March 30, 2011 — Members of the U.S. Senate are looking into legislative options to expand scrutiny of rules from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other agencies, according to a news release_notes from the Automotive Service Association (ASA).
The measures are being introduced as alternatives to the proposed REINS Act, which stands for Executive in Need of Scrutiny. It is a House GOP-backed legislative effort that would require Congress to approve major agency rules. The legislation might have difficulty passing through the Senate without modifications, ASA said.
One proposed alternative would help small businesses by requiring agencies to consider indirect impacts of rules, conduct occasional rule reviews and give the Small Business Administration (SBA) more power to review regulations and challenge them in court, according to the ASA. Another change calls for language telling agencies to minimize negative economic impacts of their rules and maximize positive economic impacts.
Several hearings have been scheduled to discuss the proposals.
For more information on the measures, go to ASA’s legislative website, takingthehill.com.
