms with legal requirements, including those concerning notice and comment.

The evaluation of regulatory costs and benefits is well developed in the U.S., based on Executive Orders 12866 and 13563. In April 2023, Executive Order 14094 amended Executive Order 12866, providing that the requirement for more fulsome RIAs applies to all significant regulatory actions with annual impacts of USD 200 million or more (adjusted triennially for changes in GDP).

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) within the Executive Office of the President is the regulatory oversight body. It scrutinises significant regulations and RIAs and can return drafts to agencies for reconsideration if their quality is deemed inadequate. OIRA also co-ordinates the application of regulatory management tools across government, reports to Congress on their impacts, provides guidance and training on their use, and identifies areas where regulation can be made more effective.

As the executive does not initiate primary laws in the United States, only the scores for subordinate regulations are displayed for stakeholder engagement and RIA. There is no mandatory requirement for: consultation with the general public, RIAs, nor ex post evaluation for primary laws initiated by Congress.