49 C.F.R. § 5.11 – Initiating a rulemaking.

(a) Before an OA or component of OST may proceed to develop a regulation, the Administrator of the OA or the Secretarial officer who heads the OST component must consider the regulatory philosophy and principles of regulation identified in section 1 of E.O. 12866 and the policies set forth in § 5.5. If the OA Administrator or OST component head determines that rulemaking is warranted consistent with those policies and principles, the Administrator or component head may prepare a Rulemaking Initiation Request.
(b) The Rulemaking Initiation Request should specifically state or describe:
1. (1) A proposed title for the rulemaking;
2. (2) The need for the regulation, including a description of the market failure or statutory mandate necessitating the rulemaking;
3. (3) The legal authority for the rulemaking;
4. (4) Whether the rulemaking is expected to be regulatory or deregulatory;
5. (5) Whether the rulemaking is expected to be significant or nonsignificant, as defined by E.O. 12866;
6. (6) Whether the rulemaking in question is expected to be an economically significant rule or high-impact rule, as defined in § 5.17(a);
7. (7) A description of the economic impact associated with the rulemaking, including whether the rulemaking is likely to impose quantifiable costs or cost savings;
8. (8) The tentative target dates for completing each stage of the rulemaking; and
9. (9) Whether there is a statutory or judicial deadline, or some other urgency, associated with the rulemaking.
(c) The OA or OST component submits the Rulemaking Initiation Request to the Office of Regulation and Legislation, together with any other documents that may assist in the RRTF's consideration of the request.
(d) The Office of Regulation and Legislation includes the Rulemaking Initiation Request on the agenda for consideration at the OA's or OST component's next Working Group meeting.
(e) If the Working Group recommends the approval of the Rulemaking Initiation Request, then the Request is referred to the Leadership Council for consideration. In lieu of consideration at a Leadership Council meeting, the Working Group, at its discretion, may submit a memorandum to the RRO seeking approval of the Rulemaking Initiation Request.
(f) The OA or OST component may assign a Regulatory Information Number (RIN) to the rulemaking only upon the Leadership Council's (or RRO's) approval of the Rulemaking Initiation Request.
(g) The Secretary may initiate a rulemaking on his or her own motion. The process for initiating a rulemaking as described in this section may be waived or modified for any rule with the approval of the RRO. Unless otherwise determined by the RRO, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) may promulgate an emergency rule under 49 U.S.C. 106(f)(4)(B(iii) and 49 U.S.C. 46105(c), without first submitting a Rulemaking Initiation Request.
(h) Rulemaking Initiation Requests will be considered on a rolling basis; however, the Office of Regulation and Legislation will establish deadlines for submission of Rulemaking Initiation Requests so that new rulemakings may be included in the Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions.