# The ALERT Act: Making Government Regulations More Transparent

The ALERT Act is designed to shine a light on how federal agencies create new rules and regulations. Right now, when government agencies develop rules that affect your life—whether it's environmental standards, workplace safety requirements, or financial regulations—much of the planning and decision-making happens behind closed doors. This bill would change that by requiring agencies to regularly report what rules they're working on and making that information publicly available online.

Here's what would actually happen under this law: Every month, federal agencies would have to tell the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (a White House office that oversees regulations) about any new rules they're planning to propose or finalize in the coming year. They'd have to explain what each rule is about, why they're making it, whether they've studied how much it will cost, and roughly when they expect to finish it. For rules that are further along in the process, agencies would also have to estimate the financial impact—whether a rule will cost less than $50 million or more than $10 billion. All of this information would then be published online within 30 days so citizens, businesses, and Congress can see what's coming.

The bill also adds a waiting period before most new rules can take effect. Once a rule is published online, it generally couldn't go into effect for at least six months. This gives people time to understand what's happening and potentially challenge rules they disagree with. There are exceptions for emergencies, national security, criminal enforcement, and international trade agreements—situations where waiting six months could cause real harm. Additionally, once a year, the government would publish a comprehensive report showing how many rules each agency created, which ones had cost-benefit analyses, and which rules were repealed or scaled back.

The practical effect is that regulations would become more predictable and transparent. Businesses could plan ahead knowing what rules are coming. Citizens could track whether agencies are following through on their stated plans. Congress would have better information to oversee what agencies are doing. Critics argue this could slow down important protections, while supporters say it simply makes government more accountable and gives people a fair chance to weigh in before rules take effect.

ALERT Act

Good, Bob

All Economic Regulations are Transparent Act of 2023 or the ALERT Act of 2023 This bill establishes various reporting requirements with respect to federal agency rulemaking. Specifically, each agency must submit a monthly report to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for each rule the agency expects to propose or finalize during the following year, including information about the objectives and legal basis for the rule as well as whether the rule is subject to periodic review based on its significant economic impact. Additionally, each agency must submit a monthly report for any rule expected to be finalized during the following year for which the agency has issued a general notice of proposed rulemaking, including an approximate schedule for completing action on the rule and an estimate of its cost and economic effects. OIRA must publish this information online and, subject to certain exceptions, a rule may not take effect until the information has been published for at least six months. The bill also requires OIRA to annually publish in the Federal Register specified information it receives from agencies under this bill, including a list of each rule an agency has proposed and the total cost of all rules proposed or finalized. OIRA must further publish online (1) any analysis of the costs or benefits of rules that were proposed or finalized during the previous year, and (2) a list of rules that were subjected to various forms of review during the previous year.