administrative agency
-an authority of the government , other than a legislature or court, created to administer a particular law
-created when a problem requires expertise and supervision
-the main job of most agencies is to enforce laws written by Congress or by the agencies
delegation of powers
how congress gives an agency power and authority; congress grants to an agency the power to perform its regulatory purpose, which is to formulate, implement, and enforce policy relevant to its area of authority
administrative law
primary sources:
1) the enabling statutes of administrative agencies
2) the administrative procedures act (APA)
3) rules issued by administrative agencies
4) court decisions reviewing the validity of agency actions
Administrative Procedures Act (APA)
-the primary structure of administrative law is determined by the APA
-enacted by Congress in 1946
-defines the procedural rules and formalities for federal agencies
-an agency must comply with APA requirements
agency rule
APA defines agency rule as" the whole or part of an agency statement of general or particular applicability and future effect designed to implement, interpret, or prescribe law or policy describing the organization, procedure, or practice requirements of
substantive/legislative rules
-usually the most important
-administrative regulations with the same force of law as statutes enacted by congress
-when an agency issues a substantive rule or regulation, under its grant of authority by Congress, the rule becomes federal law
-regulations
interpretative rules
-statements issued by an agency to provide its staff and the public with guidance regarding the interpretation of a substantive rule or congressional statute
procedural rules
-detail an agency's structure and describe its method of operation and its internal practices
-the power to enact such rules is authorized by the agency's enabling statute
-once procedural rules are issued, the agency is bound by them
rulemaking procedure
-substantive rules (most important)= an agency lays out the requirements of how a statute is to be applied in practice and what regulations will have to be followed
-proposed rules are drafted by agency staff, reviewed internally, and approved by the head
investigative powers
Information about compliance with federal laws is obtained in three basic ways:
1) regulated businesses are required to self-report
2) direct observation determines if a business is following the law
3) agency subpoena power is used to require a business
subpeona
a legal instrument that directs the person receiving it to appear at a specific time and place to testify or produce documents
-unless the request for information by the agency is vague, or if the burden imposed on the business outweighs the possible bene
enforcement power
-congress grants agencies many enforcement tools
-in addition to having the authority to sue in federal court to seek civil and criminal penalties, agencies have the power to impose other sanctions
-sanctions include: prohibition/limitation affecting the
adjudicatory hearing
formal agency process under APA rules, which are similar to those followed in a trial
-initiated by the agency filing a complaint against a suspected violator, the business responds to the complaint, the agency investigates to determine if a hearing is wa
administrative law judge
-from the agency, presides over the adjudicatory hearing
-civil service employee of the agency, usually a staff attorney
ripeness doctrine
concerns whether an agency action is final so as to allow judicial review; that is, agency decisions that are not completely finalized are not ripe for review because they could be changed
-according to the supreme court in Abbott Labs v. Gardner the doct
exhaustion doctrine
requires a party to complete all agency appeals procedures before turning to a court for review; parties may not go to court until they have exhausted all agency review procedures
review of substantive discretion
a court's review of an agency' substantive discretion generally gets the lowest scope of judicial review; as a rule, the courts yield to the agency's judgment in technical and scientific matters in working out the details of regulations; the courts will g
direct control on agencies
-the most immediate control mechanism enjoyed by congress is the ability to control agency activity through the budget process
-the president, appointing top agency officials, helps control agency agendas
-in addition, members of Congress have proposed bi
cost-benefit analysis
mandatory analysis requires agencies to weigh the costs and benefits from new regulations; if costs exceed benefits derived from a regulation, the regulation is more easily challenged for reasonableness
-the Data Quality Act (2000), enforced by the Office
Indirect controls on agencies
-Freedom of Information Act= makes most documents held by federal agencies available to the public
-Privacy Act= intended to give citizens more control over what information is collected about them and how that information is used; it requires that unless