Federal Rulemaking: Agencies Continue to Use Good Cause and Other Mechanisms to Forgo Public Comments
What GAO Found During the rulemaking process, agencies are generally required to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) and seek public comment before issuing a final rule. They can expedite the process and forgo this requirement when they find good cause that the process would be impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest. This can occur, for example, when agencies are responding to natural disasters or public health emergencies. Agencies cited good cause reasons for expedited rulemaking for about 71 percent of major interim final rules GAO reviewed and that agencies published between January 20, 2013, and January 20, 2025. This is consistent with GAO’s 2012 repor.
Reported by Maria LopezFederal Rulemaking: Agencies Continue to Use Good Cause and Other Mechanisms to Forgo Public Comments.
The item is dated Fri, 04 Sep 2026 07:15:33 -0400.
TeamCog is carrying it as a audits report from GAO reports and testimonies RSS.
What GAO Found During the rulemaking process, agencies are generally required to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) and seek public comment before issuing a final rule.
They can expedite the process and forgo this requirement when they find good cause that the process would be impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest.
This can occur, for example, when agencies are responding to natural disasters or public health emergencies.
Agencies cited good cause reasons for expedited rulemaking for about 71 percent of major interim final rules GAO reviewed and that agencies published between January 20, 2013, and January 20, 2025.
This is consistent with GAO’s 2012 repor…
Official Source
GAO reports and testimonies RSS. Accessed 2026-09-04T15:00:03.726Z.