Court decisions, notably Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference v. FPC,[1] have emphasized that in licensing cases the Federal Power Commission must explore and give proper consideration to possible alternatives to the specific plan proposed by the applicant. This principle may in the future be applied to other licensing agencies. Since the range of possible alternatives in any case can be extensive and in some...
Historical Recommendations (1968 - 1995)
- Recommendation number: 69-7
- Adopted on: October 22, 1969
- Tags: Environmental Law, Licensing, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
- Recommendation number: 69-8
- Adopted on: October 22, 1969
- Tags: Administrative Procedure Act (APA), Congress, Public Participation, Rulemaking
Recommendation
In order to assure that Federal agencies will have the benefit of the information and opinion that can be supplied by persons whom regulations will affect, the Administrative Procedure Act requires that the public must have opportunity to participate in rulemaking proceedings. The procedures to assure this opportunity are not required by law, however, when rules are...
- Recommendation number: 69-9
- Adopted on: October 22, 1969
- Tags: Administrative Law Judges (ALJs), Federal Employees, Hearing Officers
Recommendation
A. Recruitment and Selection of Hearing Examiners
1. The Civil Service Commission should enlarge the base of recruitment and the number of qualified candidates available for appointment to hearing examiner positions by recognizing trial experience as one basis for qualification.
2. The Civil Service Commission should...
- Recommendation number: 68-1
- Adopted on: December 11, 1968
- Tags: Federal Facilities, Hearings
Administrative hearings of the Federal Government should be conducted in dignified, efficient hearing rooms, appropriate as to size, arrangement, and furnishings. At the present time no central body is responsible for providing or planning the needed facilities. As a particular consequence, administrative hearings often have been conducted in surroundings unsuitable to the seriousness of these governmental...
- Recommendation number: 68-2
- Adopted on: December 11, 1968
- Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Public Information, Publication
The manual at present falls short of its goal because the narrative text submitted by some of the agencies is outdated, unrevealing, cumbersome, or otherwise deficient. The text should be rewritten at a high level of competence.
Recommendation
1. Each agency covered by 5 U.S.C. 552 should assign the writing of material for the “U.S. Government Organization Manual” to an office having the competence to...
- Recommendation number: 68-3
- Adopted on: December 11, 1968
- Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Public Information, Publication
The Parallel Table of Statutory Authorities and Rules (2 CFR ch. I) should be an accurate and complete listing of United States Code provisions cited as rulemaking authority in executive agency documents which prescribe general and permanent rules. The present Parallel Table is deficient. Agencies have not given sufficient time and attention to citing proper authorities and to keeping them current. Moreover, the...
- Recommendation number: 68-4
- Adopted on: December 11, 1968
- Tags: Consumers, Public Information, Publication
Most Americans are probably unaware of the multitude of day-to-day Federal activities reflected in proposed, revised, and recently promulgated rules, regulations, or determinations which substantially affect the price, quantity, quality, labeling, safety, and other aspects of products and services available to the public. A bulletin of general distribution containing an easily understood summary of current...
- Recommendation number: 68-5
- Adopted on: December 11, 1968
- Tags: Advisory Committees, Congress, People’s Counsel, Representation, Rulemaking
A. Agency Efforts
1. Federal agencies should engage more extensively in affirmative, self-initiated efforts to ascertain directly from the poor their views with respect to rulemaking that may affect them substantially. For this purpose, agencies should make strong efforts, by use of existing as well as newly devised procedures, to obtain information and opinion from those whose...
- Recommendation number: 68-6
- Adopted on: December 11, 1968
- Tags: Delegation, Discretion, Intermediate Appellate Boards
Recommendation
1. In order to make more efficient use of the time and energies of agency members and their staffs, to improve the quality of decision without sacrificing procedural fairness, and to help eliminate delay in the administrative process, every agency having a substantial caseload of formal adjudications should consider the establishment of one or more intermediate appellate...
- Recommendation number: 68-7
- Adopted on: December 11, 1968
- Tags: Congress, Judicial Review, Jurisdiction, Jurisdictional Amount
Title 28 of the United States Code should be amended to eliminate any requirement of a minimum jurisdictional amount before U.S. district courts may exercise original jurisdiction over any action in which the plaintiff alleges that he has been injured or threatened with injury by an officer or employee of the United States or any agency thereof, acting under color of Federal law. This amendment is not to affect...