Sunstein: E-dockets should be better

Members of the public attempting to find the same proposed regulation docket on various federal websites can't always do so due to lack of a consistent naming conventions and search criteria, according to Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Administrator Cass Sunstein.

"Currently, agencies do not always use consistent naming conventions and search criteria. The resulting inconsistency imposes an unnecessary burden on members of the public when they are attempting to review regulatory content," Sunstein says in a White House memo dated May 28. As a result, the federal government will adopt within the next six months a common data taxonomy and protocols for document types, Sunstein adds. Agencies should immediately attempt to make electronic dockets on Regulations DOTgov consistent with paper-based dockets, uploading supporting material in a machine-readable format, Sunstein orders in the memo.