The Conference believes that it is important to ensure that services provided by government contractors—particularly those services that are similar to those performed by government employees—are performed with integrity and that the public interest is protected. In that light, the Conference recommends that the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (“FAR Council”) promulgate model language in the Federal...
Current Recommendations (2010 - Present)
Projects: Government Contractor Ethics
- Recommendation number: 2011-3
- Adopted on: June 17, 2011
- Committees: Administration and Management
Projects: Video Hearings
- Recommendation number: 2011-4
- Adopted on: June 17, 2011
- Committees: Adjudication
- Tags: Video Hearings
Since the early 1990s, video teleconferencing technology (“VTC”) has been explored by various entities in the public and private sectors for its potential use in administrative hearings and other adjudicatory proceedings.1
In the last 10 years, advances in technology and carrier services coupled with reduced personnel and increased travel costs have made the use of VTC more attractive to...
Projects: Incorporation by Reference
- Recommendation number: 2011-5
- Adopted on: December 8, 2011
- Committees: Administration and Management
- Tags: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Health and Safety Regulation, Incorporation by Reference, Publication, Regulation, Technical Standards
Incorporation by reference allows agencies to comply with the requirement of publishing rules in the Federal Register to be codified in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) by referring to material published elsewhere.[1] The practice is first and foremost intended to—and in fact does—substantially reduce the size of the CFR. But it also furthers important, substantive regulatory policies, enabling agencies to draw on the...
Projects: International Regulatory Cooperation
- Recommendation number: 2011-6
- Adopted on: December 8, 2011
In June 1991, the Administrative Conference issued Recommendation 91-1, “Federal Agency Cooperation with Foreign Government Regulators,” finding that “[i]f American administrative agencies could ever afford to engage in regulatory activities without regard to the policies and practices of administrative agencies abroad, the character and pace of world developments suggest that that era has come to a close,”...
Projects: Federal Advisory Committee Act
- Recommendation number: 2011-7
- Adopted on: December 9, 2011
- Committees: Collaborative Governance
The Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), 5 U.S.C. App. 2, governs the process whereby the President or an administrative agency obtains advice from groups that include one or more non-federal employees. It places various limits on the formation of such groups and requires that group meetings be open to public attendance and permit at least a limited degree of public participation. Though Congress has...
Projects: Agency Innovations in e-Rulemaking
- Recommendation number: 2011-8
- Adopted on: December 9, 2011
- Tags: E-Rulemaking
The rulemaking function of federal regulatory agencies is typically accomplished today through “e-rulemaking”: that is, through “‘the use of digital technologies in the development and implementation of regulations,’ before or during the informal rulemaking process, i.e., notice-and-comment rulemaking under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).”1 The website www.regulations.gov centralizes much e-...
- Recommendation number: 2010-1
- Adopted on: December 9, 2010
- Tags: Congress, Preemption
Presidents Reagan and Clinton both issued executive orders mandating executive branch agencies,1 and urging independent agencies,2 to take certain measures to ensure proper respect for principles of federalism. Executive Order 13132, “Federalism,” issued by President Clinton on August 4, 1999 (the “Order”),3 is still in effect today, and is an amended version of President Reagan’s Executive Order on...