Improving Agency Procedure

Earlier this year, the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS)—a federal agency that brings together government officials and members of the public to find ways to improve government administration—published its latest set of recommendations. These recommendations covered issues related to the Paperwork Reduction Act, severability clauses in agency rules, and the use of electronic case management in agency adjudication. In addition to its latest recommendations, ACUS has recently issued a set of updated model rules on agency adjudication. This series in The Regulatory Review highlights these recent developments by ACUS. It features four essays written by leading lawyers, public officials, and scholars involved in the development of ACUS’s latest three recommendations published and its updated model rules of agency adjudication. The authors and coauthors of the essays in this series are: Felix Bajandas, a consultant at the National Center for State Courts; Gisselle S. Bourns, an attorney at ACUS; Jennifer Nou, a professor at the University of Chicago Law School; Stuart Shapiro, a professor at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy of Rutgers University; Charles Tyler, a fellow at Stanford Law School; Matthew Lee Wiener, the vice chairman and executive director of ACUS; and Gavin Young, an attorney at ACUS. October 29, 2018 | Matthew Lee Wiener, ACUS The revised Model Adjudication Rules offer an invaluable and much-needed guide to agencies for how to draft new rules and, more importantly, how to review and revise their existing rules, as several agencies have recently done. October 30, 2018 | Giselle Bourns, ACUS, Jennifer Nou, University of Chicago Law School, and Stuart Shapiro, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy of Rutgers University ACUS’s Committee on Regulation considered and adopted proposed recommendations on the Paperwork Reduction Act to facilitate the information collection and review process for both OIRA and agencies. October 31, 2018 | Charles Tyler, Stanford Law School The requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act can create substantial legal uncertainty for an agency seeking to issue a new rule. Including severability clauses in proposed rules could help fix this problem. November 1, 2018 | Felix Bajandas, National Center for State Courts, and Gavin Young, ACUS Federal agencies engaged in adjudication can use electronic storage and processing of case files to expand public access and transparency, increase efficiency and accuracy in the processing of cases, meet statutory requirements more easily, and reduce costs overall