LAW CHAPTER 37 Administrative Law

a federal, state or local level agency established to perform a specific function created by agencies not legislation

ex: FDA
executive agencies are subject to the authority of the president, who has the power to appoint and remove officers of federal agencies

FTC, SEC. the presidents power is less pronounced in regard to independent agencies, whose officers serve for fixed terms and cannot be removed without just cause. congress has the say for these agencies not the president

to create an administrative agency, congress (leg body) passes enabling legislation (a federal statute) which specifies the name, purpose, function and powers of the agency being made. Fed admin agencies can exercise only those powers that congress has delegated to them in enabling legislation

US Constitution authorizes only the legislative branch to create laws. Yet admin agencies, to which the Constitution does not specifically refer, can make legislative rules, or substantive rules, that are as legally binding as laws that Congress passes.

administrative agencies also issue interpretive rules that are not legally binding but simply indicate how an agency plans to interpret and enforce its statutory authority.

a doctrine based on the US constitution, which has been construed to allow congress to delegate some its power to administrative agencies to make and implement laws

the organizational structure, consisting go government bureaus and agencies, through which the government implements and enforces the laws

the complaining party must have gone through the administrative process (from complaint to hearing to final agency order) before seeking court review

administrative law judges. employed by the agency for judicial adjudication (trial like hearing) that is one of their powers

if you believe that the judge acted arbitrary, capriciously this act looks into the judge by considering multiple things

the procedure used by administrative agencies in the administration of law.. consisting of rule making, enforcement, and adjudication

the APA defines a rule as "an agency statement of general or particular applicability and future effect designed to implement, interpret, or prescribe law and policy. Regulations are sometimes said to be legislative because, like statutes, they have a binding effect. Thus, violators of agency rules may be punished. Because agency rules have such great legal force, the APA established procedures for agencies to follow in creating rules. Many rules must be adopted using the APA's notice and comment rule making procedure.

1. notice of the proposed rule making
published the proposed rule in the Federal Register ( a daily publication )

2. a comment period & final rule
the agency must allow ample time for persons to comment on the proposed, when this expires, a final rule is published in the Federal Register, and then ultimately in the code of federal regulations (CFR)

when a firm thinks an agency's request is unreasonable and may be detrimental to the firms interest, the firm may refuse to comply with the request therefore the agency has to resort to a subpoena.

a court order

ad testificandum - is an ordinary subpoena. It is a writ, or order, compelling a witness to appear at an agency hearing and testify.

duces tecum (bring it to you) compels an individual or organization to hand ver books, papers, records or documents to the agency.

not needed by an agency for highly regulated industry. ex: public transportations, nuclear powers, explosives

a proceeding in which an administrative law judge hears and decides issues that arise when administrative agency charges a person or a firm with an agency violation.

most of the time agencies want to settle these before adjudication to avoid expenses and avoid appearing uncooperative

requires the federal government to disclose certain records to any person on request, even if no reason is given for the request. FOIA exempts records like national security and those containing information that is personal or confidential.

requires that every portion of every meeting of agency be open to public observation. open meetings & open records

certain exceptions -
concerns accusing any person of a crime
open meetings would frustrate implementation of future agency actions
the subject of the meeting involves matters relating to future litigation or rule making

whenever a new regulation will have a "significant impact upon a substantial number of small entities" the agency must first conduct a regulatory flexibility analysis of cost and time for small businesses

allows congress to review new federal regulations for at least sixty days before they take effect. This period gives opponents of the rules time to present their arguments to Congress