Trump signs executive orders focused on agency guidance

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has signed two executive orders designed to improve transparency when government agencies enforce guidance on how best to comply with a particular law or regulation.

The White House framed the executive orders as protecting Americans from government overreach.

Federal regulations can take years to enact, but guidance on how to follow a law can be released much sooner.

One executive order requires agencies to put their guidance on easily searchable websites.

The other instructs agencies to offer opinion letters to businesses that request them, so people can learn how to comply with the law.

Trump says it will be an agency’s duty to educate small businesses about regulatory changes. He complains that guidance documents are often a “back door for regulators to effectively change the law.”