In principle, the rulemaking process is designed to inform the public of planned rules in detail; give the public, including stakeholders and experts, an opportunity to comment, provide new information, and suggest alternatives; and ensure that the rulemaking agency considers and responds to public comments before issuing final rules. The process is also designed to ensure that all federal rules can be found in a central publication (i.e., published in the Federal Register and formally codified in the Code of Federal Regulations) and provide a comprehensive public record for use by the courts, Congress, and the news media in overseeing an agency’s use of power and interpretation of statutes.
The Administrative Procedures Act defines a rule or regulation as the whole or a part of an agency statement of general or particular applicability and future effect designed to implement, interpret, or prescribe law or policy or describing the organization, procedure, or practice requirements of an agency. Rulemaking is defined as agency action that regulates the future conduct of either groups of persons or a single person; it is essentially legislative in nature, not only because it operates in the future but because it is primarily concerned with policy considerations.7
Return to article: Following the Road to Regulation
