5 U.S.C. § 602 — Regulatory agenda

Page 222 TITLE 5—GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYEES § 602 1 So in original. The comma probably should be a semicolon. tation, Energy, and Homeland Security, and the Envi- ronmental Protection Agency shall develop plans for implementing the requirements of this memorandum, providing technical assistance to nonfederal actors en- gaged in predevelopment activities, and educating grantees and the public on the benefits of predevelopment and the Federal resources available for these activities. These agencies shall also work to- gether to develop a guide for nonfederal actors under- taking nonfederal predevelopment activities that in- cludes best practices on how to evaluate and compare traditional and alternative financing strategies. No later than 60 days after the date of this memorandum, these agencies shall provide these plans and the best practice guide to the Director of the National Eco- nomic Council. Subsequently, these agencies shall pro- vide regular updates to the Director of the National Economic Council on their progress in increasing sup- port for predevelopment activities. SEC. 5. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this memo- randum shall be construed to impair or otherwise af- fect: (i) the authority granted by law to an executive de- partment or agency, or the head thereof; or (ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Man- agement and Budget relating to budgetary, administra- tive, or legislative proposals. (b) This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or proce- dural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person. (c) The Secretary of Transportation is hereby author- ized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register. BARACK OBAMA. § 602. Regulatory agenda (a) During the months of October and April of each year, each agency shall publish in the Fed- eral Register a regulatory flexibility agenda which shall contain— (1) a brief description of the subject area of any rule which the agency expects to propose or promulgate which is likely to have a sig- nificant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities; (2) a summary of the nature of any such rule under consideration for each subject area list- ed in the agenda pursuant to paragraph (1), the objectives and legal basis for the issuance of the rule, and an approximate schedule for completing action on any rule for which the agency has issued a general notice of proposed rulemaking,1 and (3) the name and telephone number of an agency official knowledgeable concerning the items listed in paragraph (1). (b) Each regulatory flexibility agenda shall be transmitted to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration for com- ment, if any. (c) Each agency shall endeavor to provide no- tice of each regulatory flexibility agenda to small entities or their representatives through direct notification or publication of the agenda in publications likely to be obtained by such small entities and shall invite comments upon each subject area on the agenda. (d) Nothing in this section precludes an agen- cy from considering or acting on any matter not included in a regulatory flexibility agenda, or requires an agency to consider or act on any matter listed in such agenda. (Added Pub. L. 96–354, § 3(a), Sept. 19, 1980, 94 Stat. 1166.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Jan. 1, 1981, see section 4 of Pub. L. 96–354, set out as a note under section 601 of this title. § 603. Initial regulatory flexibility analysis (a) Whenever an agency is required by section 553 of this title, or any other law, to publish gen- eral notice of proposed rulemaking for any pro- posed rule, or publishes a notice of proposed rulemaking for an interpretative rule involving the internal revenue laws of the United States, the agency shall prepare and make available for public comment an initial regulatory flexibility analysis. Such analysis shall describe the im- pact of the proposed rule on small entities. The initial regulatory flexibility analysis or a sum- mary shall be published in the Federal Register at the time of the publication of general notice of proposed rulemaking for the rule. The agency shall transmit a copy of the initial regulatory flexibility analysis to the Chief Counsel for Ad- vocacy of the Small Business Administration. In the case of an interpretative rule involving the internal revenue laws of the United States, this chapter applies to interpretative rules published in the Federal Register for codification in the Code of Federal Regulations, but only to the ex- tent that such interpretative rules impose on small entities a collection of information re- quirement. (b) Each initial regulatory flexibility analysis required under this section shall contain— (1) a description of the reasons why action by the agency is being considered; (2) a succinct statement of the objectives of, and legal basis for, the proposed rule; (3) a description of and, where feasible, an estimate of the number of small entities to which the proposed rule will apply; (4) a description of the projected reporting, recordkeeping and other compliance require- ments of the proposed rule, including an esti- mate of the classes of small entities which will be subject to the requirement and the type of professional skills necessary for preparation of the report or record; (5) an identification, to the extent prac- ticable, of all relevant Federal rules which may duplicate, overlap or conflict with the proposed rule. (c) Each initial regulatory flexibility analysis shall also contain a description of any signifi- cant alternatives to the proposed rule which ac- complish the stated objectives of applicable statutes and which minimize any significant economic impact of the proposed rule on small entities. Consistent with the stated objectives of applicable statutes, the analysis shall discuss significant alternatives such as— (1) the establishment of differing compliance or reporting requirements or timetables that take into account the resources available to small entities;