Incorporating by Reference: Knowing Law in the Electronic Age

Last October, the Office of the Federal Register published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (78 Fed. Reg. 60,784 (Oct. 2, 2013)) to revise its regulations governing the practice of incorporation by Reference, which permits federal agencies to create binding regulatory obligations just by referring to standards that have been developed by private nongovernmental organizations, standards development organizations (SDOs) such as the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) or the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). This rulemaking should be of substantial interest to the occupational safety community. While its comment period has closed, comments remain open until May 12, 2014, on the Office of Management and Budget\u27s Circular No. A-119 (79 Fed. Reg. 8,207 (Feb. 11, 2014)) – also important for incorporation by reference practice. Professor Strauss\u27 BNA article of last November will help illuminate the stakes