What is Administrative Law? | Administrative Procedure Act | Introduction to Administrative Law Research | How to Find Federal Regulations | Federal Executive & Administrative Agencies | Federal Administrative Decisions | Missouri Administrative Law | Google Tools for Searching Agency Sites | Problems
"Administrative Law is like the air we breathe: invisible yet pervasive." William Funk & Richard Seamon.
Hundreds of federal agencies exist. Historically, the primary agencies were the departments whose heads took part in a President's cabinet, or advisory group. (For example, the Department of Treasury). Each department "secretary," or head, is appointed by the President with Senate confirmation. These are considered Executive Agencies, because they function within the Executive Branch of government. The President has the ability to direct and control their efforts, and may remove appointees at will.
Independent Regulatory Agencies typically have more autonomy. The President can only remove appointees "for cause." If you are working on an issue which involves a specific government agency, get to know their structure. A good starting point is the U.S. Government Manual, which is the official handbook of the federal government.
U.S. Govt. Manual provides comprehensive information on the agencies of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches. It also includes information on quasi-official agencies; international organizations in which the United States participates; and boards, commissions, and committees.
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Administrative law research covers regulations issued by executive agencies and also the proposed rules, comments, administrative decisions, and public documents agencies produce. Click the link below to view the video.
Introduction to Administrative Law
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5 USC Section 551 et seq. (1946)
The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) governs the process for federal agencies to develop and issue regulations, as well as make judicial style decisions. It requires agencies to publish notice of any proposed or final rulemaking in the Federal Register, and provide opportunities for the public to comment. The APA requires that most rules have a 30 day delayed effective date.
In addition, the APA governs other agency actions, like:
This video explains how the APA applies to the rulemaking process.
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This video shows you how to find federal regulations, and explains:
Federal Register The daily record of federal administrative and executive Notices, Proposed Rules, Final rules, Executive Orders and Presidential Proclamations
Regulations.gov Regulations.gov is your source for information on the development of Federal regulations and other related documents issued by the U.S. government. Through this site, you can find, read, and comment on regulatory issues that are important to you.
e-Code of Federal Regulations The Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR) is a currently updated version of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The e-CFR is an editorial compilation of CFR material and Federal Register amendments produced by the National Archives and Records Administration's Office of the Federal Register (OFR) and the Government Printing Office. The OFR updates the material in the e-CFR on a daily basis.
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Exec. Branch/Agency Index Includes links to Executive Branch and Executive Agencies websites.
GovInfo by U.S. GPO The U.S Government Printing Office (GPO) provides publishing and dissemination services for the official and authentic government publications to Congress, Federal agencies, Federal depository libraries, and the American public. Links to official Federal Register and Code of Federal Regulations.
Presidential Documents The Compilation of Presidential Documents collection consists of the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents and the Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents which are the official publications of materials released by the White House Press Secretary.
American Presidency The archives contain 103,900 documents related to the study of the Presidency.
Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education.
Dept. Justice Statistics The Bureau of Justice Statistics is dedicated to collecting, analyzing, publishing, and disseminating information on crime, criminal
offenders, victims of crime, and the operation of justice systems at all levels of government.
Dept. Labor Statistics The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor is the principal Federal agency responsible for measuring labor market activity, working conditions, and price changes in the economy.
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Besides making regulations, administrative agencies make decisions (like cases) on particular facts or provide guidance on procedures and common scenarios. Below is an example from Westlaw of a resource for such decisions.
Lexis also has a Federal Administrative Materials page with much of the same information (link).
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Missouri Administrative Rules (Code of State Regulations, State Regulations, Notifications, etc.)
Missouri Governor Executive Orders
The volumes below are available from the reserve area behind the first floor library desk. This red two-volume set includes an overview of state agencies, departments and the role of the Administrative Hearing Commission. The AHC conducts initial hearings for some agencies and also acts as a venue for appeal of agency determinations. After exhausting administrative remedies, individuals may then seek judicial review.
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| Command | Function | Examples |
| site: | limit to domain or website | site:justice.gov; site:epa.gov; site:sos.mo.gov |
| AROUND(N) | terms must be within (N) words of each other | site:epa.gov (BP AROUND(5) spill) gulf |
| related: | returns related sites to a website | related:epa.gov |
| allintitle: | returns web pages with all word in the title | allintitle:bureau of land management |
More Google search commands are located at link.
Wayback Machine - Tool that periodically archives old versions of websites.
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The following problem comes from Beau Steenken & Tina Brooks, Sources of American Law: An Introduction to Legal Research (4th ed., CALI eLangdell Press 2019) (Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License).
Google search that works (link).
1LS, SKIP QUESTIONS 2 AND 3 BELOW.
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