BLE Focus

Summer 2000
Volume 107 - No. 2

BLE Focus

Why does the Regulatory Process Take So Long?

For BLE members - and for elected BLE officials - securing regulatory changes can be frustrating at times, especially since the process is so slow.

Many members want to know why there is so much red tape slowing down important workplace improvements, such as locomotive engineer certification.

The answer is simple - government bureaucracy. There are many steps that need to be taken before an idea becomes the law of the land.

For example, improving the regulations governing the licensing and certification of locomotive engineers took nearly four years.

These steps are built into our government to ensure a democratic process. It allows people to comment and hold public forums in order to make sure all sides are heard. This is an essential component. Without it, the organizations with the most power (i.e. the railroads) would always win.

In some cases, the FRA is required to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register. Public comment periods on issues can take upwards of 90 days. In addition, some issues require environmental impact assessments, which can take more than a year to complete.

The RSAC is a perfect example of this bureaucratic process. The RSAC issues final rules only after a consensus has been reached on an issue. Consensus takes time, and often is never achieved. Consensus must be reached by the government (DOT), carriers, shippers, labor, environmental concerns and the general public - all of whom participate in the RSAC process.

In addition to the democratic process involved in rulemaking, there are other reasons that it takes so long to get regulations enacted. The major reason is the series of steps within the regulatory agency that an idea must go through. Each of these steps takes time, often months or years. The bureaucracy and red tape hold up the new regulations as much as, if not more, than the democratic process.

The BLE's National Legislative Office in Washington, D.C. handles regulatory issues. Bob Harvey is the BLE's Regulatory Affairs Coordinator. Harvey spends many hours generating the kind of paperwork that we featured on the cover of this issue. ·

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