The following are selected highlights from the extensive work ACUS does. For more information on additional and ongoing ACUS Projects, subscribe to our mailing list.
76TH PLENARY SESSION
The Administrative Conference of the United States adopted five recommendations at the 76th Plenary Session on December 16, 2021. The recommendations have been published in the Federal Register and are also available on the ACUS website:
- Recommendation 2021-6, Public Access to Agency Adjudicative Proceedings
- Recommendation 2021-7, Public Availability of Inoperative Agency Guidance Documents
- Recommendation 2021-8, Technical Reform of the Congressional Review Act
- Recommendation 2021-9, Regulation of Representatives in Agency Adjudicative Proceedings
- Recommendation 2021-10, Quality Assurance Systems in Agency Adjudication
FORUM ON PUBLIC INPUT IN RULEMAKING
A recent ACUS forum explored the important role of public input in federal agency rulemaking. The forum featured two panels, “Defining and Identifying Sources of Public Input” and “Supplementing the Notice-and-Comment Process,” and remarks by Mariano-Florentino “Tino” Cuéllar, President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former California Supreme Court Justice. To watch the forum and learn more about ACUS’s work on public participation, visit www.acus.gov/publicparticipation.
PROPOSED STATUTE TO CLARIFY STATUTORY ACCESS TO JUDICIAL REVIEW
As suggested by the Assembly in Recommendation 2021-5, Clarifying Statutory Access to Judicial Review of Agency Action, ACUS’s Office of the Chairman submitted a proposed statute to key congressional committees. If enacted, it would implement the part of the Recommendation calling for amendments to Title 28 that would clarify the event that starts the time for seeking judicial review and the specific number of days in which review may be sought and provide that documents styled as a notice of appeal or complaint should be treated as such. The Office of the Chairman was assisted in the drafting of the proposed statute by the Working Group on Statutory Drafting.
REPORT ON ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION AT FEDERAL AGENCIES
A new report for ACUS by Kristen Blankley, Kathleen Claussen, and Judith Starr, Alternative Dispute Resolution in Agency Administrative Programs examines the use and design of ADR processes in regulatory enforcement, claims processing, and other public-facing adjudication.
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
We are currently seeking a consultant(s) to prepare a study for a new project, Public Availability of Settlement Agreements in Agency Enforcement Proceedings. Individuals interesting in serving as a consultant should review the request for proposals. Please email Matthew Gluth (mgluth@acus.gov) with any questions about the project.
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