Executive Order 12372

by President of the United States

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, including Section 401(a) of the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4231(a)) and Section 301 of Title 3 of the United States Code, and in order to foster an intergovernmental partnership and a strengthened federalism by relying on State and local processes for the State and local government coordination and review of proposed Federal financial assistance and direct Federal development, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Federal agencies shall provide opportunities for consultation by elected officials of those State and local governments that would provide the non-Federal funds for, or that would be directly affected by, proposed Federal financial assistance or direct Federal development.

Sec. 2. To the extent the States, in consultation with local general purpose governments, and local special purpose governments they consider appropriate, develop their own processes or refine existing processes for State and local elected officials to review and coordinate proposed Federal financial assistance and direct Federal development, the Federal agencies shall, to the extent permitted by law:

(a) Utilize the State process to determine official views of State and local elected officials.

(b) Communicate with State and local elected officials as early in the program planning cycle as is reasonably feasible to explain specific plans and actions.

(c) Make efforts to accommodate State and local elected officials' concerns with proposed Federal financial assistance and direct Federal development that are communicated through the designated State process. For those cases where the concerns cannot be accommodated, Federal officials shall explain the bases for their decision in a timely manner

(d) Allow the States to simplify and consolidate existing Federally required State plan submissions. Where State planning and budgeting systems are sufficient and where permitted by law, the substitution of State plans for Federally required State plans shall be encouraged by the agencies.

(e) Seek the coordination of views of affected State and local elected officials in one State with those of another State when proposed Federal financial assistance or direct Federal development has an impact on interstate metropolitan urban centers or other interstate areas. Existing interstate mechanisms that are redesignated as part of the State process may be used for this purpose.

(f) Support State and local governments by discouraging the reauthorization or creation of any planning organization which is Federally-funded, which has a Federally-prescribed membership, which is established for a limited purpose, and which is not adequately representative of, or accountable to, State or local elected officials.

Sec. 3. (a) The State process referred to in Section 2 shall include those where States delegate, in specific instances, to local elected officials the review, coordination, and communication with Federal agencies.

(b) At the discretion of the State and local elected officials, the State process may exclude certain Federal programs from review and comment.

Sec. 4. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) shall maintain a list of official State entities designated by the States to review and coordinate proposed Federal financial assistance and direct Federal development. The Office of Management and Budget shall disseminate such lists to the Federal agencies.

Sec. 5. (a) Agencies shall propose rules and regulations governing the formulation, evaluation, and review of proposed Federal financial assistance and direct Federal development pursuant to this Order, to be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget for approval.

(b) The rules and regulations which result from the process indicated in Section 5(a) above shall replace any current rules and regulations and become effective April 30, 1983.

Sec. 6. The Director of the Office of Management and Budget is authorized to prescribe such rules and regulations, if any, as he deems appropriate for the effective implementation and administration of this Order and the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act of 1968. The Director is also authorized to exercise the authority vested in the President by Section 401(a) of that Act (42 U.S.C. 4231(a)), in a manner consistent with this Order.

Sec. 7. The Memorandum of November 8, 1968, is terminated (33 Fed. Reg. 16487, November 13, 1968). The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall revoke OMB Circular A-95, which was issued pursuant to that Memorandum. However, Federal agencies shall continue to comply with the rules and regulations issued pursuant to that Memorandum, including those issued by the Office of Management and Budget, until new rules and regulations have been issued in accord with this Order.

Sec. 8. The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall report to the President within two years on Federal agency compliance with this Order. The views of State and local elected officials on their experiences with these policies, along with any suggestions for improvement, will be included in the Director's report.

RONALD REAGAN
The White House,
July 14, 1982.

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 3:18 p.m., July 14, 1982]