Friday, November 18, 2016

Midnight Rules Relief Act

The House of Representatives just passed the Midnight Rules Relief Act. See Broadcasting & Cable's John Eggerton's report here.
This is an excerpt from John's story:
"But the House on Thursday passed (240 to 179) a bill—H.R. 5982, the Midnight Rules Relief Act—to backstop those warnings to all federal agencies about 11th-hour votes, on or off a public meeting. The bill can't get a Senate vote until at least Nov. 28 since the Senate is not holding any business sessions until that date given the Thanksgiving holiday next week.
The bill 'amends the Congressional Review Act to allow Congress to consider a joint resolution to disapprove multiple regulations that federal agencies have submitted for congressional review within the last 60 legislative days of a session of Congress during the final year of a President's term. Congress may disapprove a group of such regulations together (i.e., 'en bloc') instead of the current procedure of considering only one regulation at a time.'"
The bill is unlikely to get through the Senate, but it is an important indication of the House of Representatives' seriousness regarding regulatory reform.