Energy regulations now expire automatically unless the agency actively renews them

The US Energy Department will now put expiration dates on some of its rules. If the department does not actively extend a rule every five years, it will disappear from the books.

For decades, government rules stayed on the books until someone fought to remove them. This rule flips that default. The Energy Department must now actively justify every five years why a regulation should continue to exist. This could mean fewer rules over time, or at least a lot more paperwork for the agency.