YourVoice.Now Summary
Transparency & AccountabilityFederal agency handouts would carry a page-one notice — they explain the law, but they are not law.
Transparency & Accountability
Agencies can put out guidance without asking the public first. The bill sets the exact wording, so readers know the paper is not a new rule.
More about this bill
Federal agency handouts would have to carry a plain notice on page one. The notice would say the document is not law and does not bind you. Agencies like the IRS or OSHA put out these papers all the time. They explain how the agency reads the law. They can sound binding even when they are not. For most people, daily life would not change. The notice could help if an agency worker points to a handout and says you must follow it. You would see in writing that the handout only explains rules that already exist. The White House budget office would write the how-to rules within 90 days of the bill becoming law. Agencies would start adding the notice 30 days after that.
Congressional Summary
This bill requires federal agencies to state on the first page of guidance documents that such guidance (1) does not have the force and effect of law, and (2) is intended only to provide clarity to the public about existing legal requirements or agency policies.
Legislative Subjects
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 490.
- Action Date
- 2026-03-24
- Date Added
- 2026-04-09
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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