The Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) is an independent federal agency within the executive branch whose statutory mission is to identify ways to improve the procedures by which federal agencies protect the public interest and determine the rights, privileges, and obligations of private persons.
ACUS has issued hundreds of recommendations since 1968 to improve the efficiency, adequacy, and fairness of rulemaking, adjudication, and other administrative processes. Many have resulted in reforms by federal agencies, the President, Congress, and the Judicial Conference of the United States.
Recommendations are issued by the Assembly, whose members include a Chairman appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate; ten presidential appointees who, together with the Chairman, comprise the Council; 50 Government Members, who are senior federal officials designated by the heads of participating agencies; and 40 Public Members, who are academics, practitioners, and other private-sector experts appointed by the Chairman and approved by the Council. Except for the Chairman, all members are unpaid.
A full-time staff in the Office of the Chairman supports the Assembly’s work and undertakes additional projects to study and improve federal administrative processes, including:
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Research Studies. ACUS consultants and staff regularly prepare reports on a wide variety of topics related to administrative procedure.
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Sourcebooks. ACUS publishes reference guides on a wide array of administrative procedure topics.
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Forums. ACUS organizes forums that bring together high-level government officials, academics, practitioners, public policy advocates, and others to discuss important topics of administrative procedure.
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Roundtables. ACUS convenes several bodies that meet periodically to discuss topics of interest to federal agencies.
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Working Groups. ACUS periodically convenes working groups to prepare model rules, handbooks, draft legislation, and other resources for improving administrative procedure.
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Ongoing Resources. ACUS provides several resources on an ongoing basis, including annual Equal Access to Justice Act reporting; monthly Information Interchange Bulletins and Updates in Federal Agency Adjudication; and periodic Summaries of Recent Administrative Law Reform Bills.
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Advice to Agencies and Congress. ACUS provides nonpartisan advice to executive-branch and congressional officials through formal and informal means, such as submitting comments on proposed rules, offering technical advice on statutes related to administrative procedure, and conducting trainings.
See here to learn more about ACUS’s organization, membership, and governance.