The U.S. Department of Transportation filed a Federal Register notice on Feb. 5 that it will review its existing regulatory guidance documents to evaluate the guidance for its “continued necessity,” as well as to determine whether the guidance needs to be updated or revised.

[Above photo by USDOT.]

As part of this review, USDOT is “inviting the public to identify and provide input” on existing guidance documents that are “good candidates for repeal, replacement, or modification.”

Nick Goldstein, vice president of regulatory and legal issues for the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, noted in a blog post on Feb. 6 that “it is a rare occurrence for any agency to open up all of its existing guidance documents for review” as such documents are an agency’s way of interpreting the agency’s own regulations.

“In the case of the federal-aid highway and transit programs, they [the guidance] provide direction to the federal agencies’ offices around the country – as well as state and local transportation departments – in implementing those programs,” he said.

USDOT also noted in its Federal Register notice that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration plans to publish a separate notice soliciting input on the guidance documents dealing with commercial drivers’ licenses.