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Administrative Law

This guide has been designed to provide resources to administrative materials.

Rulemaking

Congress transfers legislative authority to agencies under the delegation doctrine, which can be a broad or specific grant of power. Rulemaking is one of the main mechanisms through which agencies act. Administrative rules, also referred to interchangeably as regulations, are adopted by agencies and are considered primary legal authority.

Finding Regulations- Federal Register & Code of Federal Regulations

The Federal Register (F.R.), is the official daily publication of the executive branch that includes a variety of information about agency activities such as

  • notices,
  • meetings,
  • proposed and final regulations, and
  • presidential executive orders and proclamations.

Proposed and final regulations are accompanied by extensive explanation and background about the purpose of the action and the comments received. This information is often useful in interpreting regulations, in the same way that legislative history is used to interpret statutes.

According to Bluebook Rule 14.2, the citation format for the F.R. is as follows:incare
FCC Television Airwaves Services and Regulations, 60 Fed. Reg. 68,380, 68,382 (Oct. 25, 2000) (to be codified at 48 C.F.R. § 38.48).

  • FCC Television Airwaves Services and Regulation = title of the rule or regulation
  • 60 = volume of the Federal Register
  • Fed. Reg.= Bluebook abbreviation for Federal Register
  • 68,380= page on which the rule or regulation begins
  • 68,382= page on which the cited material appears (similiar to a pincite)
  • (Oct. 25, 2000) = date of the rule or regulation
  • (to be codified at 48 C.F.R. § 38.48) = where the rule or regualtion will appear in the Code of Federal Regulations

The Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) is the annual codification of the final rules (regulations) published in the Federal Register.The CFR is divided into 50 titles that represent broad subject areas.

According to Bluebook Rule 14.2, the citation format for the C.F.R. is as follows:

FCC Television Airwaves Services and Regulations, 48 C.F.R. § 38.48 (1993).

  • FCC Television Airwaves Services and Regulations = title of the rule or regulation
  • 48 = C.F.R. title number
  • C.F.R.= Blubook abbreviation for Code of Federal Regulations
  • § 38.48 = particular section cited
  • (1993) = year of the publication