Disclosure of Agency Legal Materials

This proposed recommendation identifies statutory reforms that, if enacted by Congress, would provide clear standards as to what legal materials agencies must publish and where they must publish them (whether in the Federal Register, on their websites, or elsewhere). The amendments would also account for technological developments and correct certain statutory ambiguities and drafting errors. The objective of these amendments would be to ensure that agencies provide ready public access to important legal materials in the most efficient way possible.

Professor Bernard W. Bell (Rutgers Law School), Professor Cary Coglianese (University of Pennsylvania Law School), Professor Michael Eric Herz (Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law), Professor Margaret Kwoka (Ohio State University Moritz College of Law), and Professor Orly Lobel (University of San Diego School of Law) are serving as the consultants for this project. Professor Kwoka is serving as the lead consultant.

An Ad Hoc Committee, co-chaired by Public Member Aaron Nielson and Government Member Roxanne Rothschild, considered this project in spring 2023.

Featured Documents:

Project Documents

Name Committee Type Date File
Disclosure of Agency Legal Materials RFP RFP Download
RFI: Disclosure of Agency Legal Materials Notice Download
Response to RFI from Sean Croston 5 16 2022 Public Comment Download
Response to RFI from Senior Fellow Peter L. Strauss 5 17 2022 Member Comment Download
Response to RFI from Anonymous 5 17 2022 Public Comment Download
Comment from Consultative Group Member H. Russell Frisby, Jr. 6 7 2022 Member Comment Download
Comment from Consultative Group Member Thomas M. Susman 6 9 2022 Member Comment Download
Comment from Consultative Group Member Peter L. Strauss 5 19 2022 Member Comment Download
Comment from Consultative Group Member Courtney E Mallon 6 28 2022 Public Comment Download
Comment from Consultative Group Member Roxanne L. Rothschild 6 7 2022 Member Comment Download
Response to RFI from Adina H. Rosenbaum (Public Citizen) 7 11 2022 Public Comment Download
Response to RFI from Diane M. Rodriguez (AALLs) 7 12 2022 Public Comment Download
Response to RFI from Project on Government Oversight 7 18 2022 Public Comment Download
Response to RFI from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington 7 18 2022 Public Comment Download
Response to RFI from Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press 7 18 2022 Public Comment Download
Response to RFI from Daryl Joseffer (U.S. Chamber of Commerce Litigation Center) 7 18 2022 Public Comment Download
Response to RFI from Jeramie Scott, Jake Wiener, and John Davisson (EPIC) 7 18 2022 Public Comment Download
Comment from Consultative Group Member Peter L. Strauss 7 21 2022 Member Comment Download
Response to RFI from Robert E. Rutkowski 7 29 2022 Public Comment Download
Response to RFI from OSHA 7 29 2022 Member Comment Download
Comment from Consultative Group Member Thomas M. Susman 7 29 2022 Member Comment Download
Comment from Consultative Group Member Steph J. Tatham 8 16 2022 Member Comment Download
Comment from Consultative Group Member Edmund C. Baird 8 15 2022 Public Comment Download
Comment from Consultative Group Member Courtney Mallon 8 16 2022 Public Comment Download
Comment from Consultative Group Member Alan B. Morrison 8 24 2022 Member Comment Download
Comment from Consultative Group Member Alan Morrison on Disclosure of Agency Legal Materials 12.1.22 Public Comment Download
Comment from Consultative Group Member Peter Strauss on Disclosure of Agency Legal Materials 12.2.22 Public Comment Download
Disclosure of Agency Legal Materials Executive Summary and Tentative Recommendations Recommendation Download
Comment from Consultative Group Member Nina Mendelson on Disclosure of Agency Legal Materials 12.6.22 Public Comment Download
Comment from Consultative Group Member Burke Kappler on Disclosure of Agency Legal Materials 12.9.22 Public Comment Download

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