The U.S. House of Representatives passed the SEMA-supported Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act of 2023. If enacted into law, H.R. 277 would require Congress to approve any regulation with an estimated annual economic impact of $100 million or more before it could take effect.
The REINS Act would reassert Congress' legislative authority and prevent excessive overreach by the executive branch in the federal rulemaking process. It would require every new "major rule" proposed by federal agencies to be approved by both the House and Senate before going into effect. The bill would also preserve Congress' authority to disapprove of a "nonmajor rule" through a joint resolution.
The REINS Act defines a "major rule" as any federal rule or regulation that may result in:
- An annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more
- A major increase in costs or prices for consumers, individual industries, government industries, government agencies or geographic regions
- Significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity, innovation or the ability of U.S.-based enterprises to compete with foreign-based enterprises
SEMA applauds the efforts of U.S. Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL), lead sponsor of the REINS Act, and House leadership for passing the bill. It is important that Congress can approve or strike down economically significant rulemakings from the executive branch before the rules can take effect.
For more information, contact Tiffany Cipoletti at tiffanyc@sema.org.
Source: SEMA
