Recent Projects

Since 1982, drilling for oil and natural gas has been off-limits along much of our nation’s coastline. But in September 2008, the U.S. Congress allowed the drilling bans to lapse, a decision with profound consequences—both positive and negative—for our nation’s economy and environment. Yet according to congressional staff, legislators did not review a single comprehensive study of potential costs and benefits before casting their votes.

More than ever before, state governments now undertake an ambitious range of regulatory programs and often become leaders on environmental, health, and safety policies. As states expand their regulatory reach, it becomes increasingly important to ensure that statewide regulatory decisions are efficient, consistent, fair, and justified.

Agencies are infamous for pushing through regulations on the eve of an Administration’s exit. In May 2008, the Bush Administration issued a bulletin mandating that no regulations were to be proposed after June 1, 2008, except in extraordinary circumstances.

For the first time in a dozen years, the New York State Governor’s Office of Regulatory Reform (GORR) has begun to update its guidelines for how state agencies should conduct cost-benefit analysis. This update seeks to transform what had been an infrequently and inconsistently used technique in New York into a more standard and powerful decisionmaking tool.