Watching out for Midnight Regulations

Reg•Watch has been following the phenomenon known as “midnight regulation” where an administration finalizes lots of rules in its waning days of power. Below is a list of many of the more controversial rules worth watching. Reg•Watch will provide regular updates to this list.

http://ombwatch.org/article/blogs/entry/5494

CIVIL LIBERTIES

Rule Description	Proposal Date	Current Status
Department of Justice — The rule would expand the power of state and local law enforcement agencies to investigate potential criminal activities and report the information to federal agencies. The rule would broaden the scope of activities authorities could monitor to include organizations as well as individuals, along with non-criminal activities that are deemed “suspicious.” + Find out more from OMB Watch	July 31, 2008* (Proposal)	Final rule has not been sent to OMB.

TRAFFIC SAFETY

Rule Description	Proposal Date	Current Status
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (Department of Transportation) — The rule would allow truck drivers to drive up to 11 consecutive hours. Because of the effects of fatigue, longer hours-of-service periods put both truck drivers and other motorists at risk. + Find out more from Public Citizen	Dec. 17, 2007 (Interim rule)	Final rule sent to OMB Oct. 21.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (DOT) — The rule would improve the national safety standard for roof strength in passenger vehicles. However, NHTSA’s proposal is not as strict as auto safety advocates and some congressional members hoped and will make only minor safety improvements for passengers involved in rollover crashes. NHTSA also proposed preempting state law, including damages claims. + Find out more from OMB Watch	Aug. 23, 2005 (Proposal)	Final rule has not been sent to OMB, DOT is under court order to finish the rule by Dec. 15.

ENVIRONMENT

Rule Description	Proposal Date	Current Status
Office of Surface Mining (Interior) — The rule would allow mining companies to dump the waste (i.e. excess rock and dirt) from mountaintop mining into rivers and streams.  + Find out more from Earthjustice	Aug. 24, 2007 (Proposal)	Final rule sent to OMB Sept. 22.
Department of the Interior —The rule would alter implementation of the Endangered Species Act by allowing federal land-use managers to approve projects like infrastructure creation, minerals extraction, or logging without consulting federal habitat managers and biological health experts responsible for species protection. Currently, consultation is required.  + Find out more from RegWatch, OMB Watch’s regulatory policy blog	Aug. 15, 2008* (Proposal)	Final rule has not been sent to OMB, but Interior officials are hastily reviewing public comments.
Environmental Protection Agency — The rule would ease current restrictions that make it difficult for power plants to operate near national parks and wilderness areas. + Find out more from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee	June 6, 2007 (Proposal)	Final rule sent to OMB Oct. 30.
Environmental Protection Agency — Under the rule, concentrated animal feeding operations, i.e. factory farms, could allow farm runoff to pollute waterways without a permit. The rule circumvents the Clean Water Act, instead allowing for self-regulation.  + Find out more from the Natural Resources Defense Council	March 7, 2008 (Proposal)	Final rule announced by EPA Oct. 31. (Final rule)
Environmental Protection Agency — The rule would change EPA’s New Source Review program, which requires new facilities or renovating facilities to install better pollution control technology, by subjecting fewer facilities to its requirements. + Find out more from the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee	May 8, 2007 (Proposal)	Final rule has not been sent to OMB.
Environmental Protection Agency — The rule would exempt factory farms from reporting air pollution emissions from animal waste. + Find out more from OMB Watch	Dec. 28, 2007 (Proposal)	Final rule sent to OMB Oct. 24.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Department of Commerce) —The rule would transfer the responsibility for examining the environmental impacts of federal ocean management decisions from federal employees to advisory groups that represent regional fishing interests. The rule would also make it more difficult for the public to participate in the environmental assessment process required by the National Environmental Policy Act.  + Find out more from Pew Charitable Trusts	May 14, 2008 (Proposal)	Final rule sent to OMB Nov. 4.
Environmental Protection Agency — EPA proposed two options: 1) to impose no new requirements on oil refineries; or 2) to impose minimal requirements. EPA is responding to a congressional mandate that it control toxic emissions from refineries, but option 1 would ignore that mandate, and option 2 would not go far enough, environmentalists say. + Find out more from the Natural Resources Defense Council	Sept. 4, 2007 (Proposal)	Final rule approved by OMB Oct. 30.

WORKER RIGHTS AND SAFETY

Rule Description	Proposal Date	Current Status
Department of Labor — The rule would change the way federal regulators calculate estimates for on-the-job risks. The rule would also add an extra comment period to new worker health standards, creating unnecessary delay. + Find out more from RegWatch	Aug. 29, 2008* (Proposal)	Final rule has not been sent to OMB.
Mine Safety and Health Administration — The rule would require mine operators to test employees in “safety-sensitive” positions for drug and alcohol use.  + Find out more from RegWatch	Sept. 8, 2008* (Proposal)	Final rule has not been sent to OMB; MSHA held a public hearing Oct. 28.
Employment Standards Administration (Labor) — The rule would limit employee access to family and medical leave. Among other things, the rule would make it more difficult for workers to use paid vacation or personal time to take leave and would allow employers to speak directly to an employee’s health care provider. + Find out more from the National Partnership for Women and Families	Feb. 11,2008 (Proposal)	Final rule approved by OMB Nov. 4.

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Rule Description	Proposal Date	Current Status
Department of Health and Human Services — The rule could reduce women’s access to federally funded reproductive health services. The rule would require health care providers to certify they will allow their employees to withhold services on the basis of religious or moral grounds or risk losing funding. + Find out more from the National Partnership for Women and Families	Aug. 26, 2008* (Proposal)	Final rule has not been sent to OMB.
Department of Health and Human Services — The rule would require HIV/AIDS grantees to choose between adopting government policy (explicitly and unequivocally opposing prostitution and sex trafficking) for their entire organizations or setting up completely separate affiliated organizations. However, the degree of separation proposed is so severe that it is impractical to implement. + Find out more from OMB Watch	April 17, 2008 (Proposal)	Final rule sent to OMB Oct. 24.
Department of Health and Human Services — As required by Congress, the rule would require organizations providing aid to the victims of sex trafficking to certify they do not promote, support, or advocate prostitution or risk losing U.S. funding.	Feb. 26, 2008 (Proposal)	Final rule sent to OMB Oct. 24.

GUN CONTROL

Rule Description	Proposal Date	Current Status
National Park Service (Interior) — The rule would end the 25-year-old ban on carrying loaded weapons in national parks. + Find out more from the National Coalition of Park Service Retirees	April 30, 2008 (Proposal)	Final rule sent to OMB Nov. 4.

Notes:
*The rule missed a deadline set forth in a White House memo instructing federal agencies to propose by June 1 any rule they wished to finalize by the end of the Bush administration.

Posted by Matt Madia

~ by lucidfaerie on November 12, 2008.