Rulemaking : The Creation of Law and Policy by Government Agencies

Rulemaking refines, and in some instances defines, the mission of every government agency and affects the lives and activities of all citizens and often non-citizens. It provides directions and content for budgeting, program implementation, procurement, personnel management, dispute resolution, and other important government activities. In this substantially updated sixth edition, authors Kerwin and Furlong continue to offer the most comprehensive and accessible exploration of the most critical source of law and policy in the United States today. As they demonstrate, anyone interested in developing a sophisticated understanding of the operation of our political system or any aspect of the public policy process must develop a working knowledge of rulemaking. New to the sixth edition:

• New examples and case studies incorporated throughout the text, including a thorough examination of West Virginia v. EPA to introduce the concept of rulemaking.
• New material that updates coverage of the Trump I and Biden presidencies, as well as the landmark Supreme Court decision in Loper Industries v. Raimondo that repudiates the Chevron Doctrine and calls for greater direction from Congress in delegations of rulemaking authority.
• A significantly reformulated chapter on Measures of Rulemaking Success from a policy analysis perspective with discussion on efficiency, effectiveness, equity, and more. It also addresses expectations that various stakeholders have for rulemaking, including quality, volume, timeliness, effectiveness, efficiency and equity.
• Additional analysis of the use of alternatives to conventional rulemaking, including executive orders and related presidential communications and guidance documents of various sorts exploring the positive and negative effects of executive orders and presidential memoranda, guidance documents, technical corrections and so-called “Dear Colleague” letters.
• An entirely new chapter, Information, that focuses on the different forms of information agencies need to write rules. The categories include information on the law, policy, implementation, impact, public participation and management. In addition to defining and distinguishing these types, the authors also cover the sources agencies rely on to secure each type of information.
• A significantly reformulated concluding chapter that continues to develop a theory of rulemaking and considers the influences on rulemaking and serious attempts at rulemaking reform from scholars, organizations, and institutions whose mission is the advancement of better government.

The breadth of the authors’ approach makes Rulemaking an essential primary text for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses on public policy, public administration, and political science. It also serves as an important supplementary text for related courses in schools of law and business.