Prepared Foods Exclusive: Administration Hold on Pipeline Regulations
The Obama administration has sent a memorandum to agency and department heads requesting that proposals and regulations not yet published in the Federal Register be withdrawn pending an opportunity for review. If possible, the agencies should consider extending the effective dates (for 60 days) for any regulations published but not final.
A second memorandum listed specific criteria to assess whether an extension of an effective date should be considered: (which can be summarized as) whether the record supports the conclusions of the rulemaking; whether the rulemaking meets procedural requirements; whether the rulemaking meets the standard for consideration of supporting materials; and, whether the rulemaking is in line with current regulatory policy.