ACUS Announces Projects for Committee Consideration in Spring 2024

Four committees of ACUS members will meet in March, April, and May 2024 to develop proposed recommendations regarding:

Committee meeting dates will be posted to the calendar on ACUS’s website.

The full ACUS membership is expected to consider the proposed recommendations at the agency’s 81st Plenary Session on June 13, 2024.

Choice of Forum for Judicial Review of Agency Rules

The Committee on Judicial Review is developing a proposed recommendation to help Congress determining the appropriate forum and venue for judicial review of agency rules. The Committee is considering topics including:

  • Contexts in which agency rules should be subject to direct review by the courts of appeals rather than the district courts;
  • Contexts in which Congress should consider limiting the venue for judicial review of rules beyond what the ordinary rules of venue would permit;
  • Contexts in which the courts should consolidate multiple challenges to a single rule in a single case in a single court, and the processes for doing so; and
  • Common ambiguities and other drafting problems in the statutes governing the choice of forum for judicial review of agency rules.

To advise the Committee, ACUS has commissioned an independent research report from Joseph Mead (Georgetown Law Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection).

Click here to learn more about the project.

Congressional Constituent Service Inquiries

The Committee on Administration & Management is developing a proposed recommendation to help agencies receive, process, and respond to congressional inquiries made on behalf of constituents who need assistance accessing federal programs or navigating administrative processes. The Committee is considering:

  • The body of law governing agency responses to congressional constituent service inquiries;
  • The extent to which agencies have developed procedures for receiving, processing, and responding to such inquiries; and
  • The scope, content, internal dissemination, and public availability of these procedures where adopted.

To advise the Committee, ACUS has commissioned an independent research report from Sean Kealy (Boston University School of Law).

Click here to learn more about the project.

Individualized Guidance

The Committee on Rulemaking is developing proposed recommendations to promote fairness, accuracy, and efficiency in agency processes for responding to requests for advice from members of the public. The Committee is considering:

  • Processes for members of the public to request guidance from agencies;
  • Agency practices for drafting responses to guidance requests, including the personnel involved and mechanisms to ensure accuracy and consistency;
  • The public availability of individualized guidance documents; and
  • The extent to which members of the public can rely on legal interpretations and policy statements made in individualized guidance documents.

To advise the Committee, ACUS has commissioned an independent research report from Shalini Ray (University of Alabama School of Law).

Click here to learn more about the project.

Participation of Senate-Confirmed Officials in Administrative Adjudication

The Committee on Adjudication is developing proposed recommendations to help agencies determine whether, when, how, and how often Senate-confirmed officials should participate in the adjudication of individual cases. The Committee is considering:

  • Principles and practicalities that agencies should consider in structuring such participation; and
  • Best practices for developing and communicating relevant policies regarding such participation.

ACUS staff attorneys are preparing a research report to advise the Committee.

Click here to learn more about the project.