WHY FEDERAL REGULATIONS WERE FIRST DEVELOPED. When were federal regulations first developed?


To guide the country out of the Great Depression, the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration hired an unprecedented number of government experts to fix the economy. The president granted them unfettered powers and each federal agency and department did things its own way. When Congress asked Harry Hopkins, head of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, to explain how he allocated federal funds, he simply declined to answer.


Congress responded by passing the Administrative Procedure Act in 1946. The APA provided uniform procedures for all federal agencies in the adoption of regulations and the adjudication of disputes. The APA also laid the foundation for judicial review of agency decisions.


HOW FEDERAL TRUCKING REGULATIONS ARE DEVELOPED.


When a federal agency, like the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), or the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), proposes so-called “legislative rules,” it means regulations that are made pursuant to the agency’s Congressional charter or Congress’s specific direction. The agency must then follow the “informal rulemaking procedures” outlined in the APA. Most people recognize these “informal” procedures as the “notice-and-comment” steps of federal rulemaking.


• These “informal” or “notice-and-comment” procedures are the standard approach when it comes to rulemaking. However, other paths do exist under APA, such as:


• The rarely-used “formal” procedure with hearings held before an official, and cross-examination of witnesses allowed


• The “direct final rule,” in which an agency adopts a necessary regulation quickly with no opposition expected


• A “negotiated rulemaking” with the agency requesting interested parties to reach a compromise and then submitting that compromise for public comment


The goals of the APA include public participation in rulemaking, clarity of the rulemaking process, and public understanding of the final result – things that today we would call “transparency.” To achieve those goals, the APA requires publication of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register. That NPRM must contain “(1) the time, place, and nature of public rulemaking proceedings; (2) reference to the legal authority under which the rule is proposed; and (3) either the terms or substance of the proposed rule or a description of the subjects and issues involved.”


Once the agency gives adequate notice that a regulation is being considered, the public must have ample opportunity to submit comments. The APA does not set a minimum time period in which an agency must accept comments, but in most cases at least 60 days are allowed. The agency must


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