Administrative Law

spillover costs

"negative externality," is a term used to describe some loss or damage that a market transaction causes a third party. The third party ends up paying for the transaction in some way, even though it was neither the buyer nor the seller and had no part in the original decision

Freedom of Information Act

1966, federal freedom of information law that allows for the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased information and documents controlled by the United States government. The Act defines agency records subject to disclosure, outlines mandatory disclosure procedures and grants nine exemptions to the statute

sunset laws

A statutory provision providing that a particular agency, benefit, or law will expire on a particular date, unless it is reauthorized by the legislature; escalation of government budgets and the perception that government bureaucracy was not accountable led Congress and many state legislatures in the 1970s to enact "sunset" laws

BAPI Doctrine

Economic activity that has an impact on the community at large. As discussed in Munn v. Illinois (1877), when private economic activity has such a public consequence, it may be regulated by the government

Whitman v. American Trucking Association (2001)

In an opinion delivered by Justice Antonin Scalia, the Court held that the CAA properly delegated legislative power to the EPA, but that the EPA could not consider implementation costs in setting primary and secondary NAAQS. Moreover, the Court held that the Court of Appeals has jurisdiction to review the EPA's interpretation of Part D

sunshine laws

Regulations requiring openness in government. Sunshine laws make meetings, records, votes, deliberations and other official actions available for public observation, participation and/or inspection

Regulation

The use of governmental authority to control or change some practice in the private sector. Regulations pervade the daily lives of people and institutions.

Munn v. Illinois (1876)

United States Supreme Court case dealing with corporate rates and agriculture. The Munn case allowed states to regulate certain businesses within their borders, including railroads, and is commonly regarded as a milestone in the growth of federal government regulation. Munn was one of six cases, the so-called Granger cases; At issue was whether the act of the Illinois Legislature, 25 April 1871, to regulate public warehouses and the inspection and handling of grain, was constitutional; BAPI Doctrine

Administrative Procedure Act (1946)

United States federal law that governs the way in which administrative agencies of the federal government of the United States may propose and establish regulations. The APA also sets up a process for the United States federal courts to directly review agency decisions. It is one of the most important pieces of United States administrative law

Chevron, USA v. Natural Resources Defense Council (1984)

a case in which the United States Supreme Court set forth the legal test for determining whether to grant deference to a government agency's interpretation of a statute which it administers. Chevron is the Court's clearest articulation of the doctrine of "administrative deference," to the point that the Court itself has used the phrase "Chevron deference" in more recent cases

executive departments

a federal department in the executive branch of the government of the United States (ag, commerce, labor, defense, energy, H&HS, justice, treasury, state, interior, housing and urban development, transportation, education, homeland security, veterans affairs)

spoils system

a political party, after winning an election, gives government jobs to its voters as a reward for working toward victory, and as an incentive to keep working for the party; Andrew Jackson

precedent

a principle or rule established in a previous legal case that is either binding on or persuasive for a court or other tribunal when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts; Stare decisis is a legal principle by which judges are obliged to respect the precedent established by prior decisions

legislative veto

a veto exercised by a legislature nullifying or reversing an action, decision, etc., of the executive branch; A practice whereby Congress grants the president the discretionary authority to take actions or make policy, but retains the right to cancel such presidential actions if Congress has objections to them, The authority of Congress to block a presidential action after it has taken place. The Supreme Court has held that Congress does not have this power

sampling monitoring

aimed at discovering through various sampling procedures the reasons for the poor administration of particular agency functions

substantive regulatory reform

aims at changing public policy outputs in administrative agencies through lawmaking and rulemaking; ex: civil rights, environmental protection

Lloyd-LaFollette Act (1912)

allowed employees to join unions that did not strike and to petition congress for grievances; also: 1. established standard for dismissing federal civil servants 2. federal employees removed or suspended without pay "only for such cause as will promote the efficiency of services" 3. established the principle that the burden of proof is on the organization to show that dismissal of an employee is warranted and justified

common law

also known as case law or precedent, is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals, as opposed to statutes adopted through the legislative process or regulations issued by the executive branch

laissez faire

an economic environment in which transactions between private parties are free from tariffs, government subsidies, and enforced monopolies, with only enough government regulations sufficient to protect property rights against theft and aggression

administrative law

body of law that governs the activities of administrative agencies of government. Government agency action can include rulemaking, adjudication, or the enforcement of a specific regulatory agenda. Administrative law is considered a branch of public law

authorization committees

can establish, continue, or modify an agency or program for a fixed or indefinite period of time. It also may set forth the duties and functions of an agency or program, its organizational structure, and the responsibilities of agency or program officials. Authorizing legislation also allows the enactment of appropriations for an agency or program

red tape

complex bureaucratic rules and procedures that must be followed to get something done

INS v. Chadha (1983)

court case that overturned the constitutionality of legislative veto powers; even though the Act would have enhanced governmental efficiency, it violated the "explicit constitutional standards" regarding lawmaking; Immigration and Nationality Act, Congress authorized either House of Congress to invalidate

Independent Regulatory Commissions

entities such as the FCC(Federal Communications Commission) and FAA(Federal Avaition Administration). Within the authority granted them by Congress, they have the power to form and enforce their own regulations. Supposedly unbiased

Privacy Act (1974)

establishes a Code of Fair Information Practice that governs the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of personally identifiable information about individuals that is maintained in systems of records by federal agencies

procedural regulatory reform

focuses on improving agency procedure in implementing regulatory policies; ex: negotiated rulemaking

cognitive regulatory reform

focuses on the way agencies perceive and assess regulatory problems; ex: cost benefit analysis of proposed agency rules

Rutan v. Republican Party of Illinois (1990)

found that employees would feel "a significant obligation to support political positions held by their superiors" in lieu of their true beliefs in order to progress up the career ladder, Court ruled that partisan political considerations as basis for hiring, promoting, or transferring public employees was illegal.

malfeasance

hostile, aggressive wrongdoing taken to injure the client's interests

Schechter Poultry Corp. v. U.S. (1935)

invalidated regulations of the poultry industry according to the nondelegation doctrine and as an invalid use of Congress's power under the commerce clause. This was a unanimous decision that rendered the National Industrial Recovery Act, a main component of President Roosevelt's New Deal, unconstitutional.

Hatch Act

law whose main provision is to prohibit employees (civil servants) in the executive branch of the federal government, except the president, vice-president, and certain designated high-level officials of the executive branch, from engaging in partisan political activity

due process

legal requirement that the state must respect all of the legal rights that are owed to a person. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual person from it. When a government harms a person without following the exact course of the law, this constitutes a due-process violation, which offends against the rule of law

reactive monitoring

passive approach in which legislators react only when some administrative wrongdoing is somehow called to their attention (often through complaints)

system theory

provides simple and revealing framework of the relation between participants; accepts one basic truth- first instinct is to survive; does not measure influence of any single input

Pendleton Act (1883)

reform passed by Congress that restricted the spoils system; passed in part in reaction to assassination of President Garfield by a disappointed office seeker in 1881, it established the U.S. Civil Service Commission to administer a merit system for hiring in government jobs.

Civil Service Reform Act (1978)

reformed the civil service of the United States federal government, partly in response to the Watergate scandal. The Act abolished the U.S. Civil Service Commission and distributed its functions primarily among three new agencies: the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), and the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA)

Patriot Act

significantly reduced restrictions in law enforcement agencies' gathering of intelligence within the United States; expanded the Secretary of the Treasury's authority to regulate financial transactions, particularly those involving foreign individuals and entities; and broadened the discretion of law enforcement and immigration authorities in detaining and deporting immigrants suspected of terrorism-related acts

structural regulatory reform

stresses restructuring agency decision making to allow environmental political actors greater or lesser control over it; ex: creation of Department of Homeland Security to consolidate those duties and responsibilities that fell under its jurisdiction

caveat venditor

suggests that sellers can also be deceived in a market transaction; seller beware, MacPherson v. Buick Motor Co

Hampton & Co. v. U.S. (1928)

the Court held that Congress, within "defined limits," could vest discretion in Executive officers to make public regulations and direct the details of statutory execution. The Court argued that the same principle that allowed Congress to fix rates in interstate commerce also enabled it to remit to a rate-making body under the control of the Executive branch

caveat emptor

the buyer could not recover damages from the seller for defects on the property that rendered the property unfit for ordinary purposes; buyer beware, Laidlaw v. Organ

nondelegation doctrine

theory that one branch of government must not authorize another entity to exercise the power or function which it is constitutionally authorized to exercise itself

nonfeasance

to ignore and take no indicated action - neglect, a failure to act when under an obligation to do so

misfeasance

to take inappropriate action or give intentionally incorrect advice, The performance of a lawful act in an illegal or improper manner

Heart of Atlanta Motel v. U.S. (1964)

was a landmark United States Supreme Court case holding that the U.S. Congress could use the Constitution's Commerce Clause power to force private businesses to abide by the Civil Rights Act of 1964

concentrated monitoring

works well for close supervision of administrative functions or programs that pose higher than normal risks for corrupt or unethical activities