Voluntary Pilots: Opt-in to build faster with better compliance 

Dr. Hollingshead explains in his recent piece Streamlining permits with voluntary pilots can lead an economic revival -- The Hill:

"The Administrative Procedure Act allows agencies to forgo notice and comment for policy statements or procedural rules for “good cause,” providing legal flexibility for pilot programs. Based on this, a 1993 DC Circuit case ruled that voluntary pilots do not require notice and comment because they do not impose new obligations on everyone — yet they will ultimately improve the process for everyone (which eventually requires notice and comment or congressional action)."

"Fifty pilots were implemented at EPA, and 20 percent of them eventually led to permanent regulatory changes through notice and comment, demonstrating that temporary, voluntary experiments can lawfully test reforms while paving the way for broader adoption."

"This precedent also supports using pilot programs to test a permit-by-rule system, where permits are automatically granted unless denied based on transparent standards, a model already sometimes used by the EPA and at least 38 states. For instance, Texas’s permit-by-rule system takes most of the time out of permitting, allowing projects to get started creating jobs and securing supply chains — the kind of decentralized efficiency that built America’s economic preeminence."

"A permit-by-rule system, tested through voluntary pilots, also aligns with President Trump’s deregulatory vision. Participants have the option of voluntarily opting in, testing streamlined processes without imposing new legal obligations on other participants, qualifying as Administrative Procedure Act-exempt policy statements or interpretive rules. RegTech — using sensors, blockchains and AI — enhances this approach."