A Guide to the Rulemaking Process
Prepared by the Office of the Federal Register
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TAB LE&OF&CONTENTS&
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Before&the&Proposed&Rule&
What!gives!agencies!the!authority!to!issu e!regulati ons?
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How!does!an!agency!decid e!to!begin!rulemaking?!
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When!can!the!public!l earn!that!an!agency!plans!to!start!a!rulemaking?
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How!does!an !agency!involve!the!public!in!developing!a!proposed!rule?
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What!is!the!role!of!the!President!in!developing!a!proposed!rule?
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The&Proposed&Rule&
What!is!the!purpose!o f!the!proposed!rule?&
How!is!the!proposed!rule!struct ured?
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What!is!the!time!period!for!the!public!to !submit!comments?
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Why!do! agen cies!re‐open!comments!or!issue!multiple!proposed !rules?
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Do!agencies!have!additional!options!for! gathering !pub lic!comments?
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Why!should!you!consi der!s ubm itting!electron ic!comments?
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Before&the&Final&Rule&
How!do! public!comments!affect!the!final!rule?!
What!is!the!role!of!the!President!in!developing!a!final! rule?
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The&Final&Rule&
How!is!the!final!rule!structured?&
When!do!final!rul es!go!into!effect?
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Can !an!agency!issue!a!final!rule!with out!a!publishi ng!a!proposed!rule?
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What!are!interim!final!rules!&!direct !final!rules?
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After&the&Final&Rule&
How!are!final!rules!integrated!into!the!Code!of!Federal!Reg ulations?&
How!is!the!Congress!in!involved!in!reviewing!final!rules?
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Does!the!regulato ry!process!continue!after!rules!are!published?
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What!are!interpre tive!rules!and!policy!statements?
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When!do!the!courts!get!involve d!in!rulemaking?
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!The!material!presented!i n!this!guide!is!nece ssarily!general!in!nature!a nd!should!not!be!used!to!make!legal!dec isions.!!We!use!
the!terms!“r ule”!and!“regulation”!interchan geably !in!the!text.!!The!guide!is! adapted!from!several!major!sources:!!the!Cornell!e‐
Rulemaking!Initiative!(CeRI)!“Regulation!Room,”!hosted!by!the!Cor nell!Legal!Informat ion!Institute!(LII)!at!
http://regulationroom.o rg/lear n‐about‐rulemaking/
;!the!“Reg!Map”!created!by!ICF!Consulting!with!t he!cooperation!of!the!
General!Services!Administration's!Regulatory!Informatio n!Service!Center!at!!
http://www.regin fo.gov/public/reginfo/Regmap/index.jsp
!;!the! Office!of!the!Federal!Reg ister’s!tutorial:!“The!Federal!Reg ister:!!
What !it!Is!and!How!to!Use!It”!at!http://www.archives.gov/federal‐register/tutor ial/online‐html.html#top
;!and! !the!D epartment!
of!Transportation’ s!“The!Informal!Rulemaki ng!Process
,”!wh ich!has!more!detailed!inf ormation!and!examples! on!the!rulem aking!
process.!!In!addition,!yo u!may!wish!t o!cons ult!DOT’s!“Rulemaking!Requirements
”!(prepared! by!Nei l!Eisner,!April!2009 ),!which!
provides!hyperlinks!for! easy!access!to!the!statutes,!executive!o rders,!guidance!documents,!memoranda,!etc.!that!contain!the!
actual!legal!re quirements!or!prov ide!guidance !on!the!rulemaking!process.!!
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