Notice2023-03181
Identifying and Reducing Burdens in Administrative Processes; Request for Comments
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Published
February 15, 2023
Issuing agencies
Administrative Conference of the United States
Abstract
The Office of the Chairman of ACUS is requesting public input on how agencies can identify and reduce unnecessary procedural burdens that members of the public face when they engage with administrative programs or participate in administrative processes. Responses to this request may inform an ongoing ACUS project, Identifying and Reducing Burdens in Administrative Processes, which, if warranted, will recommend best practices for agencies to use.
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 31 (Wednesday, February 15, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 31 (Wednesday, February 15, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9851-9852]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-03181]
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Notices
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Federal Register / Vol. 88 , No. 31 / Wednesday, February 15, 2023 /
Notices
[[Page 9851]]
ADMINISTRATIVE CONFERENCE OF THE UNITED STATES
Identifying and Reducing Burdens in Administrative Processes;
Request for Comments
AGENCY: Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS).
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Office of the Chairman of ACUS is requesting public input
on how agencies can identify and reduce unnecessary procedural burdens
that members of the public face when they engage with administrative
programs or participate in administrative processes. Responses to this
request may inform an ongoing ACUS project, Identifying and Reducing
Burdens in Administrative Processes, which, if warranted, will
recommend best practices for agencies to use.
DATES: Comments must be received no later than 10 a.m. (ET) April 17,
2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#90f9fef6ffd0f1f3e5e3bef7ffe6"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="80e9eee6efc0e1e3f5f3aee7eff6">[email protected]</span></a> (with
``Identifying and Reducing Burdens in Administrative Processes'' in the
subject line of the message), online by clicking ``Submit a comment''
near the bottom of the project web page found at <a href="https://www.acus.gov/research-projects/disclosure-agency-legal-materials">https://www.acus.gov/research-projects/disclosure-agency-legal-materials</a>, or by U.S. Mail
addressed to Identifying and Reducing Burdens in Administrative
Processes, Administrative Conference of the United States, 1120 20th
Street NW, Suite 706 South, Washington, DC 20036. ACUS will ordinarily
post comments on the project web page as they are received. Commenters
should not include information, such as personal information or
confidential business information, that they do not wish to appear on
the ACUS website. For the full ACUS public comment policy, please visit
<a href="https://www.acus.gov/policy/public-comment-policy">https://www.acus.gov/policy/public-comment-policy</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Gluth, Attorney Advisor,
Administrative Conference of the United States, 1120 20th Street NW,
Suite 706 South, Washington, DC 20036; Telephone (202) 480-2080; email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e68b818a93928ea687859395c8818990"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a2cfc5ced7d6cae2c3c1d7d18cc5cdd4">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
The Administrative Conference Act, 5 U.S.C. 591-596, established
the Administrative Conference of the United States. The Conference
studies the efficiency, adequacy, and fairness of the administrative
procedures used by Federal agencies and makes recommendations to
agencies, the President, Congress, and the Judicial Conference of the
United States for procedural improvements (5 U.S.C. 594(1)). For
further information about the Conference and its activities, see
<a href="http://www.acus.gov">www.acus.gov</a>.
Identifying and Reducing Burdens in Administrative Processes
Congress and the White House have, over the past three decades,
directed agencies to design and manage public-facing processes to
account for the needs of public participants. Statutes, executive
orders, and Office of Management and Budget guidance identify methods
for identifying unnecessary administrative burdens (e.g., use of
surveys, focus groups, user testing, data analysis) and strategies for
reducing them (e.g., streamlining processes, simplifying forms,
digitizing services, improving public communications). This focus on
identifying and reducing administrative burdens is often called
``customer service'' or ``customer experience'' because it borrows from
similar practices used by private-sector organizations.\1\
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\1\ 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act, Public Law
115-336 (2018); Exec. Order No 14058, TransformingFederal Customer
Experience and Service Delivery To Rebuild Trust in Government, 86
FR 71357 (Dec. 16, 2021); Exec. Order No. 13985, Advancing Racial
Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal
Government, 86 FR 7009 (Jan. 25, 2021); Exec. Order No. 13707, Using
Behavioral Science Insights To Better Serve the American People, 80
FR 56365 (Sept. 18, 2015); Exec. Order. No. 13571, Streamlining
Service Delivery and Improving Customer Service, 76 FR 24339 (Apr.
27, 2011); Exec. Order No. 12862, Setting Customer Service
Standards, 58 FR 48257 (Sept. 14, 1993); Off. of Mgmt. & Budget,
Improving Access to Public Benefits Through the Paperwork Reduction
Act, M-22-10 (Apr. 13, 2022); see also Off. of Mgmt. & Budget, Study
to Identify Methods to Assess Equity: Report to the President
(2021).
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Agencies are increasingly using customer service methods to
identify and reduce unnecessary burdens that members of the public face
when they engage with administrative programs or participate in
administrative processes. A growing academic literature also analyzes
how public institutions can use customer service methods to improve the
programs they administer, and participants at two recent ACUS forums
also discussed promising practices for identifying and reducing
administrative burdens.\2\
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\2\ Admin. Conf. of the U.S., Forum on Enhancing Public Input in
Agency Rulemaking (Dec. 1, 2021); Admin. Conf. of the U.S., Forum on
Underserved Communities and the Regulatory Process (Nov. 3-29,
2021).
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ACUS has adopted many recommendations urging agencies to use
specific customer service methods in certain circumstances. It has
recommended, for example, that agencies seek public input on practices
for engaging with the public during rulemakings; \3\ design and manage
<a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a> to ``meet user needs;'' \4\ solicit public feedback on
appellate systems, hearing practices, and guidance websites; \5\
collect anonymous feedback to assess participants' satisfaction with
virtual hearings; \6\ gather data on the experiences of self-
represented parties and users of electronic case management systems;
\7\
[[Page 9852]]
and use quality assurance to identify systemic barriers to
participation in adjudicatory proceedings.\8\
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\3\ Admin. Conf. of the U.S., Recommendation 2020-1, Rules on
Rulemakings, ] 5, 86 FR 6613, 6613 (Jan. 22, 2021); Admin. Conf. of
the U.S., Recommendation 2018-7, Public Engagement in Rulemaking, ]
4, 84 FR 2146, 2148 (Feb. 6, 2019).
\4\ Admin. Conf. of the U.S., Recommendation 2018-6, Improving
Access to <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a>'s Rulemaking Dockets, ] 1, 84 FR 2143,
2145 (Feb. 6, 2019).
\5\ Admin. Conf. of the U.S., Recommendation 2020-3, Agency
Appellate Systems, ] 25, 86 FR 6618, 6620 (Jan. 22, 2021); Admin.
Conf. of the U.S., Recommendation 2016-4, Evidentiary Hearings Not
Required by the Administrative Procedure Act, ] 31, 81 FR 94314,
94316 (Dec. 23, 2016); Admin. Conf. of the U.S. Recommendation 2019-
3, Public Availability of Agency Guidance Documents, ] 6, 84 FR
38931, 38932 (Aug. 8, 2019).
\6\ Admin. Conf. of the U.S., Recommendation 2021-4, Virtual
Hearings in Agency Adjudication, ] 14, 86 FR 36083, 36085 (July 8,
2021); see also Admin. Conf. of the U.S., Recommendation 2014-7,
Best Practices for Using Video Teleconferencing for Hearings, ] 12,
79 FR 75114, 75120 (Dec. 17, 2014).
\7\ Admin. Conf. of the U.S., Recommendation 2016-6, Self-
Represented Parties in Administrative Proceedings, ] 4, 81 FR 94319,
94320 (Dec. 23, 2016); Admin. Conf. of the U.S. Recommendation 2018-
3, Electronic Case Management in Federal Administrative
Adjudication, ] 4f, 83 FR 30686, 30687 (June 29, 2018).
\8\ Admin. Conf. of the U.S., Recommendation 2021-10, Quality
Assurance Systems in Agency Adjudication, 87 FR 1722 (Jan. 12,
2022).
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ACUS is undertaking this project to examine more comprehensively
how agencies are using and might better use customer service methods to
improve administrative programs and procedures. A team of leading
scholars will submit a report to ACUS that will examine methods, such
as public engagement and data analysis, that agencies can use to
identify unnecessary burdens that members of the public face when they
engage with administrative programs or participate in administrative
processes. The project will also assess strategies for reducing
unnecessary burdens, such as streamlining processes and digitizing
services. Based on this research, a committee of ACUS members will
develop proposed recommendations to agencies of best practices for
possible consideration by the ACUS Assembly. Visit <a href="https://www.acus.gov/research-projects">https://www.acus.gov/research-projects</a> to learn more about how ACUS develops
recommendations.
Specific Topics for Public Comment
ACUS welcomes views, information, and data on all aspects of
strategies that agencies are using or might use to identify and reduce
unnecessary burdens that members of the public face when they engage
with administrative programs or participate in administrative
processes. ACUS also seeks specific feedback on the following questions
related to agencies' burden-reduction efforts:
1. What has been your experience interacting with an agency
regarding a benefit or service that you are applying for or renewing,
for example unemployment insurance or student loan assistance? Was any
portion of the process especially easy or particularly difficult? Do
you have specific suggestions for reducing burdens?
2. What has been your experience trying to use a government benefit
or service that you are receiving? For example, how easy or difficult
is it to use your food stamps, Medicaid health insurance, or Medicare
health insurance? Do you have specific suggestions for reducing burdens
in programs with which you have interacted?
3. Have you experienced any unintended consequences from agencies'
burden-reduction efforts? For example, have an agency's attempts to
reduce one burden created others, either for members of the public or
for agency officials?
4. Are you aware of specific, temporary burden reductions
instituted during the COVID-19 pandemic that you believe should be made
permanent? This can include (and please specify, if possible) burden-
reduction efforts that agencies can implement under current statutes as
well as those that would require statutory changes.
5. Are there existing legal impediments that have slowed or stopped
efforts to identify or reduce burdens? If so, please describe examples,
especially those that you believe would have the greatest burden-
reduction impact.
6. What has been your experience regarding collaborations between
agencies and other public- and private-sector organizations when trying
to reduce burdens. Please describe whether these collaborations were
successful and describe any factors (e.g., statutory, organizational,
other) that either enhanced or impeded the collaboration.
7. What role can private-sector groups play in helping to reduce
burdens, and how can government agencies encourage such actions? For
example, how might regulations on access and sharing of personal
financial data be structured to encourage private-sector groups to
provide tools to reduce burdens that members of the public experience
when they apply for, engage with, or participate in federal programs?
Dated: February 9, 2023.
Shawne McGibbon,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2023-03181 Filed 2-14-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6110-01-P
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