S. 870

Unfunded Mandates Accountability Act

This bill revises rulemaking requirements with respect to unfunded mandates.

Specifically, the bill (1) requires federal agencies to prepare and publish in the Federal Register an initial and final regulatory impact analysis prior to promulgating any proposed or final rule that may have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more (adjusted for inflation); (2) requires consideration of regulatory alternatives to the rule and requires the selection of the least costly, most cost-effective, or least burdensome alternative; (3) exempts from such requirements rules that concern monetary policy proposed or implemented by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or the Federal Open Market Committee; and (4) expands judicial review of agency rulemaking.

The bill extends certain budgetary requirements to independent regulatory agencies.