Executive order encourages deregulation to stimulate economic recovery.
The President issued an executive order directing agencies to address the economic impact of COVID-19 by eliminating regulations, providing reopening guidance to businesses, and recognizing that regulatory compliance can be difficult in these circumstances.
Regulated businesses may benefit from these new directives:
- Regulatory relief. Agencies shall consider temporarily or permanently eliminating regulations that inhibit economic recovery and temporary enforcement discretion or extensions of time.
- Pre-enforcement rulings. Agencies shall enable businesses to obtain pre-enforcement rulings as to whether proposed conduct in response to COVID-19, including any response to economic stimulus actions, is consistent with law.
- Enforcement discretion. Agencies shall consider adopting enforcement discretion policies that decline enforcement against businesses that have attempted in reasonable good faith to comply with law, guidance, and any pre-enforcement ruling.
- Fairness in enforcement. Agencies shall consider principles of fairness in administrative enforcement and adjudication, consistent with Executive Order 13892.
- Regulatory review. Agencies shall consider permanently rescinding any regulations that were temporarily rescinded in response to COVID-19.
This new executive order builds on prior executive orders directing agencies to ensure transparency and fairness in policymaking and enforcement.
Originally published May 2020
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