TheCorporateCounsel.net

When I started in Corp Fin thirty years ago, everyone in my AD Group (Shelley Parratt was my Assistant Director, or “AD”) said to me: “You really need to meet Broc!” One day, I worked up the courage and walked down the long hallway on the seventh floor of 450 Fifth Street to introduce myself to Broc Romanek, who at that time was already a Corp Fin veteran, having served at the agency for several years. After I knocked on the door, Broc told me to come in and then said to me: “Do you have a suggestion?” He pointed up to where the drop ceiling met the wall behind his desk, where a large open crack had occurred in the top of the wall, and where he had posted a sign reading “Suggestion Box” with an arrow pointing to the crack. As a very green new Corp Fin employee, I was somewhat flustered by this interaction, but the rest was history, as they say. Here I am still blogging after all of these years, thanks to that first encounter with Broc and his suggestion box.

Which brings us to the Trump Administration’s new suggestion box for eliminating bothersome rules and regulations. Earlier this month, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced an initiative to allow the public to submit ideas for ending existing rules and regulations through an online form on Regulations.gov. The somewhat unhinged announcement of this effort states:

Recently, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced a first of its kind initiative to allow the public to submit ideas for ending existing rules and regulations through an online form on Regulations.gov.

The Trump Administration has made ending harmful and business-stifling regulations a priority. Publishing this form affords the American public, who are most affected by unnecessary, unlawful, or unduly burdensome regulations, the opportunity to have their voices heard in the deregulatory process. The Administration will review and analyze submissions to understand opportunities.

“Most Americans have become used to a Government that is weaponized against them, with regulations being a favored tool to do so. Today, we’re changing that by empowering the people to use their Constitutional Petition Clause power to fight back and President Trump’s Administration is here to listen and fix it,” said Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) Acting Administrator Jeff Clark.

“America thrives when people can challenge burdensome rules that threaten their freedom and livelihood,” said GSA Acting Administrator Stephen Ehikian. “Overregulation stifles innovation and hurts small businesses. President Trump’s GSA is here to help change that.”

When providing a submission focus on explaining:

1. The rule’s original purpose and context
2. Reasons why the rule should be rescinded (canceled), such as:
– Conflicts with law or Constitution
– Costs outweighing benefits
– The rule is no longer relevant
– The rule unexpectedly creates problems for businesses

The key is to provide clear, constructive feedback about why the existing rule or regulation should be rescinded.

GSA’s Regulations.gov, is a platform that allows the public to access regulatory materials, increases rulemaking participation, and improves federal agency efficiency and effectiveness.

Visit www.regulations.gov/deregulation to submit your deregulatory vision.

Please don’t get me started on the question of why this is a project run by the GSA, which is effectively the federal government’s landlord. In my time in government, I cannot recall the GSA ever being involved in any regulatory policy matters. Why do I suspect that Broc’s suggestion box was a more effective forum?

In any event, which SEC rules and regulations are you going to drop a dime on to the GSA/OMB? I am going to start with the conflict minerals and resource extraction issuer disclosure requirements and then go into the CEO pay ratio and pay versus performance rules. Power to the people!

– Dave Lynn