Administrative Law

Overview of Administrative Law

  • Business Regulation Growth:

    • Business regulation has generally seen an increase over the years.

    • Administrative law has expanded and become increasingly complex as a necessary counterpart.

  • Role of Legislative Bodies:

    • Whenever legislatures enact new legislation, there is either the necessity for an existing administrative agency to oversee the new laws or the creation of a new agency.

  • Enabling Statutes:

    • Statutes that create or empower an administrative agency to implement the law.

  • Types of Agencies:

    • Agencies can be classified as departmental, non-departmental, and independent agencies.

Sources of Administrative Law

  1. U.S. Constitution:

    • Federal agencies may be considered a "fourth branch of government."

    • These agencies can hold powers similar to legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

    • Judicial review can assess agency authority in relation to constitutional doctrines, such as:

      • Separation of Powers: Ensures that branches of government act within their limits.

      • Nondelegation Doctrine: Prohibits Congress from delegating excessive rulemaking power to agencies, preserving legislative authority.

  2. Enabling Statutes:

    • Laws passed by Congress to authorize and establish new agencies.

    • Importance: Establishes specific authority and jurisdiction of agencies.

      • Example: 1970 Occupational Safety and Health Act led to the creation of OSHA, holding responsibilities for workplace safety regulations and enforcement.

  3. Administrative Procedure Act (APA) of 1946:

    • Imposes required process standards for agency functions.

    • Specifies conditions for judicial review of actions taken by agencies.

  4. Common Law:

    • Before the APA, common law defined administrative agency governance, with some principles still relevant for interpreting APA today.

Primary Functions of Administrative Agencies

  1. Rulemaking:

    • Legislative Rules: Rules with legal effect that alter parties’ rights, requiring statutory authorization for creation.

    • Nonlegislative Rules: Interpret statutory language or express agency policy; not legally binding.

    • Informal Rulemaking: Follows public notice, comment procedures, and applies notice and opportunity to challenge before publishing final rules.

    • Formal Rulemaking: Required when specified in enabling statutes, demanding a hearing and record.

  2. Process of Rulemaking:

    • Conducts studies and research.

    • Publishes proposed rules for public notice.

    • Solicits and reviews public comments before finalizing rules.

  3. Licensing:

    • Agencies typically authorized to issue, renew, suspend, or revoke business operation licenses.

  4. Investigation and Enforcement:

    • Monitoring compliance through inspections.

  5. Adjudications:

    • Agencies may adjudicate disputes, involving administrative law judges (ALJs) who hear evidence officially.

  6. Administering Public Benefits:

    • Agencies act as intermediaries distributing benefits (e.g., educational loans, Social Security).

Case Studies in Administrative Law

  1. Case 42.1: Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities vs. Duncan, U.S. Department of Education:

    • Ruling: Court upheld that the Department violated APA by failing to allow sufficient public comment on distance learning regulations.

  2. Case 42.2: Trinity Marine Products vs. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao:

    • Ruling: Court supported OSHA’s authority to inspect using administrative warrants, distinguishing them from criminal warrants with a lower probable cause standard.

  3. Case 42.3: Alabama Association of Realtors vs. CDC:

    • Ruling: Supreme Court invalidated CDC’s eviction moratorium as an overstepping of statutory authority, reinforcing that only Congress could enact such measures.

  4. Case 42.4: Consumer Federation of America vs. Department of Agriculture:

    • Ruling: Court determined USDA calendars are public records under FOIA, providing clarity on agency accountability.

Limits on Administrative Agency Authority

  1. Legislative Oversight:

    • Congress can amend, influence, or void agency actions.

      • Example: 1996 amendments to the APA enabling Congress to cancel final rules under certain conditions.

  2. Executive Control:

    • Appointment of agency officials is a presidential power.

    • Presidents may issue executive orders affecting agency operations and expenditures.

    • Oversight through the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

  3. Judicial Review:

    • Courts can overturn actions violating constitutional meet or those exceeding provided statutory authority.

  4. Statutory Interpretation:

    • Courts assess agency actions against the clear language of authorizing statutes.

    • If agency rules conflict with statutes, courts can invalidate those rules using the Chevron Test for arbitrary and capricious evaluations.

  5. Public Accountability:

    • Statutory mechanisms for transparency, such as:

      • Private citizen suits: Empower individuals to challenge agency actions directly.

      • FOIA: Allows public access to government documents.

      • Government in Sunshine Act: Ensures certain agency meetings are held publicly.

State Administrative Law

  • Acknowledgment that similar to federal agencies, state and local agencies also regulate business.

  • State agencies exercise broad discretionary powers in the realms of executive, legislative, and judicial functions, mirroring the framework of federal administrative law.