Putting an expiry date on the rules themselves, and asking what each costs and delivers to keep it
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission sought information on the costs and benefits of regulations scheduled to sunset, following a rule inserting conditional expiry dates into its own regulations. This is the stage before any rule is proposed — gathering information only.
Document overview (primary data)
- Document typeProposed rule
- AgencyNuclear Regulatory Commission
- Citation91 FR 38564
Key points
- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission sought information on the costs and benefits of regulations scheduled to sunset.
- Executive Order 14270 directed the agency to insert conditional sunset dates into regulations issued under certain statutes.
- The agency published the Sunset Rule in December 2025, inserting a conditional sunset date of January 8, 2027.
- With an expiry date, the burden of explaining costs and benefits shifts from those seeking repeal to those seeking continuation.
- The document states it is for information-gathering purposes and does not propose new regulations, requirements or policies.
1The stage before a rule exists
Rulemaking calls to mind a proposed rule and a comment period. A stage precedes even that: gathering what the problem is and what information exists. A request for information is not a proposal, and this one says so — it is for information-gathering purposes and does not propose new regulations, requirements or policies.
2What is being gathered
- 1April 9, 2025An executive order directs the agency to issue a rule inserting conditional sunset dates into regulations under certain statutes
- 2December 3, 2025The agency publishes the Sunset Rule, inserting sunset provisions and a conditional sunset date of January 8, 2027
- 3June 26, 2026 (this document)Information is sought on the costs and benefits of the regulations due to sunset
- 4July 27, 2026Comments close; what is gathered informs whether to extend
Because the regulations now carry an expiry date, leaving them alone means they lapse. To keep one, its costs and its benefits have to be shown. This document collects that material from outside the agency.
3What a conditional sunset does
The significant change is that the burden of explanation moves to the side of keeping the rule. Ordinarily whoever seeks repeal must give reasons. With an expiry date, whoever seeks continuation must. For the same regulation, who has to explain themselves is reversed.
4The five-year ceiling
The order set the conditional sunset date one year after the effective date and allowed extension to a date not more than five years in the future. An extension therefore does not become indefinite. When the next deadline arrives, the same question is asked again. This site also covers the same agency semiannual regulatory agenda, so the plan for making rules and the deadline for revisiting them both appear as open procedures.
5The information requested
The document asks for economic data, so far as possible, demonstrating the cost of complying with existing regulations as well as any savings from eliminating them. Not merely views, but numbers to support them, are expected.
Why it matters
Attaching an expiry date to a regulation reverses the direction of justification. Requiring reasons for continuation is one technique for managing the total stock of regulation.
FAQ
What is a request for information?
What changes with a conditional sunset date?
Sources (primary)
Source: Federal Register (federal documents, public domain). Links go to the official site.