Agencies must now disclose rule costs and hear public input on whether rules should stay.
H.R. 8162 — Regulatory Review Improvement Act of 2026 · Filed by Daniel Meuser (R-PA) · 3 cosponsors · Introduced Mar 30, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill amends the federal rule-review process (Section 610 of Title 5, U.S. Code) to require agencies to solicit public comments on whether existing rules should stay in effect, to tighten limits on how long agencies can delay reviews (from up to five years to one year maximum), and to mandate that agencies report compliance costs and paperwork burden when reviewing rules. It also requires agencies to produce a summary and analysis of public comments before conducting reviews.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is procedural: it mandates public comment solicitation, cost disclosure, and tighter review timelines for existing federal rules. It does not deregulate or eliminate rules; it makes the review process more transparent and citizen-facing.
What the text implies
- Agencies may face increased litigation risk if public comments reveal compliance costs or harms that agencies previously downplayed or did not quantify.
- The requirement to produce comment summaries and analyses before reviews may slow agency action, potentially delaying both rule retention and rule rescission decisions.
- Tightening delay limits from five years to one year may force agencies to prioritize high-volume rules, potentially leaving lower-profile rules unreviewed longer in practice.
- Mandatory cost and paperwork-hour reporting may expose rules with high compliance burdens, creating political pressure to repeal them regardless of their public-health or safety value.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Citizens gain procedural transparency and a formal voice in whether existing rules remain in effect. Agencies must document compliance costs and respond to public input, creating accountability. Tighter review timelines prevent indefinite delays that could leave outdated or harmful rules in place.
Named in the bill
Federal agencies, Title 5, United States Code, Section 610 (periodic rule review)
Where it stands
3 cosponsors: 3 Republicans.
- Mar 30, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Mar 30, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Small Business and House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Small Business, for a period…”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,612 characters) on Oct 26, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,580 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-26.
“Agencies must now disclose rule costs and hear public input on whether rules should stay.” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr8162 Report an error
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