Rushed Regulations
Regulation - Agency	Timeline	Length of comment period	Evidence of a rush toward completion
Pledge requirements for HIV/AIDS grantees - Department of Health and Human Services	Proposed April 17, 2008;	Originally 32 days, reopened for another 32 days.	The regulation went into effect on Jan. 20, only 27 days after final publication. Under the Administrative Procedure Act, agencies must wait at least 30 days before considering a rule effective.
	Finalized Dec. 24, 2008;
	Elapsed time of about eight months.
Gun safety in national parks - National Park Service	Proposed April 30, 2008;	Originally 61 days, reopened for another 30 days.	The agency changed provisions in the final rule without soliciting public comment. The agency included a provision in the final rule allowing guns to be carried in national parks located in states with conceal and carry laws (all but Illinois and Wisconsin). The proposed rule said guns would only be allowed to be carried in national parks located in states that allowed guns to be carried in state parks.
	Finalized Dec. 10, 2008;
	Elapsed time of about 7.5 months
Oil shale development - Bureau of Land Management	Proposed July 23, 2008;	61 days	The agency published the proposed rule in FY 2008, even though an appropriations rider prohibited it from using funds to prepare or finalize regulations on oil shale development.
	Finalized Nov. 18, 2008;
	Elapsed time of about four months.
Endangered species consultation - Fish and Wildlilfe Service/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration	Proposed Aug. 15, 2008;	Originally 31 days, extended by another 29 days.	According to the final rule, the agency received approximately 235,000 comments on the proposal. The Associated Press reported that agency officials pressured staff to review all the comments in just one week. One calculation estimated the staff assigned to reviewing comments would have to review seven comments per minute. The agency added new material to the final rule (a provision forbidding the consideration of global warming in species decisions) without soliciting public comment.
	Finalized Dec. 16, 2008;
	Elapsed time of four months.
Access to reproductive health services - Department of Health and Human Services	Proposed Aug. 26, 2008;	30 days	The White House Office of Management and Budget reviewed a draft of the proposed regulation in only hours, a process usually measured in weeks or months. The proposal was announced by HHS later that same day.
	Finalized Dec. 19, 2008;
	Elapsed time of less than four months.
Exemption of information reporting for federal contractors - Wage and Hour Division	Proposed Oct. 20, 2008;	30 days	Although the rule was deemed significant, it does not appear to have been reviewed by OMB at either the proposed or final stage. The agency did not extend the comment period beyond 30 days, despite requests from Congress to do so.
	Finalized Dec. 19, 2008;
	Elapsed time of two months
Emergency land withdrawals - Bureau of Land Management	Proposed Oct. 10, 2008;	17 days.	The agency allowed only 17 days for public comment on the rule. An Interior Department official defended the shortened comment period, saying the public already had been given a chance to comment on an earlier draft of the rule that was released in 1991.
	Finalized Dec. 5, 2008;
	Elapsed time of less than two months.