Issues With ALJ Docket Regs

On February 24 Social Security sent over to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a package of final regulations to "amend our rules to clarify that the agency is responsible for setting the time and place for a hearing before an administrative law judge." This proposal had originally been published in the Federal Register on November 10, 2008, shortly after the last Presidential election. This proposal has been controversial, particularly among Administrative Law Judges, since it would threaten to remove any control that ALJs have over their dockets. OMB approval is necessary before these regulations can be published in the Federal Register. OMB is part of the White House. Ordinarily, OMB is required to act on regulatory proposals within 90 days. It has now been more than 90 days but there has been no OMB action. The OMB website now notes "**REVIEW EXTENDED" for this item. This is uncommon. OMB can negotiate changes with an agency, send a proposal back to an agency for further review or simply refuse to accept an agency's proposal. Thus far, the Obama Administration has not flatly refused to accept any regulatory proposal and has sent only one regulatory proposal back to an agency for further review. There have been many negotiated changes in regulations, however.

We cannot know exactly what is going on with this proposal but there is clearly some back and forth between the White House and Social Security.