Tag: administrative state
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Ballotpedia study finds that 36 state APAs limit ex parte communications between hearing officers and the parties involved in agency adjudication
A Ballotpedia survey of all 50 state constitutions and administrative procedure acts (APAs) revealed that 36 state APAs limit ex parte communications between hearing officers and the parties involved in adjudication, as of October 2020. No state constitutions restrict contact between agency hearing officials and parties in a case. Ex parte communications are any form…
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Ballotpedia study shows that 29 state APAs require administrative agencies to conduct a cost-benefit analysis before implementing rules
A Ballotpedia study of all 50 state constitutions and administrative procedure acts (APAs) showed that 29 state APAs require administrative agencies to conduct a cost-benefit analysis before implementing rules, as of September 2020. Cost-benefit analysis is an aspect of agency dynamics, one of the five pillars key to understanding the main areas of debate about…
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Federal Register weekly update: 2020 page total tops 60,000 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 September 21 to September 25, the Federal Register grew by 1,510 pages for a year-to-date total of 60,682 pages. Over the same period in 2019 and…
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Office of Personnel Management proposes to reclassify ALJs within civil service
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on September 21 issued a proposed rule that would reclassify administrative law judges (ALJ) within the federal civil service. The proposed rule aims to implement President Donald Trump’s (R) Executive Order 13843 of July 2018, which moved ALJs from the competitive service to the excepted service. Prior to E.O.…
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FCC moves away from adherence to formal adjudication practices
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on September 14 released a Report and Order allowing the agency’s adjudicators to conduct more hearings through written testimony rather than in-person, trial-type procedures. The Communications Act of 1934 does not require the FCC to hold on-the-record hearings or follow formal adjudication procedures. However, the agency has historically modeled its…
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Payroll tax deferral plan subject to challenge under Congressional Review Act, GAO confirms
On September 15, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) sent a letter to U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) clarifying that a recent IRS guidance document was subject to challenge through the Congressional Review Act (CRA). The IRS guidance related to a presidential memorandum issued by President Donald Trump on…
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Checks and Balances: Department of Justice proposes modernization of Administrative Procedure Act
The Checks and Balances Letter delivers news and information from Ballotpedia's Administrative State Project, including pivotal actions at the federal and state levels related to the separation of powers, due process and the rule of law. This edition:In this month’s edition of Checks and Balances, we review a legal challenge to 2020 census changes; a proposal from the…
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Federal Register weekly update: Lowest final rule total since first week of January
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 September 7 to September 11, the Federal Register grew by 1,112 pages for a year-to-date total of 56,470 pages. Over the same…
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Arizona judge declines to rule on constitutional challenge to agency adjudication process
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Douglas Gerlach on September 9 upheld a decision by then-Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS) Director Gregory McKay in a case challenging the constitutionality of the procedural due process protections available to individuals during the agency’s adjudication of child abuse allegations. McKay placed Phillip B. (the only name provided) on the child abuse registry…