ACUS Regulation Committee adopts guidance for federal collaboration with state, local, tribal and territorial governments

The Administrative Conference of the United States Committee on Regulation on Feb. 15 unanimously adopted a recommendation asking federal agencies to develop or maintain general guidelines to help staff initiate, manage and evaluate collaborations with state, local, tribal and territorial governments (STLTGs).

The recommendation, advanced by committee staff and consultants and agreed by committee members, directs agencies to include in such guidelines information that distinguishes among types of STLTGs and highlights both differences and commonalities. "The new sentence is, among other things, the guidelines should provide information about collaborating with different types of STLTGs and highlight their differences and commonalities," Helen Siroccio, the committee chair, said while introducing the language.

Why it matters: The guidance aims to normalize practices across agencies for outreach, continuity, and documentation so collaborations survive personnel turnover and shifts in political leadership. Committee consultants and members said clearer norms could help agencies avoid losing institutional knowledge when staff change jobs or administrations.

Key provisions agreed by the committee include requiring agencies to designate officials at the program level to coordinate and evaluate collaborations; encouraging agencies to establish centralized repositories of records and communications related to specific collaborations; providing training "as needed" for personnel involved in collaborations; and collecting information to evaluate performance and inform strategic planning.

Consultant Jennifer Celine, summarizing interviews with agencies, said the reforms respond to a recurring problem: "We've found that many agencies do not internally share" records and communications relating to collaborations, meaning useful context can be lost when an individual staff member leaves. The committee concluded repositories (for example, shared drives or collaboration platforms) could address that gap.

Members debated scope and implementation. Peter Strauss cautioned the recommendations should not be read as requiring agencies to consult "the whole world of STLTGs" on routine matters, and urged language that focuses engagement on the STLTGs most relevant to each agency's work. Committee staff said they would refine wording to emphasize "relevant" advisory committees and to encourage agencies to develop lists of the STLTGs most pertinent to particular programs.

The committee also clarified what counts as a "major change" that should trigger review of an existing collaboration. The preamble language adopted notes major changes may include personnel turnover, changes in political leadership, and statutory or regulatory changes that materially alter program parameters.

The committee accepted several editorial and substantive edits during the meeting, including removing a sentence that had encouraged the Executive Office of the President to facilitate interagency exchanges. At the end of the session, Peter Strauss moved adoption of the recommendation; Alice seconded the motion, and the chair announced a unanimous vote in favor.

Next steps: The committee said it will finalize citations and specific example sites offline and present the adopted recommendation at the ACUS plenary. The staff consultants left early as noted at the start of the meeting; ECA staff will assist with follow-up work.