Regulations & Administrative Law
Heather Simmons
Regulations
Regulations are everywhere, there is no avoiding them The first 50 pages of the owners manual of your new
car are about seat belts Ladders are covered in warning labels
Critical aspect of Legal Research Take Administrative Law
Employers complain that new law grads can’t tell the different between a statute and a regulation
Regulations
“Delegated” legislation – Agencies typically get their power from Congress
Agencies refer to their DELEGATED LEGISLATION by Public Law citation not USC citation “section 105 of The Act.”
Example: section 105 of the act:
Pub. L. No. 107-204, § 105 = 15 USC § 7215
Regulations Alphabet Agencies
CPSC EPA FDA IRS NHTSA NTSB NASA OSHA
Agency Powers
Agency powers reflect the three branches of government
Rulemaking (Legislative) Adjudicatory (Judicial) Enforcement (Executive)
Different agencies have different combinations of powers depending on what they need to accomplish
Regulations The United States Government Manual
http://www.usgovernmentmanual.gov/The United States Government Manual is the official handbook of the Federal Government. This special edition of the Federal Register is currently updated to provide comprehensive and authoritative descriptions of the programs and activities of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches. The Government Manual also includes information about quasi-official agencies, international organizations with U.S. membership, and Federal boards, commissions, and committees.
Regulations
Statutes are enacted, Regulations are promulgated
AUTHORITY The legislation granting the agency the power to do
what it is doing (Delegated Legislation)
SOURCE Citation to the Federal Register where this final
regulation first appeared
Org Chart Exercise
Statutes & Regulations
7 CFR Subtitle A (1–1–13 Edition)
The Lifecycle of a Regulation NOTICE & COMMENT
Hearings & Meetings Proposed Regulation – invitation to comment
Publication in the Federal Register: Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM)
COMMENT PERIOD CLOSES (DANGER!) Revised Proposed Regulation – Summary of Comments
Full comments available in the agency’s docket Final Regulation
Published in the Federal Register, and codified in the next edition of the Code of Federal Regulations
The Lifecycle of a Regulation: NPRMProposed Regulatio
n
Comment Period
Revised Proposed Regulatio
n
Comment Period
Final Regulatio
n
Legend Notice Comment
Regulations What is the Federal Register?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDIUrEmaDFE
The daily publication of the agencies of the Federal Government, it contains: Notices Proposed Rules* & Comments Final Rules Presidential Documents
A Notice of Proposed Rule Making will always list a name and phone number of the person to contact for more information
*Warning: Proposed Rules look exactly like Final Rules, except that it says “Proposed Rules” at the top of the page
Daily Publication of the Federal Government
https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/06/25/2013-14367/passenger-vessels-accessibility-guidelines https://www.facebook.com/#!/
FederalRegister
Proposed Regulations: The Federal Register
Page: Volume:
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-06-25/pdf/2013-14367.pdf https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/06/25/2013-14367/passenger-vessels-accessibility-guidelines
Federal Register Exercise
Find today’s Federal RegisterLook at the Table of Contents
Select a proposed regulationWhen does the comment period close?Locate the link to the .pdf file and open it
RegulationsWhat is the Code of Federal Regulations?
An annual compilation of final Rules arranged into 50 titles roughly corresponding to the US Code
Published on a quarterly schedule Titles 1-16 January 1 Titles 17-27 April 1 Titles 28-41 July 1 Titles 42-50 October 1
Rules change all the time, so updating is critical List of Sections Affected (LSA) Check all the way up to this morning’s Federal Register for changes
Code of Federal Regulations FDSys
CFR About the Code of Federal Regulations (annual
edition). Parallel
Table of Authorities and Rules for the Code of Federal Regulations and the United States Code
Only access here is TOC Great place to start if you have a citation
Select the Year It’s only February, so there’s no point choosing 20014 Keep clicking on the + and drill down until you see the
one you want
Regulations eCFR http://www.ecfr.gov
SIMPLE Search is the only method that searches the FULL TEXT While every effort has been made to ensure that the e-
CFR is accurate, those relying on it for legal research should verify their results against the official editions of the CFR, FEDERAL REGISTER, and List of CFR Sections Affected (LSA), all available online at www.fdsys.gov.
Of the three online commercial platforms, BloombergLaw has the most up-to-date CFR, but LEXIS and Westlaw do a better job of indicating proposed regulations are pending
Regulations www.eCFR.gov
Final Regulations:The Code of Federal Regulations
eCFRTable of Contents
Regulations Updating in PRINT
LIST OF SECTIONS AFFECTED (LSA) Find the most recent issue – December 2013 Inside the front cover it will tell you about your title
Title 42-50 Changes October 1, 2013 – December 31, 2013
FEDERAL REGISTER Last issue of each month since June
January 31, 2014 and February 26, 2014 (today) List of Sections Affected during [month]
Regulations Updating in ONLINE
www.regulations.gov
OR
www.federalregister.gov
Federal Register Exercise
Update this Regulation:NHTSA Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213
49 C.F.R. § 571.213
Executive OrdersThe President has authority to make law on matters of
government businessExecutive Orders Have the force of law
– Truman desegregated the Army in 1948– Ford pardoned Nixon
Executive Order 13526- Classified National Security Informationhttp://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/executive-order-classified-national-security-information
ProclamationsLaw Day, 2013http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/04/30/presidential-proclamation-law-day-2013
Legal Citation Basic Model
Volume | Source | Page (Year)
Federal Register: Vol. F.R. Page (Month Date, Year) 52 F.R. 49386 (December 31, 1987)
Code of Federal Regulations: Title C.F.R. Part (1954) 7 C.F.R. § 800.0 (2013)
Classified National Security Information, Executive Order No. 13526 3 C.F.R. § 298 (2009)