HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.
![handle is hein.usfed/petrlmg0001 and id is 1 raw text is:
ADMIN ISTRATIVE CONFERENCE OF TIE U NITED STATES
Administrative Conference Recommendation 2014-6
Petitions for Rulemaking
Adopted December 5, 2014
Under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), federal agencies are required to give ...
interested person[s] the right to petition for the issuance, amendment, or repeal of a rule.' The
statute generally does not establish procedures agencies must observe in connection with
petitions for rulemaking. It does, however, require agencies to respond to petitions for
rulemaking within a reasonable time,2 and to give petitioners prompt notice when a petition
is denied in whole or in part, along with a brief statement of the grounds for denial.' Beyond
the APA's general right to petition, Congress has occasionally granted more specific rights to
petition under individual statutes, such as the Clean Air Act.4 Although agency denials of petitions
for rulemaking are subject to judicial review, the courts have properly limited their scope of
review in this context.s
15 U.S.C. § 553(e). This provision ensures that the people's right to petition the government, which is protected by
the First Amendment, see U.S. Const. amend. 1, is also an important part of the rulemaking process. Although certain
matters are exempt from the requirements of 5 U.S.C. § 553, see U.S.C. § 553(a), the Administrative Conference has
previously taken the position that public participation in agency rulemaking on these matters, including through
petitions for rulemaking, may be beneficial. See Administrative Conference of the United States, Recommendation
86-6, Petitions for Rulemaking, 51 Fed. Reg. 46,988 n.2 (Dec. 30, 1986).
2 5 U.S.C. § 555(b).
35 U.S.C. § 555(e). The APA exempts agencies from the requirement of providing a brief statement of the grounds
for denial when it is affirming a prior denial or when the denial is self-explanatory. Id.
4 See, e.g., 42 U.S.C. §§ 7671a(c)(3), 7671e(b), 7671j(e). Statutory petition provisions such as these may impose
additional procedural requirements beyond those contained in the APA or identify substantive requirements that
must be met before the agency can act.
s Administrative Conference of the United States, Recommendation 95-3, Review of Existing Agency Regulations, 60
Fed. Reg. 43,109 (Aug. 18, 1995). In general, courts do not require agencies to respond to every individual issue
raised in a petition (let alone every issue raised in comments on petitions), so long as the administrative record
demonstrates a reasoned response on the whole. Cf. Nader v. FAA, 440 F.2d 292, 294 (D.C. Cir. 1971); WildEarth
Guardians v. Salazar, 741 F. Supp. 2d 89, 104 n.21 (D.D.C. 2012). In Connecticut v. Daley, a district court raised the
question whether the [agency] must respond in detail to each and every comment received, or if [it] is only required
1](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.usfed/petrlmg0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)