eRulemaking
Initiative
Public
Forum
August
2004
2
Agenda
Purpose:
Discuss
the
eRulemaking
Initiative
and
the
development
of
a
new
federal
docket
management
system.


Overview
of
Federal
Rulemaking
 
Background
on
Federal
Rulemaking

Current
Regulatory
Environment
 
Regulations.
gov
 
Questions
and
Answers

Future
Regulatory
Environment
 
Design
of
the
new
federal
docket
management
system
 
Feedback

Other
considerations
3
Overview
of
Federal
Rulemaking

Over
150
federal
entities
involved
in
federal
regulatory
activities
 
From
large
Departments
to
small
Commissions

Regulations
impact
all
aspects
of
our
existence
 
Public
health,
environmental
controls,
snowmobiling
access

Access
dependent
on
understanding
process
 
Must
know
agency
responsible
for
developing
regulation
in
order
to
access
information
on
it

Online
systems
exist
 
More
than
20
agencies
currently
operate
on­
line
systems
that
accept
and/
or
post
comments
on­
line
4
Overview
of
Federal
Rulemaking
Questions:


Have
you
participated
in
the
federal
rulemaking
process?

 
If
so,
how
did
you
find
the
process
of
gathering
information,
providing
comments,
and
keeping
informed?

 
What
was
your
level
of
satisfaction?


Have
you
used
any
of
the
current
on­
line
systems?

 
Were
they
easy
to
use
and
navigate?

 
What
other
features
did
you
like?
What
did
you
not
like?


How
did
you
use
this
information
(
for
what
purpose)?


How
much
did
you
spend
doing
this
(
in
dollars
or
man­
hours)?
5
Strengthening
E­
Democracy

President's
Management
Agenda
 
Citizen­
centered,
not
bureaucracy­
centered
 
Results­
oriented
 
Market­
based,
actively
promoting
innovation
°
E­
rulemaking,
one
of
the
expanding
electronic­
government
initiatives

E­
Government
Act
of
2002
 
Section
206
requires
all
agencies
to
make
public
regulatory
dockets
electronically
accessible.
6
eRulemaking
Initiative
eRulemaking
Vision:
help
citizens
easily
access
and
participate
in
a
high
quality,

efficient
and
open
rulemaking
process
Initiative
Goals:


Expand
public
understanding
of
the
rulemaking
process
 
Provide
easy
and
consistent
way
for
public
to
search,
view,
and
comment
on
proposed
federal
rules

Improve
the
quality
of
federal
rulemaking
decisions
 
Evolve
regulatory
policies
and
outcomes
through
greater
quality,

management
efficiency,
and
transparency
of
the
rulemaking
process
 
Provide
useful
tools
for
federal
regulation
writers
that
create
efficiencies
within
non­
standard
processes
 
Ultimately
ensure
public
is
better
protected,
safer,
and
more
secure
in
their
daily
lives

Increase
the
amount,
breadth,
and
ease
of
citizen
and
intergovernmental
access
and
participation
in
rulemaking
 
Use
the
Internet
to
enhance
public
access
to
information
on
federal
rulemaking
 
Cultivate
public
participation
in
federal
decision­
making
7
eRulemaking
Initiative
Scope:
Focuses
on
the
more
than
150
federal
entities
(
e.
g.,
Cabinet
Departments,
Independent
Agencies,
Boards,
Commissions)
that
enact
rules
Partner
Departments/
Agencies:


EPA
 
lead
partner

Federal
Communication
Commission

General
Services
Administration

Government
Printing
Office

Health
and
Human
Services

Homeland
Security

Housing
and
Urban
Development

Small
Business
Administration

Equal
Employment
Opp.
Comm.


National
Archives
and
Records
Admin.

Agriculture

Commerce

Defense

Energy

Interior

Justice

Labor

Transportation

Treasury
8
eRulemaking
Initiative
Project
Plan:


Module
1:
Regulations.
gov
(
Public
Access
1/
03)

 
Web
site
for
the
public
to
find,
view,
retrieve
Federal
Register
rule
notices
and
comment
on
those
federal
regulations
open
for
comment

Module
2:
Federal
Docket
Management
System
 
Expansion
of
capabilities
of
Regulations.
gov
allowing
public
to
search
all
documents
in
a
federal
rulemaking
docket
(
e.
g.,
Federal
Register
notices,

scientific
and
legal
analyses,
and
public
comments)

 
Staged
roll­
out
to
agencies
in
six
phases
 
Public
access
early
2005

Module
3:
Rule
writer
eToolbox
 
Internet
&
desktop
tools
available
for
federal
rulewriters
and
the
public
 
Tools,
templates
and
best
practices
can
assist
with
rule
writing
 
gather,

process,
analyze
and
communicate
information
9
Module
1
 
www.
Regulations.
gov

Provides
one­
stop
ability
to
find,
view,

and
comment
on
all
federal
rules

4.3
million
total
hits
(
15,000
per
day),

440,000
unique
visitors

8,300
comments

2.6
million
pages
viewed
or
downloaded
(
since
July
2003)


Jointly
operated
by
NARA,
GPO
and
EPA

Awards:

 
2004
Public
Access
to
Gov
Info
2004
Public
Access
to
Gov
Info
Award
Award
(
Am
Assn
of
Law
Libraries)

(
Am
Assn
of
Law
Libraries)

 
2004
AFFIRM
Service
to
the
Citizen
2004
AFFIRM
Service
to
the
Citizen
 
2004
2004
Excellence.
gov
Excellence.
gov
finalist
finalist
 
2003
Grace
Hopper
Award
2003
Grace
Hopper
Award
 
2003
2003
Colborn
Colborn
Award
Award
 
2003
2003
eGov
eGov
Pioneer
Pioneer
 
2003
FOSE
Showcase
of
2003
FOSE
Showcase
of
Excellence
finalist
Excellence
finalist
 
2003
Citizen
Service
Secure
2003
Citizen
Service
Secure
EBiz
EBiz
Leadership
Leadership
Search
Results
HTML
View
PDF
View
Submit
a
Comment
Comment
Form
Confirmation
of
Comment
Submission
28
Current
Regulatory
Environment
Questions:


Have
you
ever
used
www.
Regulations.
gov?


What
do
you
think
of
Regulations.
gov?

 
Is
it
easy
to
use
and
understand?

 
What
features
do
you
like?
Dislike?


What
features
and
services
would
you
like
that
Regulations.
gov
does
not
currently
offer?
29
Future
Regulatory
Environment
Past

Spend
money
and
time
(
hours/
days)
searching

 
right
agency

 
docket
room,


 
and
reading
hundreds
of
paper
files
Present

Regulations.
gov
posts
all
rules
open
for
comment
on
Internet
 
No
cost
 
Anyone
and
anyplace
 
Minutes
to
find,

view,
submit
comments
Future

Federal
docket
management
system
will
post
rules,
notices,
public
comments
on
Internet
 
No
cost,
anyone
and
anyplace,
in
minutes
 
See
all
documents
in
docket
(
scientific
analyses,
comments)

 
Accept
paper,
email,

webform,
fax
 
Electronic
records
management
 
Listserve
30
Module
2
­
Federal
Docket
Management
System

Builds
upon
Regulations.
gov
to
establish
a
robust
docket
management
system
 
Serves
as
a
central
repository
for
federal
rulemaking,
supporting
materials
(
e.
g.,
scientific,
legal
and
economic
analyses)
and
public
comments
 
Includes
non­
rulemaking
documents
such
as
Information
Collection
Requests
that
agencies
can
post
for
public
comment

Key
features:

 
Image
and
text­
based
system
 
Simple
and
sophisticated
search
capabilities
(
Boolean
and
compound)

 
Email
notifications
 
Citizen
and
agency
reporting
capabilities
 
Data
import
and
export
 
Electronic
system
of
records
 
Secure
access
(
log­
in,
authentication)

 
Modular
development
for
expansion
Home
Page
&
Search
Functionality
Preliminary
Draft
These
screen
shots
are
meant
to
serve
for
discussion
purposes
and
are
not
to
be
considered
final
design
and
format.
Quick
Search/
Home
Page
Preliminary
Draft
Quick
Search
Results
by
Topic
Preliminary
Draft
Quick
Search
Results
­
Index
Preliminary
Draft
Quick
Search
Results
 
Detail
Record
Preliminary
Draft
Advanced
Search
Advanced
Search
Preliminary
Draft
Advanced
Document
Search
Results
Preliminary
Draft
Advanced
Document
Search
Results
­
Details
Preliminary
Draft
"
Notify
Me"
and
Reports
Home
Page
Preliminary
Draft
"
Notify
Me"
Quick
Search
Results
Preliminary
Draft
"
Notify
Me"
Registration
Preliminary
Draft
Reports
­
Top
Requested
Dockets
Report
Preliminary
Draft
Reports
­
Recently
Published
FR
Items
Report
Preliminary
Draft
Reports
­
Document
Type
Report
Preliminary
Draft
Reports
­
Daily
Filings
Report
Preliminary
Draft
Comment
Management
Comment
Management
­
Home/
Quick
Search
View
Preliminary
Draft
Comments
Management
­
Search
Results
Preliminary
Draft
Comments
Management
­
Docket
Detail
View
Preliminary
Draft
Comment
Management
­
Create
Comment
Comment
Management
­
Review
Comment
Submission
View
Comment
Management
­
Submit
Preliminary
Draft
Comment
Management
­
Printer
Friendly
56
Feedback
on
Module
2
Questions:


What
do
you
think
of
the
planned
federal
docket
management
system?

 
Is
it
easy
to
use
and
understand?

 
What
features
do
you
like?
Dislike?


Does
it
contain
the
right
features
and
services
(
e.
g.,
tracking
federal
rules,
search
functions,
comment
submission)?
If
not,
which
one
would
you
want
to
see
included?


What
additional
services
would
you
like
to
see
the
system
provide?


What
functions
in
the
system
would
be
most
beneficial
to
how
stakeholders
do
business?


Other
considerations?
57
eRulemaking
Initiative
Public
Benefits

One­
stop
Internet
access
to
all
federal
rulemakings
and
dockets

Ability
to
search,
navigate,
view,
retrieve,

download,
and
comment
on
both
rules
and
nonregulatory
content

Cross
agency
searches

Increased
access
to
and
participation
in
federal
decision­
making

Greater
transparency,
increased
understanding

Improved
quality
of
federal
rules
58

Purpose:
Strengthen
federal
rulemaking
by
deploying
information
technology
tools
to
assist
in
the
development,
review,
and
publication
of
federal
regulations
and
the
analysis
of
public
comments.

 
Tools
will
be
available
to
federal
regulation
writers
and
the
public

Tools
to
Help
Gather
Information:

 
Electronic
library
(
or
reading
room)
on
topics
of
interest
 
Collaboration
Zone
for
Managers/
Rule
writers/
Lawyers
to
hold
virtual
meeting

Tools
to
Help
Process
Information:

 
Workflow
tools
to
facilitate/
enhance
the
drafting
of
a
rule
 
Scheduling
tool
to
keep
process
on
track/
on
time

Tools
to
Help
Analyze
Information:

 
Content
Categorization
 
Online
Models
(
Economic,
Environmental)

 
Data
Mining
Tools

Tools
to
Help
Communicate
Information:

 
Dashboard
to
display
the
real­
time
performance
of
the
process
 
Online
rule
writing
handbook
Module
3
 
Rulewriter's
eToolbox
59
Other
Considerations
Questions:


What
additional
services
would
you
like
to
see
the
system
provide?


What
functions
in
the
system
would
be
most
beneficial
to
how
stakeholders
do
business?
60
eRulemaking
Initiative

Additional
comments
can
be
provided
to:

Kristin
Tensuan
Program
Outreach
and
Communications
US
Environmental
Protection
Agency
1200
Pennsylvania
Ave,
NW
(
MC:
2822V)

Washington,
DC
20406
tensuan.
kristin@
epa.
gov
202/
632­
0338

Harvard
University
is
also
hosting
on­
line
dialogue
on
the
initiative
and
its
projects
61
eRulemaking
Initiative

Initiative
Contact
Information
Rick
Otis
Deputy
Assistant
Administrator
Office
of
Environmental
Information
US
Environmental
Protection
Agency
otis.
rick@
epa.
gov
202­
564­
6665
Oscar
Morales
Director
eRulemaking
Initiative
US
Environmental
Protection
Agency
morales.
oscar@
epa.
gov
202­
566­
2141
