EXPERTS Act of 2025
- Bill Number
- S. 3210
- Origin Chamber
- Senate
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 1
- Policy Area
- Government Operations and Politics
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2025-11-19: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
- Last Updated
- 2026-04-21T19:17:51Z
AI-Generated Summary
Purpose The legislation, titled the Experts Protect Effective Rules, Transparency, and Stability Act of 2025 (EXPERTS Act of 2025), amends the Administrative Procedure Act (title 5, United States Code) to increase transparency in federal rulemaking. It requires disclosures of conflicts of interest related to studies and research submitted during rulemaking, expands public participation, and directs agencies to consider public benefits and distributional effects when evaluating rules.
Key Provisions
- Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Interested persons submitting scientific, economic, or technical studies must disclose funding sources, sponsoring entities, review processes, and financial relationships. Agencies must make studies publicly available and disclose certain conflicts (e.g., when 10% or more of funding comes from a regulated entity) in the Federal Register and agency dockets.
- Agency Review and Disregard Authority: Agencies may exclude or disregard submissions lacking required disclosures and have no obligation to respond, though submissions can be resubmitted with corrections.
- OIRA and Inter-Agency Changes: Agencies must document and disclose changes to regulatory actions resulting from Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) review or communications with other agencies or officials.
- Withdrawn Rules: Agencies must publish explanations for withdrawing proposed rules, including whether changes resulted from external input.
- Negotiated Rulemaking: Limits this process to negotiations between federal, state, local, or Tribal governments, removing provisions for broader stakeholder participation.
- OIRA Review Timelines: Requires OIRA to complete reviews of significant regulatory actions within 60 days (extendable by 30 days with justification).
- Penalties for False Information: Public companies submitting materially false statements in comments face civil penalties starting at $250,000 for a first violation and $1,000,000 for subsequent violations.
- Office of the Public Advocate: Establishes this office within the Office of Management and Budget to assist public participation, conduct social equity assessments, and improve outreach.
- Judicial Review Changes: Directs courts to defer to reasonable agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes when procedures are followed. Defines "unreasonable delay" in rulemaking timelines. Extends the statute of limitations for challenging agency actions to 6 years.
- Public Participation Enhancements: Requires expanded awareness of rulemakings, responses to petitions with over 100,000 signatures within 60 days, and participation logs.
- Congressional Review Act Amendments: Removes certain provisions on major rules and allows fast-track reinstatement of previously disapproved rules.
- Cost-Benefit Analysis: Requires agencies to account for nonquantifiable benefits and distributional/social equity impacts, with courts prohibited from imposing cost-benefit standards unless required by law.
Significant Changes to Existing Law
- Amends section 553 of title 5 to add mandatory conflict disclosures and public availability requirements for studies.
- Modifies subchapter III of chapter 5 to restrict negotiated rulemaking.
- Updates section 706 to codify judicial deference to agency statutory interpretations and define unreasonable delay.
- Adds a new section 707 establishing a 6-year statute of limitations for judicial review.
- Introduces new sections 505 (Office of the Public Advocate) and 10 (penalties for false submissions).
- Amends the Congressional Review Act and repeals or modifies numerous existing statutes that previously required negotiated rulemaking (e.g., in education, health, housing, and environmental laws).
- Creates mechanisms for reinstating disapproved rules and requires social equity assessments.
Potential Impacts
- Government Agencies: Increases administrative requirements for tracking disclosures, publishing notices, responding to petitions, and documenting OIRA interactions. Agencies gain flexibility to disregard incomplete submissions and must consider broader public benefits.
- Citizens and Interested Persons: Enhances access to information on funding sources and conflicts, expands opportunities for participation, and provides responses to large-scale petitions.
- Regulated Entities: Public companies face new penalties for inaccurate submissions and must include recent SEC reports with comments.
- International Relations: No direct provisions address international matters.
Main Stakeholders Affected
- Federal agencies and independent agencies involved in rulemaking.
- Public companies and other regulated entities submitting comments.
- The Office of Management and Budget and OIRA.
- Congress, through oversight and petition responses.
- State, local, and Tribal governments (via limited negotiated rulemaking).
- The general public, advocacy groups, and individuals seeking to participate in rulemaking.
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- Codifies judicial deference to agency interpretations of statutes, potentially affecting challenges to rules.
- Introduces civil penalties for false statements in rulemaking comments, creating new enforcement mechanisms.
- Establishes an Office of the Public Advocate to address social equity in rulemaking.
- Alters the balance between agency discretion and public oversight by mandating transparency on external influences during rule development.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Cosponsors (12)
Sen. Welch, Peter [D-VT], Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD], Sen. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA], Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT], Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT], Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR], Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ], Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR], Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI], Sen. Luján, Ben Ray [D-NM], Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA], Sen. Kim, Andy [D-NJ]
Recent Actions
- 2025-11-19: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
- 2025-11-19: Introduced in Senate
Bill Versions
- Experts Protect Effective Rules, Transparency, and Stability Act of 2025 — issued 2025-11-19 — PDF (36 pages)