Regulations.Gov Site Launched, Allowing Greater Citizen Input into Rulemaking Process
Have you ever wanted to provide comments on such important issues as the labeling of organic food, workplace safety standards, or changes to the Food Stamp Program? With the introduction of www.regulations.gov, submitting comments on a proposed federal regulation has never been easier or more accessible.
Online Rulemaking Management (ORM), one of the 24 government-wide Presidential eGovernment Initiatives, recently launched the Regulations.gov site to provide a single location for citizens to provide comments on proposed Federal regulations. Regulations.gov makes it easy for citizens to participate in Federal rulemaking and the democratic process. Now, the public-including major USDA customer groups such as rural residents and agricultural producers-will be able to quickly and easily voice their opinion on proposed rules and regulations from a wide range of Federal agencies.
On Regulations.gov, citizens can view a description of every proposed Federal regulation currently open for comment, read the full version, and subsequently submit comments to the corresponding Federal agency. Citizens entering the Web site are able to view and comment on a rule nearly immediately and find the specific service or function they need in a maximum of three mouse clicks. Regulations are sorted by agency, and a link leads visitors to a Web page that guides them through the process of submitting comments. After comments have been collected and processed, and final regulations are published, final versions are accessible on the site.
In addition to the content currently available, a number of upcoming enhancements to this site should make it more useful to citizens. For example, electronic notifications of rules of interest to individual citizens and a system that lists the rules that receive the most comment are expected to be added in the near future, once all Federal agencies are integrated into the site.
USDA is a partner in the Online Rulemaking Management initiative, working closely with the Environmental Protection Agency, the initiative’s managing partner, to make Regulations.gov a reality. To achieve this, USDA-led by Mike Poe of the Office of Budget and Program Analysis-has contributed both funding and expertise to the initiative and is integrating important rulemaking processes into the Regulations.gov site. The initial site launch includes proposed rules from across USDA, including key rulemaking agencies such as the Agricultural Marketing Service and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
More information on Online Rulemaking Management is available at www.regulations.gov. For more information on USDA’s involvement, please contact the eGovernment team.
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