Geography and Public Policy

1
Geography and Public Policy

• Deconstruct the landscape into the production of
  a particular commodity or the provision of a
  particular service that has a tangible, usually
  visible. impact

• Deconstruct law into statutory, administrative
  and case law

2
The Regulatory and the Adjudicatory Process

• The Executive Branch of Government

3
Public Policy - principles and programs
articulated in law
4

• Legislation enacted by the legislative branch and
  signed by the President establishes national
  goals, delegates authority, and appropriates
  funds
• Regulations promulgated by the executive branch
  defines the behavior modification needed to
  achieve those goals
• Judicial decisions can "force" legislators and
  regulators to alter legislation and regulations

5
The Problems

• A. Understanding the outcomes of the various
  debates that lead to acts, rules, and judicial
  opinions
• Legislation (act, statute, laws), legislative
  process, cumulation and codification
• Regulations (rules), rule-making process,
  cumulation and codification
• Judicial Opinions, litigation process, court
  rules, encyclopedias, digests
• B. Understanding the databases (books) in which
  these outcomes, even the debates, are published
• Statutes at Large (Public Law), US Code
• Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations
• United States Reports, other reporters
• There may not be a single database or book that
  can answer all your questions
• Not every database is useful each has good and
  bad points

6
General Electronic Resources

• The US Government Manual (GPO)
• Ben's Guide to the US Government (GPO)
• The U S Government Official Web Portal
• Legal Information Institute (Cornell University)
• Uncle Sam (Google)

7
Executive Branch

• Official US Executive Branch Web Sites (Library
  of Congress)
• Federal Executive Branch (FirstGov)
• Executive Branch Resources on GPO Access (GPO)
• The White House

8
Administrative Law

• Federal Register (GPO)
• Federal Register (National Archives)
• Code of Federal Regulations (GPO)
• Regulations.gov the public face of the Federal
  E-Government eRulemaking Program, facilitates
  public participation in the Federal regulatory
  process by improving the public's ability to
  find, view, and comment on Federal regulatory
  actions
• LexisNexis Congressional (Reed Elsevier)

9
The President

• Role in Legislation. Article I Section 7
• Every bill which shall have passed the House of
  Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it
  become a law, be presented to the President of
  the United States
• If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he
  shall return it, with his objections to that
  House in which it shall have originated, who
  shall enter the objections at large on their
  journal, and proceed to reconsider it
• Veto
• Presidential Vetoes, 1789-1996 A Summary
  Overview (CRS1997)
• Line Item Veto
• History of Line Item Veto

10
Presidents Role in Legislation

• Title 3 United States Code The President
• Antiquities Act of 1906 (34 Stat. 225 16 USC
  431-433)

11
The President

• The White House
• Executive Office of the President
• Executive Orders
• Executive orders issued by President Bush
• Proclamations issued by President Bush
• The Cabinet
• Independent Agencies

12
Presidential Reorganization Plans

• Congress first authorized the President to
  propose plans to reorganize the executive
  departments and agencies in 1939 (53 Stat. 561)
• The objective was to achieve efficiency and
  economy in administration
• Plan, submitted to Congress, became effective
  after 60 days unless both houses of Congress
  adopted a concurrent resolution disapproving it
• Such reorganization authority, renewed
  periodically a dozen times between 1945 and 1984,
  with slight variations remained available to the
  President for nearly half a century
• At times, qualifications were placed upon how the
  President could exercise this authority
• Reorganization plans could not abolish or create
  an entire department, or deal with more than one
  logically consistent subject matter

13

• The President was prohibited from submitting more
  than one plan within a 30-day period and was
  required to include a clear statement on the
  projected economic savings expected to result
  from a reorganization
• Reorganization plans not disapproved by Congress
  are published in the Federal Register prior to
  being implemented, and also in the Statutes at
  Large and the CFR (Title 3) for the year in which
  they become effective
• In 1983 the Supreme Court effectively invalidated
  continued congressional reliance upon a
  concurrent resolution to disapprove a proposed
  plan
• Congress subsequently passed the Reorganization
  Act Amendments of 1984 which expired at the end
  of 1984
• Department of Homeland Security Reorganization
  Plan
• Reorganization Plan of 1953
• Reorganization Plan of 1970

14
Presidential Papers

• Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents
  published every Monday is the official
  publication of presidential statements, messages,
  remarks, and other materials released by the
  White House Press Secretary
• The Public Papers of the President (National
  Archives)
• The Papers of the President of the United States
  (Yale Law School)
• Inaugural Addresses of the President (Yale Law
  School)

15
The Proliferation of the Agencies
16
The Federal Regulatory Process
17
The Wilderness Act

• 1964 Legislation (The Wilderness Society)
• 16 USC 1131 et seq (GPO)
• 16 USC 1131 et seq (Legal Information Institute)
• 16 USC 1131 et seq (LexisNexis Congressional)
• Wilderness.net

18
Who Manages Wilderness?

• Bureau of Land Management
• 43 CFR 6300 Management of designated wilderness
  areas
• Fish and Wildlife Service
• 50 CFR 35 Wilderness preservation and management
• Forest Service
• 36 CFR 293 Wilderness--primitive areas
• National Park Service
• 36 CFR 7 Special regulations, areas of the
  National Park System

19
Agencies posses a Legislative Mandate
20
The Outcome of the Regulatory Process

• Federal Register (GPO)
• Code of Federal Regulations (Cornell University)
• Agency actions that implement the
  rules/regulations publishedForest
  ServiceFederal Energy Regulatory Commission

21
Observable Outcomes
22
The Regulatory Process
23
Federal Register

• The Federal Register is a centralized means of
  publishing regulations, presidential documents
  and notices
• Before it started in 1935 such materials were
  published without any formal organization
• As a consequence individuals, organizations and
  even the federal agencies operated in ignorance
  of applicable law

24

• The Federal Register Act of 1935 (49 Stat. 501)
  created the daily publication known as the
  Federal Register
• Today the Federal Register Act as amended
  comprises 44 U.S.C.  1501 et seq

25
Administrative Procedures Act

• Enacted June 11, 1946 (Public Law 79-404,  60
  Stat. 237 5 U.S.C. 551 et seq) outlined the
  administrative procedures that Federal agencies
  must follow to
• Identify information to be made public
• Publish material in the Federal Register
• Maintain records, including those involving
  certain meetings and hearings
• Fulfill attendance and notification requirements
  for specific meetings and hearings
• Issue licenses
• Review agency actions
• Governs the process of making regulations - to
  allow greater accessibility and participation by
  the public in the rulemaking process

26

• In general, the APA requires most rules be
  published in the Federal Register with a period
  for public comment
• Most agency rulemaking, governed by section 553
  of the APA, requires
• a notice of proposed rulemaking published in the
  Federal Register
• a reference to the legal authority under which
  the rule is proposed
• the terms or a description of the subjects and
  issues to be addressed by the proposed rule
• interested persons must be given an opportunity
  to submit written data, views, or arguments on
  the proposal, with or without opportunity for
  oral presentation
• a concise general statement of the basis and
  purpose must accompany the final rule
• publication of the final rule must take place not
  less than 30 days before its effective date

27
Adjudication

• The Administrative Procedure Act of 1946 also
  created hearing examiners, now called
  administrative law judges
• The Act introduced fairness and due process in
  Federal agency rule-making by providing parties
  whose affairs are controlled or regulated by
  agencies of the federal government, an
  opportunity for a formal hearing on the record
  before an impartial hearing officer who would
  adjudicate the matter adjudication
• Department of the Interior Land Appeals
• Interior Board of Indian Appeals Decisions
• Social Security Hearing and Appeals

28
(No Transcript)
29

• Rule-making Process (Federal Communications
  Commission)
• Rule-making Process (Nuclear Regulatory
  Commission)
• GAO Report on FAA Rulemaking

30
Federal Register (FR)

• Published by the National Archives and Records
  Administration (NARA)
• The Federal Register What it is and How to Use
  it (Food Drug Administration)
• Since Saturday, March 14, 1936, each daily issue
  of the Federal Register has contained similar
  information

31
Final Rules

• Final Rules and Regulations contains final rules,
  regulatory documents having general applicability
  and legal effect
• Most rules are keyed to and codified in the Code
  of Federal Regulations (CFR)
• Interim rules, designed to respond to an
  emergency situation, issued without prior notice
  and are effective immediately. Such rules are
  usually followed by a final rule document which
  confirms that the interim rule is final,
  addresses comments received, and includes any
  further amendments
• Section may include documents that have no
  regulatory text and do not amend the CFR, for
  example
• general policy statements
• interpretations of agency regulations

32
Proposed Rules

• Proposed Rules contains notices that an agency
  intends to issue a rule
• The purpose of these notices is to give
  interested persons an opportunity to participate
  in the rule making prior to the agency adopting
  and publishing the final rule
• Many such proposals involve changes to agency
  regulations that have been already published in
  the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and request
  public comment on those suggested changes
• Documents relating to previously published
  proposed rules, extending the comment period,
  announcing a public hearing, making  supplemental
  information available, correcting a previously
  published proposed rule, or even withdrawing a
  proposed rule

33
Proposed Rules

• Advanced notices of proposed rulemaking, which
  describe a problem or situation and the
  anticipated regulatory action of the agency,
  seeking seek public response concerning the
  necessity for regulation and the adequacy of the
  agency's anticipated regulatory action
• Many agencies voluntarily publish proposed
  changes to procedural rules, interpretative
  rules, and agency policies in order to gather
  public comments to those changes

34
Notices

• Documents, other than rules or proposed rules,
  that are generally applicable
•     Notices of hearings and investigations
•     Committee meetings
•     Agency decisions and rulings
•     Delegations of authority
•     Issuances or revocation of licenses
•     Grant application deadlines
•     Availability of environmental impact
  statements
•     Filing of petitions and applications
•     Agency statements of organization and
  functions

35
Presidential Documents

• Documents signed by the President and submitted
  to the Office of the Federal Register for
  publication
• Include Proclamations and Executive Orders as
  well as other documents such as determinations,
  letters, memoranda, and reorganization plans
• All compiled annually in title 3 of the Code of
  Federal Regulations

36
Sunshine Act Meetings

• Notices of meetings published under the
  "Government in the Sunshine Act" (Pub. L. 94-409
  5 U.S.C. 552b(e)(3)) that requires meetings of
  Government agencies be open to the public, with
  certain specified exceptions
• Includes the time, place, and subject matter of
  the meeting, the name and telephone number of the
  agency official to contact for more information,
  and whether the meeting is open or closed to the
  public

37
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)

• A compilation and codification of the general and
  permanent rules published in the Federal Register
  by the federal executive departments and agencies
  with power to make rules
• Divided into 50 titles representing broad areas
  of behavior subject to federal regulation
• Each title divided into chapters usually bearing
  the name of the issuing agency
• Each chapter is further subdivided into parts
  covering specific regulatory areas - parts thus
  become the rule
• Large parts may be subdivided into subparts and
  all parts are organized in sections
• Each part or section is keyed to
• the legislative authority under which the agency
  promulgated the rule
• the issue of the Federal Register in which the
  final rule was published
• 36 CFR (2006) part 293 Wilderness - Primitive
  Areas Forest Service Department of Agriculture

38

• Each volume of the CFR is revised once each
  calendar year
• A CFR Index and Finding Aids volume indexes
  regulations by departments, agencies and topics
• The volume also contains a Parallel Table of
  Authority and Rules listing the sources of
  federal statutory law under which current
  regulations have been issued
• EPA regulations

39
  Other Resources

• EPA Federal Register Site
• Arsenic in Drinking Water (EPA)
• Recent Regulatory History of Air Bags
  (Motorvista.com)
• Mercury Emissions and Utilities (EPA)
• Regulatory Reform in the Power Industry (Cato
  Institute)
• Regulation Magazine (Cato Institute)
• Federal Regulatory Reform An Overview
  (Congressional Research Service)
• Regulatory History of Mixed Waste (EPA)

40
Consumer Product Safety Regulations

• U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
• Rules Promulgated by the Commission
• Requirements for Full Size Baby Cribs
  (Explanatory Notice)
• 16 CFR 1508
• 16 CFR 1632 (Standards for the Flammability of
  Mattresses and Mattress Pads)

41
To find regulations on a particular subject

• Start with
• Parallel Table of Authority and Rules part of the
  CFR Index and Finding Aids
• Index to the Code of Federal Regulations
• Look for your regulation by subject (e.g.,
  campaign funds) or by agency (e.g., Federal
  Election Commission)
• A keyword search in the CFR in GPO Access
• NB You really need to find the earliest
  regulation promulgated after your act was passed

42
To find the authority for a regulation

• At the beginning of the CFR part you are using
  (after the table of contents), look for an
  authority note citing the United States Code
  section(s), or Statute, or Public Law, which
  authorized the regulations
• In the Federal Register an authority note for a
  proposed or final rule appears at the beginning
  of the text of the rule (not the preamble)

43
To find out whether a CFR part or section has
been amended

• In GPO Access after 1996
• Retrieve CFR sections by citation
• Search or browse your choice of CFR titles and/or
  volumes
• LSA (List of CFR Sections Affected)
• Search the Federal Register for related documents
  
• There are various Federal Register Indexes
• LexisNexis after 1981
• Hein Online after 1935

44
To trace a current CFR section back to its
origins

• Look for a source note in the CFR at the
  beginning of the part (after the table of
  contents), or at the end of a particular section
• Look in the appropriate Federal Register
  describing the Final Rule for a reference to the
  Proposed Rule published earlier
• Or
• Look at the List of CFR Sections Affected at the
  end of the current CFR volume you are using,
  which reports amendments year by year back to
  1986
• For earlier coverage, see the separate volumes
  entitled List of CFR Sections Affected covering
  1973-1985, 1964-1972 and 1949-1963

45
To find regulations issued under particular
federal authority

• Look at the "Parallel Table of Authorities and
  Rules" in the current CFR Index and Finding Aids.
  
• The left-hand column lists sources of federal law
  (U.S. Code, U.S. Statutes at Large, Public Laws
  and several kinds of Presidential documents).
• On the right are the CFR citations to regulations
  promulgated under the authority of the listed
  sources
• Or
• Look for the citation to federal statutes (e.g.,
  a title and section of the U.S. Code) in the CFR
  or Federal Register in GPO Access