Policy Integrity submitted a letter to OIRA on its long delay in reviewing two rules from the Department of Labor. The rules, Occupational Exposure to Crystalline Silica and Occupational Injury and Illness Recording and Reporting Requirements, have been under review for 764 and 483 days, respectively. OIRA review of rules from the Department of Labor since 1994, the first full year of review under the 90-day framework established by Executive Order 12866, has lasted an average of only 60 days.
Undue delay in the regulatory review process can impose costs on the public, create uncertainty for regulated parties, and undermine OIRA’s credibility. Therefore, our letter requests that OIRA either release the rules it has been reviewing for more than 90 days, return those rules to the promulgating agency, or publically disclose the reasons for delay and propose an alternative schedule to complete the regulatory review.