By Jeff Mason and Jody Godoy
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order discouraging criminal enforcement of regulatory offenses, in a bid to combat the overcriminalization of federal regulations, a White House official told Reuters on Friday.
Trump’s order is meant to ease the burden on small businesses that do not have the same compliance resources as large corporations, according to a draft the official shared.
The executive order would have agencies publicly post a list of regulatory violations that can trigger criminal charges, and guidance on the circumstances under which they would refer violators for prosecution.
The order would discourage prosecutors from filing charges not on the lists, and charges that do not require prosecutors to prove the defendant had criminal intent. One such law has been used to prosecute executives for misbranded or adulterated food and drugs.
The order would not apply to immigration or national security.
The reach of federal criminal statutes has long been a target of criticism for some conservatives and business groups.
(Reporting by Jody Godoy in New York and Jeff Mason in Washington; Editing by Leslie Adler and Chizu Nomiyama)