Since taking office on Jan. 20, President Donald Trump has issued two executive orders designed to implement what his chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon has described as “deconstruction of the administrative state.” While ”deconstruction” is perhaps too strong a word for what the administration has proposed thus far, corporate counsel would be well advised to keep abreast of the developments of the regulatory reform effort in Washington to prepare their clients to take advantage of this important, limited-time opportunity.
Executive Order 13771, titled “Presidential Executive Order on Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda” (Jan. 30), requires that “for every one new regulation issued, at least two prior regulations must be identified for elimination.” It also requires that the “total incremental costs of all new regulations, including repealed regulations, to be finalized this year shall be no greater than zero” unless otherwise required by law or approved by the director of the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
