New feature: Significant regulations

An often requested feature for OpenRegs.com is the ability to know when a proposed or final regulation is significant (and especially economically significant). We now label every significant regulation as such on the site and in the iPhone app. We also provide a daily feed of significant regs published in the Federal Register. To the best of our knowledge, no government website offers this functionality. So what’s a significant res? It’s a regulation that has been reviewed by the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs before it was published in the Federal Register. What constitutes a “significant” regulation is outlined in Executive Order 12,866:

(1) Have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector of the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public health or safety, or State, local, or tribal governments or communities [these are ‘economically significant’]; (2) Create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an action taken or planned by another agency; (3) Materially alter the budgetary impact of entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan programs or the rights and obligations of recipients thereof; or (4) Raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal mandates, the President’s priorities, or the principles set forth in this Executive order.