E-Rulemaking: Information Technology and the Regulatory Process

Regulatory agencies such as the Department of Transportation, Environmental Protection Agency, and Internal Revenue Service face significant information demands in crafting the thousands of new regulations the federal government issues each year. Before adopting new regulations, regulatory agencies must solicit and analyze comments from the public as well as complete scientific, engineering, and economic analyses. By harnessing the power of digital technologies, electronic rulemaking -- or e-rulemaking, for short – could potentially reduce the informational burdens associated with making regulations. Not only may e-rulemaking make the regulatory process more manageable for federal agencies, it may also expand and enhance the public’s involvement in this important policymaking arena. For these reasons, interest in e-rulemaking is growing in Washington, D.C. E-rulemaking formed part of the Clinton Administration’s National Performance Review and it remains a component of the Bush Administration’s overall management plan. In addition, the E-Government Act of 2002 calls for federal agencies to explore the use of new technologies in rulemaking proceedings. In order to channel interest in e-rulemaking toward effective and meaningful innovations in regulatory practice, the Kennedy School of Government’s Regulatory Policy Program convened two major workshops, bringing together academic experts from computer sciences, law, and public management along with key public officials involved in managing federal regulation. This paper summarizes the discussions that took place at these workshops and develops an agenda for future research on information technology and the rulemaking process. It highlights the institutional challenges associated with using information technology in the federal regulatory process and suggests that in some cases existing rulemaking practices may need to be reconfigured in order to take full advantage of technological developments. Ultimately, the effective deployment of information technology to assist with government rulemaking will depend on integrating knowledge from across the social sciences, law, and information sciences.