Due Process and Management for Guidance Documents: Good Governance Long Overdue

Abstract

On January 18, 2007, President Bush signed amendments to clarify and strengthen Executive Order (E.O.) 12,866, which President Clinton had issued to update principles for inter-agency planning and review of regulations. The most important provisions of President Bush's E.O. 13,422 clearly extend interagency review to guidance documents. E.O. 13,422 was reinforced by a Bulletin for Agency Good Guidance Practices issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Together, E.O. 13,422 and the OMB Bulletin establish the first government-wide "rules of the road" to manage the development and use of guidance documents.