The Assembly of the Administrative Conference of the United States adopted four recommendations during the 58th Plenary Session:

Improving Consistency in Social Security Disability Adjudications

This recommendation identifies ways to improve the adjudication of Social Security disability claims before administrative law judges and the Appeals Council, and suggests changes to the evaluation of opinion evidence from medical professionals. 

Benefit-Cost Analysis at Independent Regulatory Agencies

This recommendation highlights a series of best practices directed at independent regulatory agencies in the preparation of benefit-cost analyses that accompany proposed and final rules. 

Science in the Administrative Process

This recommendation promotes transparency in agencies’ scientific decision-making, including: articulation of questions to be informed by science information; attribution for agency personnel who contributed to scientific analyses; public access to underlying data and literature; and conflict of interest disclosures for privately funded research used by the agencies in licensing, rulemaking, or other administrative processes. 

The Administrative Record in Informal Rulemaking

This recommendation offers best practices for agencies in the compilation, preservation, and certification of records in informal rulemaking, and supports the judicial presumption of regularity for agency administrative records except in certain limited circumstances.