Principled Rulemaking Act of 2015

“(f) Rule making considerations

“(1) In general—An agency shall only promulgate a rule under this section that is—

“(A) required by law;

“(B) necessary to interpret a law; or

“(C) made necessary by compelling public need, such as a material failure of the private markets to protect or improve the health and safety of the public, the environment, or the wellbeing of the people of the United States.

“(2) Considerations—Before promulgating a rule under this section, an agency shall—

“(A) identify and assess the significance of the problem that the agency intends to address with the rule, including, where applicable, the failures of private markets or public institutions that warrant new agency action;

“(B) consider the legal authority under which the rule may be proposed, including whether a rule making is required by statute, and if so, whether by a specific date, or whether the agency has discretion to commence a rule making;

“(C) examine whether existing rules or other laws—

“(i) have created or contributed to the problem identified under subparagraph (A); and

“(ii) should be modified to achieve the intended regulatory objective more effectively;

“(D) identify and assess available alternatives to direct regulation, including by providing—

“(i) economic incentives to encourage the desired behavior, such as user fees or marketable permits; or

“(ii) information upon which choices may be made by the public;

“(E) consider, to the extent reasonable, the degree and nature of the risks posed by various substances or activities within the jurisdiction of the agency;

“(F) if after determining that a rule is the best available method of achieving the regulatory objective, design the rule in the most cost-effective manner to achieve the regulatory objective;

“(G) in carrying out subparagraph (F), consider—

“(i) incentives for innovation, consistency, predictability, flexibility, distributive impacts, and equity; and

“(ii) the costs of enforcement and compliance to the Federal Government, regulated entities, and the public;

“(H) assess the costs and the benefits of the intended rule and, recognizing that some costs and benefits (including quantifable and qualitative measures) are difficult to quantify—

“(i) propose or adopt a rule only upon a reasoned determination that the benefits of the intended rule justify the costs of the rule; and

“(ii) select approaches that maximize net benefits, unless a statute requires another regulatory approach;

“(I) base decisions on the best reasonably obtainable scientific, technical, economic, and other information concerning the need for, and consequences of, the intended rule;

“(J) identify and assess alternative forms of regulation and, to the extent feasible, specify performance objectives, and not the behavior or manner of compliance that regulated entities are required to adopt;

“(K) seek views of appropriate State, local, and tribal officials before imposing regulatory requirements that may significantly or uniquely affect those governmental entities;

“(L) assess the effects of rules on State, local, and tribal governments, including specifically the availability of resources to carry out those mandates, and seek to minimize those burdens that uniquely or significantly affect those governmental entities, consistent with achieving the regulatory objective of the agency;

“(M) as appropriate, seek to harmonize agency action with related State, local, and tribal regulatory and other governmental functions;

“(N) avoid the promulgation of a rule that is inconsistent, incompatible, or duplicative with other rules of the agency or those of other agencies;

“(O) tailor the rule—

“(i) to impose the least burden on society, including individuals, businesses of differing sizes, and other entities, including small communities and governmental entities; and

“(ii) in a manner that is consistent with obtaining the regulatory objective, taking into account, and to the extent practicable, the costs of cumulative rules; and

“(P) in order to minimize the potential for uncertainty and litigation arising from such uncertainty, draft the rule in a manner that is simple and easy to understand.”