Government Regulation and Administrative Law

1. Government Regulation and
Administrative Law

2. The Rise (and Fall?) of
Government Regulation
▪ Role of regulatory activities: limit
prices/practices OR promote commerce
▪ Regulatory history:
▫ Regulation of interstate commerce was
constitutional power granted to Congress
▫ But states initially had responsibility

3. The Rise (and Fall?) of
Government Regulation
▪ Post Civil War, national government assumes
more regulatory control
▪ Pressure increases to regulate abusive
industries (especially railroads)
▪ New Deal gives national government primary
economic responsibility/control

4. The Rise (and Fall?) of
Government Regulation
▪ But regulatory policy too detailed & complex
for legislatures
▫ Need dedicated regulatory bodies
▫ Need flexible decision makers
▫ Authority delegated to regulatory agencies
▫ Congress shifts to monitoring role

5. The Rise (and Fall?) of
Government Regulation
▪ Interstate Commerce Commission (1887)
▪ National leaders promote regulation
▪ Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)
▪ Federal Trade Commission (1914)
▫ Clayton Act

6. The Rise (and Fall?) of
Government Regulation
▪ Other regulatory agencies modeled after ICC
and FTC
▫ Federal Communication Commission
(1934)
▫ Securities and Exchange Commission
(1934)
▫ Civil Aeronautics Board (1938)
▫ Many state regulatory agencies

7. Other Major U.S. Regulatory Bodies
Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC)
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

8. The New Social Regulation
▪ Economic regulation focuses on markets,
rates and obligation to serve
▪ Social regulation affects conditions of
production and characteristics of
manufactured products

9. The New Social Regulation
OLD (economic)
Civil Aeronautics Board (1938–1985)
Federal Communications Commission
Federal Power Commission (until
1976)
Securities and Exchange Commission
(until 2002)
Federal Trade Commission
NEW (social)
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Consumer Product Safety Comm.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Environmental Protection Agency
FCC
Financial Stability Oversight Council
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (since
1977)
Food and Drug Administration
International Trade Commission
National Labor Relations Board
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Occupational Safety and Health Administration

10. The New Social Regulation
▪ Shift in focus begins in early 1960s
▫ Growing environmental and consumer
movements
▫ New social regulatory initiatives
▫ Interest group mobilization
▫ Congress delegates authority for regulatory
activity but maintains oversight
▫ New regulatory conflicts emerge

11. Why Government Regulation Has Developed: Other
Perspectives
Other factors in regulatory rise:
Deliberate expansion of political control
Government response to public pressures about
unfair practices or alleviating distress
Ensuring fair and equal administration
Role in preventing economic or political
disruptions
Increasing public representation in government

12. Why Government Regulation Has Developed: Other
Perspectives
▪ Regulatory rise attributed to willingness to
have government protect individuals, groups
and society
▪ But many administrations attempt to
streamline “regulatory overkill”

13. Structures and Procedures of Regulatory Bodies
▪ Similarities among agencies:
▫ Authority delegated by Congress
▫ Some functional overlaps
▫ Political influence important in process

14. Structures and Procedures of Regulatory Bodies
Dependent regulatory agencies are housed within
existing departments
FDA (Dept. of Health and Human Services)
Independent regulatory commissions
Plural leadership not politically appointed
Collective decision-making process
Fixed terms for leaders (often long)
Abrupt policy shifts unlikely

15. Structures and Procedures of Regulatory Bodies
▪ Regulatory procedures: rule making and
adjudication
▫ Federal Register
▫ Code of Federal Regulations
▫ Administrative law judges

16. The Politics of Regulation
▪ Regulation involves politics of privilege and
patronage
▪ Issues involve distribution, quality and price
▫ Example: cable television industry

17. The Politics of Regulation
▪ Political environment of regulation
▫ Legislative oversight by Congress
▫ Expenditures (OMB, appropriations)
▫ Budget cuts and deficit reduction plans
▫ Clientele (such as industries it regulates)
▪ Protect or regulate industry?

18. The Politics of Regulation:
Role of the President
▪ President appoints cabinet-level department
heads, but career employees direct agency
work
▫ But presidents can have powerful
influence
▫ Usually allows industry leaders to have
informal voice in agency head selection
▫ Directs OMB

19. The Politics of Regulation:
Role of Congress
▪ Annual appropriations consideration
▪ Committee oversight of regulatory bodies
▪ Agencies respond to political pressures
transmitted thru Congress

20. The Politics of Regulation
▪ Criticisms of regulatory agencies:
▫ Too influenced by industries they are
supposed to regulate
▫ Regulators often return to industry
▫ Common Cause
▪ Regulators expected to be expert but
detached

21. The Politics of Regulation
▪ Rise of consumer movement caused increase
in government regulation
▫ Nader’s Raiders
▫ New political pressures
▫ Reliance on regulatory agencies
▪ But recent growing resentment toward
consumer-oriented regulation