Thursday's Federal Register included a Jan. 30, 2009, executive order (executive order) revoking executive order 13258 of Feb. 26, 2002, and executive order 13422 of Jan. 18, 2007, concerning regulatory planning and review

The new executive order also directs the Office of Management and Budget and the heads of executive departments and agencies to "rescind any orders, rules, regulations, guidelines, or policies implementing or enforcing Executive Order 13258 or Executive Order 13422, to the extent consistent with law."

Under Executive Order 12866, issued by former President Clinton, OMB reviews federal rules and regulations before they are proposed and issued in final, and evaluates a limited number of guidance documents. executive order 13258, issued by former President Bush, removed the role of the President and Vice President for appeals of OMB decisions and general conflict resolution, giving that power to the President's Chief of Staff. Executive Order 13422, also issued by former President Bush, amended 12866 to establish a process providing an opportunity for interagency coordination and review of significant guidance documents prior to their issuance.

Executive Order 13422 also amended executive order 12866 in several other ways. To ensure appropriate accountability, the executive order modified the procedures for an agency's adoption of its annual Regulatory Plan and required that the agency's Regulatory Policy Officer be a presidential appointee.

The executive order also updated the Principles of Regulation in executive order 12866 to reflect the guidance-coordination provisions added by executive order 13422, as well as pre-existing OMB guidance. Finally, the executive order invited agencies to consider whether they would want to rely on formal rulemaking procedures for resolving complex determinations.