U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Credit: Diego M. Radzinschi / ALM

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Friday the Justice Department will revamp its policy for issuing guidance documents.

Speaking at the Federalist Society's annual conference in Washington Friday, Sessions said the Justice Department will no longer issue guidance that “purports to impose new obligations on any party outside the executive branch.” He said DOJ will review and repeal any documents that could violate this policy.

“Too often, rather than going through the long, slow, regulatory process provided in statute, agencies make new rules through guidance documents—by simply sending a letter,” Sessions said. “This cuts off the public from the regulatory process by skipping the required public hearings and comment periods—and it is simply not what these documents are for. Guidance documents should be used to explain existing law—not to change it.”