Recommendation 2018-6 – Improving Access to Regulations.gov’s Rulemaking Dockets offers suggested improvements to Regulations.gov, the website that allows the public to comment on many federal agencies’ rulemaking proposals. It provides recommendations to the governing body of Regulations.gov, called the eRulemaking Program, and to agencies that participate in Regulations.gov for ensuring that rulemaking materials on Regulations.gov are easily searchable and categorized consistently and clearly. These recommendations include using one electronic docket per rulemaking, promoting interoperability among key websites (e.g., Federalregister.gov and Reginfo.gov), and making rulemaking materials available to search engines.
Citation: Admin. Conf. of the U.S., Recommendation 2018-6, Improving Access to Regulations.gov’s Rulemaking Dockets, 84 Fed. Reg. 2143 (Feb. 6, 2019).
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Improving Access to Regulations.gov's Rulemaking Dockets
As agencies develop regulations, they often seek input from the public. In order to submit an informed comment, a member of the public needs to be able to at least: (1) access the proposed rule and the agency’s justification for it, and (2) access materials upon which the agency substantially relied to develop the proposed rule.