View all text of Subchapter II [§ 1531 - § 1538]
§ 1535. Least burdensome option or explanation required
(a) In general
Except as provided in subsection (b), before promulgating any rule for which a written statement is required under section 1532 of this title, the agency shall identify and consider a reasonable number of regulatory alternatives and from those alternatives select the least costly, most cost-effective or least burdensome alternative that achieves the objectives of the rule, for—
(1) State, local, and tribal governments, in the case of a rule containing a Federal intergovernmental mandate; and
(2) the private sector, in the case of a rule containing a Federal private sector mandate.
(b) Exception
The provisions of subsection (a) shall apply unless—
(1) the head of the affected agency publishes with the final rule an explanation of why the least costly, most cost-effective or least burdensome method of achieving the objectives of the rule was not adopted; or
(2) the provisions are inconsistent with law.
(c) OMB certification
(Pub. L. 104–4, title II, § 205, Mar. 22, 1995, 109 Stat. 66.)