About the bill
Should de facto regulations, which were adopted under a less circuitous process, be centralized for the public to read — in a way that might make them easier for Congress to repeal?
Context
The Obama Administration would often have its federal agencies eschew official “rules” or “regulations” by instead issuing “guidance” or “statements of policy.” Technically these were able to avoid the bureaucratic requirements associated with issuing “rules” or “regulations” which have to go through a more cumbersome process including public comment.
These guidance documents are supposed to be voluntary and non-binding advice issued by the government. However, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) determined in December that these “guidance” documents hold the same legal sway as rules or regulations.
What the bill does
The GOOD Act [H.R. 4809 + …
Sponsor and status
115th Congress (2017–2019)
This bill was introduced on February 14, 2018, in a previous session of Congress, but it did not receive a vote.
Although this bill was not enacted, its provisions could have become law by being included in another bill. It is common for legislative text to be introduced concurrently in multiple bills (called companion bills), re-introduced in subsequent sessions of Congress in new bills, or added to larger bills (sometimes called omnibus bills).
4 Cosponsors (4 Republicans)
Position statements
What legislators are saying
“The House Passes Walker's GOOD Act to Help NC Employers and Force Federal Agencies to Make Regulatory Guidance Transparent”
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Rep. Mark Walker [R-NC6, 2015-2020]
on Sep 26, 2018
“Oversight Committee Approves Walker's GOOD Act to Force Government Agencies to Post Regulatory Guidance Documents Online”
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Rep. Mark Walker [R-NC6, 2015-2020]
on Mar 16, 2018
“Walker Introduces Bill to Help Businesses and Force Government Agencies to Post Regulatory Guidance Documents Online”
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Rep. Mark Walker [R-NC6, 2015-2020]
on Jan 16, 2018
History
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Jan 11, 2018
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Introduced
Bills and resolutions are referred to committees which debate the bill before possibly sending it on to the whole chamber. |
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Feb 14, 2018
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Ordered Reported
A committee has voted to issue a report to the full chamber recommending that the bill be considered further. Only about 1 in 4 bills are reported out of committee. |
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Jun 7, 2018
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Reported by Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
A committee issued a report on the bill, which often provides helpful explanatory background on the issue addressed by the bill and the bill's intentions. |
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Feb 13, 2019
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Reintroduced Bill —
Ordered Reported
This activity took place on a related bill, S. 380 (116th). |
S. 2296 (115th) was a bill in the United States Congress.
A bill must be passed by both the House and Senate in identical form and then be signed by the President to become law.
Bills numbers restart every two years. That means there are other bills with the number S. 2296. This is the one from the 115th Congress.
This bill was introduced in the 115th Congress, which met from Jan 3, 2017 to Jan 3, 2019. Legislation not passed by the end of a Congress is cleared from the books.
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