In addition to working within enabling legislation, agencies must abide by the Administrative Procedures Act which governs federal rulemaking.If an agency receives significant comments against a proposed rule, it may revise the rules considering the comments and must repropose the rules. These may include the office of the general counsel, regional and field personnel, policy planners and economists.Rulemakings listed in the Unified Agenda are to include, among other things, a summary of the rule, the legal authority for the rulemaking, and any legal deadline for promulgation of the rule.If OIRA approves the agency proposal, the agency is given an "OMB control number," which must be displayed on every form and which is good for no more than three years.
The Office of the Federal Register (OFR) compiles the Federal Register, and the Government Printing Office (GPO) prints it. Under that process, the FCC gives the public notice that it is considering adopting or modifying rules on a particular subject and seeks the public's comment.
Sometimes the authorizing statute requires such hearings.
Coordinating with such agencies always makes sense; sometimes, the statute requires it. The agency justifies the policy positions it takes in the subsequent proposal.Once the rule has been proposed, commented on and revised as necessary, it is ready to be published as a final rule. Sometimes the authorizing statute requires this; sometimes the agency chooses to do it to get a fuller discussion of the proposed rule.
See Steps 7 & 9After getting all the comments, the agency must review them carefully.
However, a number of agencies also hold hearings on proposed rules either because of the agency's desire to do so or because of a requirement in the statute the agency is enforcing.Comments received and the results of any hearing (when applicable) are put into a "rulemaking record," also known as the agency docket.
The agency cannot act until the review is completed, unless there is an "unanticipated" emergency or statutory or judicial deadline.Searching through an agency's rulemaking record for information on how the agency reached its decision can be difficult since staff may have compiled hundreds (even thousands) of pages. Industry representatives might be asked, for instance, to estimate the projected costs for a regulatory proposal. This statutory delegation of authority might come in the statute that creates the agency, or in a later statute giving the agency more responsibility. Agencies may already have published some description of the regulatory proposal in the Regulatory Plan or the Unified Agenda, but the NPRM is likely the first time the public is able to see the whole rule.The agency then goes through its final internal review process, which usually involves those same offices brought into the process earlier — the Secretary, the general counsel, program office, policy and planning staff, etc. When possible, agencies often include dollar amounts to quantify these expectations, and often a quantified net impact on the economy.The NPRM will likely be the first detailed presentation of the proposed rule. If the changes are major, it must begin a second notice-and-comment process so the public can react.ADOPT the proposed rule as its final rule, either unchanged or without major changes. The effective date for the rules replaces the deadline for submitting comments. Once the rule has been proposed, commented on and revised as necessary, it is ready to be published as a final rule.
What agencies publish in the Federal Register for the final rule is very similar to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. If the House and Senate pass a resolution of disapproval and the President signs it (or if both override a presidential veto), the rule becomes ineffective. Other statutes, particularly the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), tell the agency how to use its rulemaking power.Agencies use different systems for drafting proposed rules, but all involve collecting information and talking informally with groups interested in the issues. Agencies recommend legislation to Congress and help draft bills. What agencies publish in the Federal Register for the final rule is very similar to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. After all the appropriate levels of agency management approve the proposed rules, the agency submits a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to the Federal Register. The U.S. Congress often passes laws directing federal agencies to issue regulations.