American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2017 - 31

Federal Legislation

House Passes Regulatory Reform Bills
WASHINGTON-The 115th Congress
jumped on President Donald Trump's
regulatory reform bandwagon in January,
pushing four bills through the House of
Representatives in its first 10 days.
According to the congress.gov website,
the House first passed HR 21, the Midnight
Rules Relief Act introduced by Representative Darrell Issa, R-Ca., 238-184 on Jan.
4. The next day, lawmakers approved
HR 26, Regulations from the Executive in
Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act by House
Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va.,
237-187.
The following week, according to congress.gov, the House passed HR 5, the
Regulatory Accountability Act, 238-183,
and HR 78, the SEC Regulatory Accountability Act, 243-184.
Representative Issa says HR 21 amends
the Congressional Review Act to allow
Congress to overturn with a single vote,
any executive branch regulations finalized
in the last 60 legislative days of an outgoing administration.
"This is about accountability, transparency and ensuring job creators aren't
being crushed by droves of new regulations," states Issa. "Regulations, when necessary, should be implemented with time
for a thorough public vetting and input
from those impacted."
A companion Midnight Rules Relief
Act, S 21, has been introduced in the U.S.
Senate by Wisconsin Republican Ron
Johnson.
The REINS Act, according to a statement from Representative Goodlatte, requires federal agencies to submit regulations estimated to cost the economy $100
million or more to Congress for approval.
The bill requires an up or down vote on
major rules within 70 legislative days,
Goodlatte says, guaranteeing that no major regulation becomes effective without
congressional approval.
"When major rules are passed without
enough consideration for the impact they
may have on hardworking Americans, jobs
are lost, prices rise, and our country loses more of its competitive edge. It is time
for Congress to be a stronger check on the
regulatory system," Goodlatte comments,
pointing out that the REINS Act was
passed in three previous congresses before
being reintroduced by himself and Representative Doug Collins, R-Ga., on the
opening day of the 115th Congress.
The Texas Alliance of Energy Producers notes that two amendments were attached to the REINS Act on the House

floor:
* An amendment by Representative
Luke Messer, R-In., requires each agency
promulgating a new rule to repeal an existing rule to offset annual costs.
* An amendment by Representative
Steve King, R-Ia., creates a process for
Congress to review all rules currently in
effect within 10 years.
A companion to the REINS Act, S 21,
has been introduced by Senators Rand
Paul, R-Ky., Todd Young, R-In., Chuck
Grassley, R-Ia., Joni Ernst, R-Ia., and 23
others, according to congress.gov.
Reform Package
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce calls
HR 5, the Regulatory Accountability Act,
also sponsored by Representative Goodlatte, "a long-standing priority (that will)
update the Administrative Procedure Act
to improve how federal agencies promulgate those rules with the most significant
impact on jobs and economic growth."
Goodlatte explains that HR 5 is a
compilation of six reform bills reintroduced this year after already passing in prior House sessions. He says it:
* Requires agencies to choose the
lowest-cost rule-making alternative that
meets statutory objectives;
* Requires agencies to account for the
direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of
new regulations on small businesses, and
mandates at least six months of public
comment before implementing federal
regulations (HR 75, All Economic Regulations are Transparent Act by Representative John Ratcliffe, R-Tx.);
* Overturns U.S. Supreme Court rulings in Chevron v. Natural Resources
Defense Council and Auer v. Robbins,
which extend judicial deference to regulatory agencies' interpretations of ambiguous statutes written by Congress (HR 76,
Separation of Powers Restoration Act by
Ratcliffe);
* Prohibits billion-dollar rules from
taking effect until courts have ruled on
timely-filed challenges (HR 74, Require
Evaluation before Implementing Executive Wish Lists Act, Representative Tom
Marino, R-Pa.); and
* Forces agencies to publish timely information about developing regulations
and their expected nature, cost and timing,
as well as plain-language summaries that
the public can understand (HR 77, Providing Accountability through Transparency
Act, Representative Blaine Luetkemeyer,
R-Mo.).

The Texas Alliance adds that amendments attached to HR 5 limit agencies'
ability to interpret statutes in ways that expand their control, and prohibit agencies
from making public statements intended
to generate support or opposition to proposed rules.
HR 78, the SEC Regulatory Accountability Act, is intended to force the Securities and Exchange Commission to "make
a reasoned determination that the benefits
of intended (financial) regulations justify
their costs" through appropriate cost/benefit analyses, says its primary sponsor,
Congresswoman Ann Wagner, R-Mo.
She says the bill requires SEC to assess
whether there are any available alternatives
to a rule making, and to review its existing regulations every five years, and if necessary, to modify, streamline or repeal any
outdated, ineffective or excessively burdensome regulations.
Pending Legislation
The Texas Independent Producers &
Royalty Owners Association draws attention to companion bills S 119 and HR 469,
introduced Jan. 12 by Senate Judiciary
Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Ia., and
Representative Doug Collins, R-Ga., respectively. According to TIPRO, the Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and Settlement Act would:
* Provide greater transparency by requiring agencies to publicly post and report to Congress, information on sue-andsettle complaints, consent decrees and settlement agreements;
* Require consent decrees and settlement agreements be filed only after interested parties had an opportunity to intervene and/or join settlement negotiations,
and only after any proposed decree or settlement had been published for at least 60
days for public comment; and
* Require courts approving consent
decrees and settlement agreements to
consider public comments, and to comply
with regulatory-process statutes and executive orders.
The Texas Alliance mentions a "sense
of the Senate" resolution introduced Jan.
12 by Senators Ernst and Deb Fischer, RNe., calling for repeal of the Environmental Protection Agency's WOTUS rule,
which expands the definition of "waters of
the United States" that are subject to
EPA's jurisdiction under the Clean Water
Act.
In a joint press release, Senator Fischer comments, "This resolution signifies our
FEBRUARY 2017 31
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