Washington, D.C., January 23, 2024 – On December 11, 2023, Andrew Fois, Chair of the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS), transmitted to Congress draft legislation that, if enacted, would remedy existing issues within the principal statutes governing disclosure of agency legal materials and establish clear standards as to what legal materials federal agencies must publish in the Federal Register, post on their websites, or otherwise make available to the public.

If enacted, this draft legislation would faithfully implement the statutory reforms identified in Recommendation 2023-1, Proactive Disclosure of Agency Legal Materials, which was adopted at ACUS’s 79th Plenary Session on June 15, 2023.

The Recommendation also urged ACUS’s Office of the Chair to prepare and submit to Congress proposed statutory changes that would, if enacted, implement the Recommendation’s reforms.

The draft legislation was prepared by a Working Group of ACUS members convened by Chair Fois last year.

Referring to the draft legislation and the process that produced it, Chair Fois said, “What agency legal materials must be proactively disclosed and how that disclosure must be accomplished are important issues of transparency for both agencies and the public. That is why ACUS issued Recommendation 2023-1—to clarify and improve this responsibility—and why my office promptly sent these draft implementing provisions to the Congress.”

“I extend my sincere thanks to all members of the Working Group, including its Co-Chairs and consultants, for lending their extensive subject matter expertise to this important undertaking,” said Chair Fois.

A section-by-section summary of the draft implementing legislation is available here, and a redline of statutes amended by the draft legislation is available here.

About ACUS

The Administrative Conference of the United States is an independent, non-partisan federal agency within the executive branch dedicated to improving administrative law and federal regulatory processes. It conducts applied research, and provides expert recommendations and other advice, to improve federal agency procedures. Its membership is composed of senior federal officials, academics, and other experts from the private sector. Since 1968, ACUS has issued hundreds of recommendations, published reports and reference guides, and organized forums to improve the efficiency, adequacy, and fairness of administrative processes such as rulemaking and adjudication. Many have resulted in reforms by federal agencies, the President, Congress, and the Judicial Conference of the United States. Learn more at www.acus.gov.

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