How can the next administration use agency rulemaking to put its policies into practice quickly?
I asked Perplexity's AI some questions about this
A lot of “law” gets made by executive agencies, which have been allowed to interpret the laws Congress passes with great leeway. The agencies issues rules and regulations (the terms are interchangeable) to carry out Congress’ laws. Changing agency interpretations of the existing laws may be the easiest way to get changes in policy, without requiring Congress to pass new laws.
The agencies are normally required to issue comment periods before issuing new rules or revoking old ones. The process could take several months or longer.
A proposed EPA agency rule required slaughterhouses to build their own wastewater treatment facilities, which is expected to shut some down, further restricting the amount of meat that can be processed in the US—most likely this rule was promulgated as part of the green agenda.
A new USDA rule to require dairy cattle, some beef cattle and bison to be tagged with electronic RFID tags was due to go into effect 5 days ago. NCLA sued the USDA, and I do not know whether the rule was stayed pending a court ruling or where this is. Clearly, a Trump administration that wishes to roll back surveillance might want to act before a great deal of expensive electronic infrastructure has been purchased by ranchers to comply with the new rule.
https://www.perplexity.ai/search/what-fda-rules-apply-to-raw-da-_0chewixQUmzUMgviGjf7Q
The FDA prohibits the interstate sale and distribution of raw milk and raw milk products for human consumption. This regulation is based on the agency's authority under the Public Health Service Act and the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to prevent the spread of communicable diseases across state lines.
But raw milk is not a communicable disease. Yet FDA has been adamant for 40 years in enforcing this law, sometimes with guns drawn. Congress never passed a law banning raw milk. This could be changed with a new administration. But how fast?
See below. Because one can make the argument in both cases above that rescinding the rules could be beneficial to health, I think a good cause exception could be made that these rules should be changed very quickly and do not require a comment period.
https://www.perplexity.ai/search/do-us-federal-agencies-need-to-Y7tENKECTeapvNKKNdD0hw
US federal agencies generally need to follow a notice-and-comment process before revoking regulations, with some exceptions. Here are the key points:
General Rule: Notice-and-Comment Required
The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) requires agencies to use the same rulemaking procedures for rescinding or modifying existing rules as they do for issuing new rules.
This means:
The agency must issue a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM)
Allow for a public comment period
Consider the comments received
Issue a final rule with a justification
Exceptions and Special Cases
There are some situations where agencies may bypass the full notice-and-comment process: Good Cause Exception: Agencies can skip notice-and-comment if they find it would be "impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest"
Frequency of Use
A 2012 Government Accountability Office (GAO) study found that between 2003 and 2010, federal agencies issued about 35% of major rules and 44% of non-major rules without a notice of proposed rulemaking
Of those rules issued without notice and comment, agencies most often justified their action by invoking the good cause exception
https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/R44356.html
The Good Cause Exception to Notice and Comment Rulemaking: Judicial Review of Agency Action
January 29, 2016
R44356
While the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) generally requires agencies to follow certain procedures when promulgating rules, the statute’s “good cause” exception permits agencies to forgo Section 553’s notice and comment requirement if “the agency for good cause finds” that compliance would be “impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest” and bypass its 30-day publication requirement if good cause exists. Federal courts reviewing this agency practice have varied in their analysis, resulting in confusion as to precisely what constitutes “good cause.” In addition, some courts have indicated that these are two distinct standards; others do not always distinguish between the two.
Actually, a rule and a regulation are not exactly the same thing, although for most practical purposes the terms may be thought to be interchangeable. Breaking a reg is a bigger deal than violating a regulation, which is more formal and, I think, meant to cover more situations. Rules are rescinded more easily. The process for adopting a regulation within an agency is more complex and for a rule, so rules tend to come out more quickly when an issue comes up under a statute. According to AI, a single individual might put out a rule, which would not be the case with a regulation. A rule, at least in the securities area, tends to be more chatty, if you will -- there may be hypotheticals, e.g.
In order to make any new rule you must get rid of two!
Confidentiality protects fools from having their sins exposed. Watch collateral murder. https://collateralmurder.com/