Gaskins.Cornelius@Yahoo.Com

Business Law 309 Professor, Samad Hafezi

February 11, 2011

Administrative Procedure Act

Week 6 Make Up Assignment

Cornelius Gaskins

Administrative Procedure Act

Title 5 - United States Code - Chapter 5, sections 511-599 

The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) is the law under which some 55 U.S.  government federal regulatory agencies like the FDA and EPA create the rules and regulations necessary to implement and enforce major legislative acts such as the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act, Clean Air Act or Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Congressional enactment of laws is handed down to the various Federal agencies comprising the

Executive Branch of the federal government. These federal Administrations serve as the interpretive

minds of the feds to produce the rules to establish policies, handle judicial matters involving issues

falling under the jurisdiction of the specific administration and its rules. For example, the Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) would be the administration that matters falling under the physical

environment would fall under: water pollution, factory emissions, and effects of dumping on wild life to

name a few.

Each administration is guided by the Administrative Procedure Act, as the name of the Act implies, on

how to conduct the various operational aspects of its day to day activities to ensure both the availability

of of rules, interpretation of the same, requirement for actions as well as judicial enforcement involving

the questions of legality brought before its tribunal. Its ruling literally caring the force of law which the

Judicial Branch of government would uphold finding the Administrations’ ruling binding.

The APA is very extensive in the outlines of the procedures which the Administrations’ follow:

for example, providing public information about agency rules, opinions, orders, records and

proceedings:

CHAPTERPART I - THE AGENCIES GENERALLY 5

SUBCHAPTER II -...