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The President signed two executive orders on October 9 to improve transparency and clarity related to federal guidance documents and enforcement of federal rules.  Both orders were published in the October 15 Federal Register.

Executive Order 13891, "Promoting the Rule of Law Through Improved Guidance Documents", reiterates federal policy that guidance documents are non-binding regulatory documents that are for the purpose of clarifying existing rules and not intended for regulation, since they do not go through a public notice and comment period. The order directs federal agencies to establish and maintain on their websites a “single, searchable, indexed database that contains or links to all guidance documents in effect” within 120 days from the issuance of an implementation memo by the Office of Management and Budget. Agency websites must also note that guidance documents “lack the force and effect of law.”

Executive Order 13892, "Promoting the Rule of Law Through Transparency and Fairness in Civil Administrative Enforcement and Adjudication", reiterates that the purpose of the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) is to ensure that rulemaking follows transparent procedures to avoid arbitrary and unpublished ad hoc regulatory determinations. The order is meant to deter administrative and enforcement actions or jurisdictional determinations that would cause “unfair surprise” to individuals, i.e., enforcement actions that are based on guidance documents and not rulemakings.