 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
The Regulatory Group, Inc. (TRG) specializes in providing technical support to Federal agencies through:
TRG's clients are Federal agencies and Federal agency employees who are responsible for writing or reviewing their agency's regulations and guidance documents. TRG works directly with agency writers, reviewers, and policymakers to assist them in carrying out their agency's functions. The regulatory objective of any agency is to produce effective regulations. How do you ensure that your agency produces effective regulations? TRG answers this question with its three-pronged approach to effective rulemaking:
The failure of any one of these factors undermines the Federal agency's regulatory objective. By focusing on these factors in all of its consulting and training efforts, TRG helps Federal agencies build quality into their regulations and their rulemaking process, advisory documents, internal orders, policy manuals, and overall regulatory process. Since 1980 TRG has provided services to Federal regulatory agencies in the following areas:
Regulatory Drafting TRG provides complete support work at all stages of the regulatory process for the development of documents to be published in the Federal Register, including:
The types of regulatory documents that TRG has drafted include Advance Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRMs), Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRMs), Supplemental Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (SNPRMs) and final rules (including interim final rules and direct final rules). TRG's staff has extensive knowledge of the technical and legal requirements for Federal Register documents. TRG also has experience assisting agencies in the drafting of regulation related documents for both internal and external audiences, such as agency guidance and advisory materials, handbooks, and orders. Regulation Writing Training TRG develops and presents training courses for Federal agency staff who must review or write agency regulations or guidance documents. TRG's courses teach both the procedural requirements for issuance of regulations and guidance documents, as well as techniques and tools for writing documents that will serve their intended purpose. TRG offers regulation writing courses open to all government employees as well as courses tailored for the employees of specific agencies. In recent years TRG has presented agency specific regulation writing training courses to the following:
Federal agency rulemaking courses generally vary in length from 1 to 5 days and may include segments on administrative law, principles of legal drafting, writing technical material in Plain Language, principles of organization, and use of algorithms. The courses help agencies enhance the public's confidence in the regulatory agencies by enhancing customer service, customer satisfaction, and by improving the quality, timeliness and efficiency of the rulemaking process. TRG provides research on rulemaking projects at various stages of the regulatory process. Research may begin at the early stages of a project to help a client agency that has identified a problem to determine what its options are, what past agency actions are relevant, and what other information is needed before drafting a regulation can begin. Research may be needed at almost any stage of a rulemaking project to address questions that have been raised by technical staff or by the agency's review and coordination process. TRG has conducted research at various stages of regulatory projects, such as broad research on the subjects of aircraft registration and recordation, alcohol and drug regulation, and the regulation of risk sports. For the Federal Aviation Administration TRG has conducted research on exemptions issued over a 30 year period, and exemptions currently in force, as a basis for recommendations for an expedited exemption process. Report Writing TRG works with agencies to rewrite and edit reports on technical or policy issues. On a short turn-around basis, TRG has reorganized, rewritten, and copy edited agency reports that had been technically sound but difficult to understand for anyone outside the technical division of the agency. The extensive regulatory and writing experience at TRG enables it to help agencies communicate technically complex requirements in plain language without undercutting the substance of the report. Streamlining and Improving the Regulatory Process TRG has provided services to several agencies in reengineering and streamlining their rulemaking processes by providing assistance in implementing new regulations, drafting guidance material on managing the regulatory process, and by implementing improved rulemaking procedures. TRG produced a major study for the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) on rulemaking as an organizational process. The study involved four in-depth case studies of the rulemaking actions of four agencies (Department of Agriculture, Social Security Administration, Federal Aviation Administration and Environmental Protection Agency). The final report for the study provided a detailed description of the steps in the rulemaking process and offered recommendations for the efficient management of rulemaking actions. The ACUS study was cited in a 1993 report, "Improving Regulatory Systems," by Vice President Gore's National Performance Review. TRG has worked with the Federal Highway Administration and the Drug Enforcement Administration to reorganize and streamline the regulatory process. Currently TRG conducts training courses for the Federal Aviation Administration on its reengineered regulatory process. |
Clarity - Your regulations must be clear (plain language)
