Reforming “Regulatory Reform”: A Progressive Framework for Agency Rulemaking in the Public Interest
Sho Sato Professor of Law and Faculty Director, Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment, University of California Berkeley Law
Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. Professor of Law, Georgetown Law
Distinguished Scholar in Residence and Adjunct Professor of Law at the New York University School of Law, and Jacob E. Davis and Jacob E. Davis II Chair in Law Emeritus at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.
October 3, 2018
In the wake of decades of increased corporate influence in politics, regulatory reform has become synonymous with deregulation. The current administration has taken on the mantle of deregulation through executive action, budgetary constraints, and rulemakings – leaving federal agencies without the financial resources to ensure safe working conditions, clean water, and safe pharmaceuticals for all Americans. In this Issue Brief, Professors Dan Farber, Lisa Heinzerling, and Peter Shane envision what regulatory reform might look like if approached with the view that regulation is in the public interest. Recognizing that “[n]o human institution is perfect, including administrative agencies,” the authors argue that these agencies have provided “incalculable value to American families, consumers, workers, patients, and students - everyone” and propose a series of changes to administrative rulemaking that would make the process more “inclusive, transparent, accountable, and evidence-based.”
View the Regulatory Reform Blog Symposium featuring blog posts by Lisa Heinzerling, Adam Zimmerman, Dan Farber, Peter Shane, and Rena Steinzor.