eRulemaking Initiative October 22, 2003 Overview President's Management Agenda (PMA) "...government needs to reform its operations - how it goes about its business and how it treats the people it serves." President George W. Bush President's Management Agenda (PMA) Five Components: * Competitive Sourcing * Financial Management * Human Capital * Budget and Performance Integration * Expanding Electronic Government PMA: Expanding Electronic Government Vision: * Order of magnitude improvement in the government's value to the citizen. Goals: * Citizens can easily obtain service and interact with government * Improved government efficiency and effectiveness * Improved government responsiveness to citizens PMA: e-Gov 24 Projects * USA Services * EZ Tax Filing * Online Access for Loans * Recreation One Stop * Eligibility Assistance Online * eRulemaking * Simplified and Unified Tax and Wage Reporting * Consolidated Health Informatics * International Trade Process Streamlining * e-Vital E-Government Act of 2002 * Authorizes the PMA Expanding E-Government Initiatives – Section 206 is the online rulemaking provision * All agencies are expected to: – Make their public regulatory dockets electronically accessible and searchable via the eRulemaking Initiative (regulations.gov.) – Accept electronic submissions to the online dockets * OMB plans to issue a timeline for agency compliance * Implementation guidance for the E-Gov Act issued on August 1, 2003 eRulemaking Initiative Vision: Citizens can easily access and participate in a high quality, efficient and open rulemaking process Goals * Provide easy and consistent way for public to search, view, and comment on proposed federal rules * Create centralized federal government docket system * Build a seamless, integrated, unified, and cost-effective regulatory management system Scope / Partners Partner Agencies * EPA - lead partner * Federal Communication Commission * General Services Administration * Government Printing Office * Health and Human Services * Housing and Urban Development Project Plan * Effort organized into three components – Module 1: www.regulations.gov (Portal to find, retrieve, view, and comment on federal regulations) – Module 2: Federal Docket Management System (based on EPA's EDOCKET system) – Module 3: Virtual Workspace and standardized processes for rulemaking * Collaborative approach * Executive Committee and Advisory Board provide enterprise-wide oversight * Workgroups: Records Management, Acquisition, Budget, Business Process Re-engineering, Legal & Policy, Module 1, Module 2, Module 3, and XML Conceptual Architecture Module 1 - www.regulations.gov Module 1 - www.regulations.gov Data Flow Module 1 - www.Regulations.gov Home Page Module 1 - www.Regulations.gov Search Page Module 1 - www.Regulations.gov Search Results Module 1 - www.Regulations.gov Comment Form Module 2 - Federal Docket Management System Model Module 2 based on EPA's EDOCKET system EDOCKET * Launched on May 31, 2002 for EPA Headquarters Program Offices (Office of Water, Office of Air and Radiation, etc.) * Being expanded to include regional materials * Assessed as closest to ideal federal-wide system by an independent evaluator using agreed upon criteria * Recognition: – 2003 eGov Trailblazer award – Grace Hopper award finalist Module 2 - Federal Docket Management System Attributes * Designed using Commercial-Off-the-Shelf Technology, configured for online docket management – Documentum (document management application) – Input Accel (document capture) – Oracle (database management) * Image- and text-based system * Sophisticated search capabilities – Full-text – Boolean * Technical features include: – Inter-operability with other systems – Scalability to accommodate a large number of users – Security / access control – Utilize XML and workflow management * 24/7 Internet access for the public to search, retrieve, submit comments on dockets * Sophisticated data entry, workflow processing and tracking, and records management of docket materials * Configured specifically for and integrated with large-scale docket processing operations – Scanning of paper to render into electronic format * Handle minimum 10,000 simultaneous users and unlimited documents in a collection * Compliance with Section 508 and other government regulations Module 2 - Federal Docket Management System Scope of Documents System will include: * Rules (proposed and final) * General notices – information collection requests, meeting notices, public hearings, grant announcements, etc. * Supporting materials – supporting analyses, public comments etc. * Miscellaneous materials – Adjudications, appeals, orders, information quality guidelines, etc. System will not include: * Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) * Controlled correspondence Module 2: EDOCKET Workflow Overview Module 2 - EDOCKET System Example Home Page Module 2 - EDOCKET System Example Search Screen Module 2 - EDOCKET System Example Docket Results Module 2 - EDOCKET System Example Docket Detail Module 2 - EDOCKET System Example Public Comment Module 3 - Virtual Workspace for Regulation Writers * Define agency regulatory processes and requirements * Develop electronic review and submission process * Identify expert tools to assist in: – Analysis and decision making – eRecords and document management – Knowledge Management Proposed - Federal Docket Service Center * Operated by GPO * Support multiple federal agencies * Services: – On-site docket processing – Public reading room – Long-term storage for paper, microform, and other tangible items – Implementation of archival schedules Organizational Structure Milestones * 18 December 2002 Soft Launch of Regulations.gov * 23 January 2003 Formal Launch of Regulations.gov * January 2003 Resubmittal of Business Case to OMB * February 2003 Project Management Office Staffed * March 2003 PMO and Workgroups formed * March 2003 Business Process Reengineering Begins, * April 2003 FOSE * April/May 2003 Resources from other agencies arrive * June 2003 Move to Vermont Ave, eGov Conference * September 2003 Acquisition completed Results that Benefit the Public * One stop portal to search, read, and print all federal regulatory material * Status of each regulation, docket or rule * Ability to electronically file comments * Ability to search, read and print all supporting documents (including comments) * Listserv for businesses and citizens * Improve the quality of decisions Results that Benefit the Government * Transform the entire federal rulemaking process * Ability to efficiently analyze and aggregate public comments * Provide electronic desktop support to regulation writers / managers * Ability to maintain a web-based regulatory and comment dialogue with the public * Central intake point and repository for all public comments. Lessons Learned to Date Contact