Recent Supreme Court Decision Could Change The Deference Given To Federal Agencies?

By Ammoland

USA –-(Ammoland.com)- On March 9, 2015, the Supreme Court reversed a long-standing doctrine requiring federal agencies to go through public notice-and-comment rulemaking each time they significantly revise a definitive interpretation of a law or regulation.

For businesses who operate in regulated industries, the public notice of proposed rulemaking is an extremely important process through which to offer input to government agencies when introducing a new rule or proposing a change to an existing rule.

Pursuant to the Court’s decision in Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Association, 135 S. Ct. 1199 (2015), federal agencies who issue informal advice to regulated industry members will be able to dramatically change existing interpretations of the law without advance public notice or comment. Despite the negative implications, which we will discuss, we wonder whether this decision could in fact lead courts to reconsider the deference they give to federal agencies.

1. THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE ACT

The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) specifies the procedures federal agencies must follow for “rule making,” defined as the process of “formulating, amending, or repealing a rule.” The statute …read more

Source:: AmmoLand