Administrative Procedure Act

Administrative Procedure Act (APA), U.S. law, enacted in 1946, that stipulates the ways in which federal agencies may make and enforce regulations. The APA was the product of concern about the rapid increase in the number of powerful federal agencies in the first half of the 20th century, particularly during the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who created a number of agencies to implement his New Deal social and economic programs.

Agencies are extensions of the executive branch of government that have the ability to make, interpret, and enforce rules and regulations. Because they are unelected and arguably combine executive, legislative, and judicial functions, agencies have been criticized as undermining the separation of powers between the three branches of government. Defenders of agencies have argued that potential abuses can be prevented by Congress, which supervises the work of federal agencies, and by the judiciary, which reviews their administrative actions. In any event, agencies serve an important practical purpose because they can address problems more quickly and in more detail than Congress can. Often they are called upon to apply specific scientific, technical, or administrative expertise to implement the broad policy decisions made by Congress.

In 1938 Roosevelt convoked a committee of lawyers, jurists, scholars, and administrators to study existing administrative procedures and to recommend changes. Before the committee’s report could be issued, however, he vetoed the 1940 Walter-Logan bill, which would have placed administrative agencies directly under the courts, allowing for judicial review of all agency decisions. He indicated in his veto message that a report would soon address comprehensive reform of federal administrative processes.

The 1941 report laid the groundwork for the APA. The purposes of the act were: (1) to ensure that agencies keep the public informed of their organization, procedures, and rules, (2) to provide for public participation in the rule-making process, (3) to prescribe uniform standards for the conduct of formal rule making and adjudicatory proceedings, and (4) to restate the law of judicial review. An agency was defined as any authority of the United States excluding Congress, the courts, and the governments of territories, possessions, or the District of Columbia. The APA set out specific procedures to be followed when agencies make rules or enforce them (adjudication). Each of those processes could be formal or informal. Informal rule making required at a minimum that agencies publish the proposed rule and allow interested parties to respond (notice and comment). Formal rule making, which was less common, was quasi-legislative, requiring detailed hearings (rule making on the record). Most agency decisions are subject to judicial review.

Beginning in 1990, two laws, as supplements to the APA, allowed agencies to use more collaborative methods of making and enforcing rules. Negotiated rule making (“reg-neg”) let an agency meet with affected interest groups to reach consensus on a proposed rule. Agencies were also authorized to employ alternative dispute-resolution methods, such as mediation and arbitration, to resolve disputes regarding enforcement.