President Biden signed an executive order on April 6 entitled “Modernizing Regulatory Review.” The order unveils a series of tangible policy positions (including a push to place greater emphasis on “equity considerations”) based on the administration’s core regulatory principles. The April 6 executive order represents a significant shift in the manner in which federal agencies engage in regulatory analysis in order to justify rulemaking, and will lead to a review process that is less rigorous. Biden’s order, and subsequent memoranda from the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), could also make it far easier for agencies to use the pretext of “more expansive benefits” to justify actions that are more costly.
