Tag: administrative state
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Federal Register weekly update: 2020 year-to-date total of 84,198 pages
The Federal Register is a daily journal of federal government activity that includes presidential documents, proposed and final rules, and public notices. It is a common measure of an administration’s regulatory activity. From December 21 to December 25, the Federal Register grew by 1,328 pages for a year-to-date total of 84,198 pages. Over the same…
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New bill would require GAO to send Congress a report on major midnight regulations
On December 14, Representative Gerald Connolly (D-Va.) introduced the Midnight Regulations Review Act in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to send Congress a report about major regulations made by outgoing presidents just before the transition to a new administration. The bill defines major rules as those…
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Office of Personnel Management continues implementation of Trump’s civil service executive orders
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on December 17 issued a proposed rule aimed at continuing the implementation of President Donald Trump’s (R) 2018 civil service executive orders. The proposed rule prioritizes federal employee performance over length of service in decisions concerning a reduction in force—a principle set forth in Executive Order 13839, “Promoting Accountability and Streamlining Removal…
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Florida Administrative Commission appoints new chief administrative law judge
On December 15, the Florida Administrative Commission, composed of the governor and cabinet, appointed Pete Antonacci to serve as chief administrative law judge (ALJ) of the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings (DOAH). As chief administrative law judge, Antonacci will manage 31 administrative law judges within the DOAH as they oversee challenges to state agency rules. …
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New federal agency policies aim to minimize redundant regulations and increase rulemaking transparency
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on November 24 issued guidance that establishes rulemaking policies aimed at minimizing redundant regulations and increasing transparency in agency rulemaking. The first policy aims to minimize redundancies in HHS rulemaking by requiring the agency to ensure that new rules are consistent with, and do not overlap with,…
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U.S. Senate confirms three to Federal Election Commission
The new commissioners are Shana Broussard (D), Allen Dickerson (R), and Sean Cooksey (R). They join current commissioners James “Trey” Trainor (R), Steven T. Walther (I), and Ellen L. Weintraub (D). Trainor chairs the commission, and Walther is vice chair. Broussard previously served as counsel to now fellow commissioner Walther, while Dickerson was the legal…
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U.S. Supreme Court hears oral argument in case about presidential control of independent agencies
On December 9, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in Collins v. Mnuchin, a case about the extent of the president’s appointment and removal powers and control of independent federal agencies. The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether restrictions Congress placed on the ability of the president to remove the director of the Federal…
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U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear case challenging HHS approval of state work requirements for Medicaid beneficiaries
On December 4, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case involving agency approval of work requirements for state Medicaid beneficiaries. In Azar v. Gresham, the court will decide whether the Medicaid statute empowers the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to approve state plans to use work requirements…
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U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals rejects judicial deference to agency commentary that expanded sentencing guidelines
On December 1, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled unanimously in U.S. v. Malik Nasir that courts should reject judicial deference to United States Sentencing Commission commentary that expands federal sentencing guidelines. The case involves Malik Nasir’s marijuana conviction and the decision to sentence him as a career offender using definitions…