A measure designed to increase government transparency would add an estimated $6 million in administrative costs at the federal level, according to a new report.
House Resolution 890, the Guidance Out of Darkness Act of 2023, would require federal agencies to publish their regulatory guidance on the internet in an easily accessible location.
House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., along with other Republicans, have backed the measure as a way to improve government transparency.
U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said the measure would help small businesses.
“This bill reduces the regulatory burden placed on small businesses, workers and households by holding federal agencies accountable,” Johnson said earlier this year when he re-introduced the measure in the Senate. “Increasing transparency and simplifying the regulatory process will further economic growth for all Americans.”
The measure would require agencies to post their guidance documents (such as memorandums, directives, blog posts, and speeches by agency officials) on a single website designated by the Office of Management and Budget, according to an analysis from the Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan federal agency that produces hundreds of cost estimates for proposed legislation each year.
“According to the Government Accountability Office, many agencies already provide guidance documents on their websites,” according to the report. “Thus, CBO expects that implementing the bill would increase agencies’ administrative expenses mostly for consolidating and uploading documents in a single location.”
The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the cost would be $6 million from 2023 through 2028.
