Reading Room Document

Proposed Executive Order Entitled "Federal Regulation"

The following memorandum, prepared by the Office of Legal Counsel pursuant to its responsibility under Executive Order No. 11,030 for approving all executive orders and presidential proclamations for form and legality, analyzes the provisions of a proposed executive order imposing certain procedural and substantive requirements on executive agencies in connection with their rulemaking functions. It concludes that the order's provisions for presidential oversight of the administrative process are generally within the President's constitutional authority, and that they do not displace functions vested by law in particular agencies. It also concludes that the order's requirement that agencies reconsider final rules which have not yet become effective may in certain circumstances trigger the notice and comment provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/22586/download.

February 13, 1981