Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T07:06:21.533Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Separation of Powers and the Politics of Administrative Rule Review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2021

Neal D. Woods
Neal D. Woods*
Affiliation:
University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA
*
Neal D. Woods, Department of Political Science, University of South Carolina, 1600 Hampton Street, Columbia, SC 29208, USA. Email: neal.woods@sc.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In many states, agency rules are subject to review and possible veto by elected political officials in the legislative and/or executive branches. The consequences of this rule review authority are little understood. Using time-series cross-section data on state environmental compliance costs, this study investigates the impact that several types of administrative rule review procedures have on the stringency of state environmental regulation. The findings suggest that (1) both gubernatorial and legislative rule review powers are systematically associated with reduced environmental compliance costs, (2) legislatures controlled by the Democratic Party use rule review powers to reduce these costs less than Republican ones, and (3) the latter effect is observable only when legislatures have the power to amend or veto rules without the approval of the governor. These results indicate that rule review plays an important, but complex, role in shaping regulatory outcomes.

Keywords

legislative/executive interactionlegislative politicsbureaucracy, executive politicsenvironmental policypublic policyregulatory policypolicy implementation
Type
Research Article
Information
State Politics & Policy Quarterly , Volume 15 , Issue 3: Special Issue Title: Regulation in the States , September 2015 , pp. 345 - 365
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2015

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, Jerry L., and Poyner, Christopher. 2013. “A Constitutional and Empirical Analysis of Iowa's Administrative Rules Review Committee Procedure.” Drake Law Review 61:1–84.Google Scholar
Balla, Steven J. 2000. “Legislative Organization and Congressional Review of Agency Regulations.” Journal of Law, Economics, & Organization 16:424–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baltagi, Badi. 1995. Econometric Analysis of Panel Data. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Barrilleaux, Charles, and Berkman, Michael. 2003. “Do Governors Matter? Budgeting Roles and the Politics of State Policymaking.” Political Research Quarterly 56:409–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berry, William, Fording, Richard, and Hansen, Russell. 2000. “An Annual Cost of Living Index for the American States 1960-1995.” Journal of Politics 65:327–49.Google Scholar
Berry, William, Ringquist, Evan J., Fording, Richard, and Hansen, Russell. 1998. “Measuring Citizen and Government Ideology in the American States: 1960–93.” American Journal of Political Science 42:418–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowers, James R. 1989. “Agency Responsiveness to the Legislative Oversight of Administrative Rulemaking: A Case Study of Rules Review in the Illinois General Assembly.” American Review of Public Administration 19:217–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowling, Cynthia J., and Ferguson, Margaret. 2001. “Divided Government, Interest Representation and Policy Differences: Competing Explanations of Gridlock in the Fifty States.” Journal of Politics 63:182–206.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowman, Ann O'M., Woods, Neal D., and Stark II., Milton R. 2010. “Governors Turn Pro: Separation of Powers and the Institutionalization of the American Governorship.” Political Research Quarterly 63:304–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bruff, Harold, and Gellhorn, Ernest. 1977. “Congressional Control of Administrative Regulation: A Study of Legislative Vetoes.” Harvard Law Review 90:1369–440.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carpenter, Daniel P. 1996. “Adaptive Signal Processing, Hierarchy, and Budgetary Control in Federal Regulation.” American Political Science Review 90:283–302.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chubb, John E. 1983. Interest Groups and the Bureaucracy. Palo Alto: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Cooper, Joseph, and West, William F.. 1988. “Presidential Power and Republican Government: The Theory and Practice of OMB Review of Agency Rules.” Journal of Politics 50:864–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cooper, Philip J. 2007. Public Law and Public Administration. 4th ed. Belmont: Thomson Wadsworth.Google Scholar
Council of State Governments. Various Years. The Book of the States. Lexington: Council of State Governments.Google Scholar
Craig, Barbara Hickson. 1983. “The Congressional Veto and Rulemaking.” Public Administration Quarterly 6:22–42.Google Scholar
Daley, Dorothy M., Haider-Markel, Donald P., and Whitford, Andrew B.. 2007. “Checks, Balances, and the Cost of Regulation: Evidence from the American States.” Political Research Quarterly 60:696–706.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dean, Kenneth D. 1992. “Legislative Veto of Administrative Rules in Missouri: A Constitutional Virus.” Missouri Law Review 57:1157–231.Google Scholar
Dometrius, Nelson C., and Wright, Deil S.. 2010. “Governors, Legislatures, and State Budgets across Time.” Political Research Quarterly 63:783–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ederington, Josh, Levinson, Arik, and Minier, Jenny. 2005. “Footloose and Pollution-Free.” Review of Economics and Statistics 87:92–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elling, Richard C. 1992. Public Management in the States: A Comparative Study of Administrative Performance and Politics. Westport: Praeger.Google Scholar
Ethridge, Marcus E. 1981. “Legislative-Administrative Interactions as ‘Intrusive Access’: An Empirical Analysis.” Journal of Politics 43:473–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ethridge, Marcus E. 1984. “Consequences of Legislative Review of Agency Regulations in Three U.S. States.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 12:475–520.Google Scholar
Ethridge, Marcus E. 1985. Legislative Participation in Implementation: Policy through Politics. New York: Praeger.Google Scholar
Feiock, Richard, and Rowland, C. K.. 1990. “Environmental Regulation and Economic Development: The Movement of Chemical Production among States.” Western Political Quarterly 43:562–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferguson, Margaret. 2003. “Chief Executive Success in the Legislative Arena.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly 3:153–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferguson, Margaret. 2013. “Governors and the Executive Branch.” In Politics in the American States: A Comparative Analysis. 10th ed., eds. Virginia Gray, Russell Hansen, and Thad Kousser. Washington, DC: CQ Press. Pp. 208–50.Google Scholar
Fredriksson, Per G., and Millimet, Daniel L.. 2002. “Strategic Interaction and the Determination of Environmental Policy across U.S. States.” Journal of Urban Economics 51:101–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frickey, Phillip. 1985. “Constitutionality of Legislative Review of Administrative Rules: The Case of Minnesota.” Minnesota Law Review 70:1237–78.Google Scholar
Gerber, Brian, Maestas, Cherie, and Dometrius, Nelson. 2005. “State Legislative Influence over Agency Rulemaking: The Utility of Ex Ante Review.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly 5 (1): 24–46..CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gilmour, Robert S. 1982. “The Congressional Veto: Shifting the Balance of Administrative Control.” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 2:13–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gormley, William. 1996. “Accountability Battles in State Administration.” In The State of the States. 3rd ed., ed. Carl Van Horn. Washington, DC: CQ Press. Pp. 161–78.Google Scholar
Grady, Dennis O., and Simon, Kathleen M.. 2002. “Political Restraints and Bureaucratic Discretion: The Case of State Government Rule Making.” Politics & Policy 30:646–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gray, Virginia, and Lowery, David. 1996. The Population Ecology of Interest Representation: Lobbying Communities in the American States. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hamm, Keith, and Robertson, Roby D.. 1981. “Factors Influencing the Adoption of New Methods of Legislative Oversight in the U.S. States.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 6:133–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hart, Stuart L., and Ahuja, Gautam. 1996. “Does It Pay to Be Green? An Empirical Examination of the Relationship between Emission Reduction and Firm Performance.” Business Strategy and the Environment 5:30–37.3.0.CO;2-Q>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huber, John D., Shipan, Charles R., and Pfahler, Madelaine. 2001. “Legislatures and Statutory Control of the Bureaucracy.” American Journal of Political Science 45:330–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krause, George A., and Melusky, Benjamin F.. 2012. “Concentrated Powers: Unilateral Executive Authority and Fiscal Policymaking in the American States.” Journal of Politics 74:98–112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krause, George A., and Woods, Neal D.. 2014. “State Bureaucracy: Policy Delegation, Comparative Institutional Capacity, and Administrative Politics in the American States.” In Oxford Handbook of State and Local Government, ed. Haider-Markel, Donald P.. New York: Oxford University Press. Pp. 363–93.Google Scholar
Levinson, Arik. 2001. “An Industry Adjusted Index of State Environmental Compliance Costs.” In Behavioral and Distributional Effects of Environmental Policy, eds., Carraro, Carlo and Metcalf, Gilbert E.. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Pp. 131–55.Google Scholar
Levinson, L. Harold. 1982. “Legislative and Executive Veto of Rules of Administrative Agencies: Models and Alternatives.” William & Mary Law Review 79:113–15.Google Scholar
Levinson, L. Harold. 1987. “The Decline of the Legislative Veto: Federal/State Comparisons and Interactions.” Publius: The Journal of Federalism 17:115–32.Google Scholar
Lindblom, Charles E. 1982. “The Market as Prison.” Journal of Politics 44:324–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
List, John A., and Sturm, Daniel. 2006. “How Elections Matter: Theory and Evidence from Environmental Policy.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 121:1249–81.Google Scholar
Lowery, David, and Gray, Virginia. 1997. “How Some Rules Just Don't Matter: The Regulation of Lobbyists.” Public Choice 91:139–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lowi, Theodore J. 1979. The End of Liberalism. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton.Google Scholar
McGarity, Thomas O. 1991. Reinventing Rationality: The Role of Regulatory Analysis in the Federal Bureaucracy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moe, Terry M. 1985. “Control and Feedback in Economic Regulation: The Case of the NLRB.” American Political Science Review 79:1094–116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
National Association on Administrative Rules Review. 1996. 1996-97 Administrative Rules Review Directory and Survey. Lombard, IL: Thomas Legal.Google Scholar
O'Connell, Anne Joseph. 2008. “Political Cycles of Rulemaking: An Empirical Portrait of the Modern Administrative State.” Virginia Law Review 94:889–986.Google Scholar
Poggione, Sarah J., and Reenock, Christopher. 2009. “Political Insulation and Legislative Interventions: The Impact of Rule Review.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly 9:456–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reenock, Christopher and Gerber, Brian. 2008. “Information Exchange and Interest Group Enfranchisement through Agency Design” Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 18:415–40.Google Scholar
Ringquist, Evan J. 1995. “Political Control and Policy Impact in EPA's Office of Water Quality.” American Journal of Political Science 39:336–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ripley, Randall B., and Franklin, Grace A.. 1986. Policy Implementation and Bureaucracy. Chicago: Dorsey Press.Google Scholar
Rosenthal, Alan. 1990. Governors and Legislatures: Contending Powers. Washington, DC: CQ Press.Google Scholar
Schwartz, Jason A. 2010. “52 Experiments with Regulatory Review: The Political and Economic Inputs into State Rulemakings.” NYU School of Law: Institute for Policy Integrity Report No. 6. http://policyintegrity.org/files/publications/52_Experiments_with_Regulatory_Review.pdfGoogle Scholar
Squire, Peverill. 2007. “Measuring State Legislative Professionalism: The Squire Index Revisited.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly 7:211–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stigler, George. 1971. “The Theory of Economic Regulation.” Bell Journal of Economics 2:3–21.Google Scholar
Sundquist, James R. 1981. The Decline and Resurgence of Congress. Washington, DC: Brookings.Google Scholar
Tharp, Stacey M. 2001. “Legislative Powers of Rules Review in the States and Congressional Powers of Rule Review.” Report to the Administrative Law Advisory Committee, Commonwealth of Virginia. http://codecommission.dls.virginia.gov/documents/alac/studies/2001/legrev1.pdfGoogle Scholar
U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. Various Years. State Government Finances. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.Google Scholar
West, William, and Cooper, Joseph. 1983. “The Congressional Veto and Administrative Rulemaking.” Political Science Quarterly 98:285–304.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
West, William, and Cooper, Joseph. 1989. “Legislative Influence v. Presidential Dominance: Competing Models of Bureaucratic Control.” Political Science Quarterly 104:581–606.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, Bruce A., and Matheny, Albert R.. 1984. “Testing Theories of Social Regulation: Hazardous Waste Regulation in the American States.” Journal of Politics 46:428–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wood, B. Dan, and Waterman, Richard W.. 1994. Bureaucratic Dynamics. Boulder: Westview.Google Scholar
Woods, Neal D. 2004. “Political Influence on Agency Rule Making: Examining the Effects of Legislative and Gubernatorial Rule Review Powers.” State and Local Government Review 36:174–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woods, Neal D. 2005. “Interest Group Influence on State Administrative Rule Making: The Impact of Rule Review.” American Review of Public Administration 35:402–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woods, Neal D. 2008. “The Policy Consequences of Political Corruption: Evidence from State Environmental Programs.” Social Science Quarterly 89:258–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woods, Neal D. 2009. “Promoting Participation? An Examination of Rulemaking Notification and Access Procedures.” Public Administration Review 69:149–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yackee, Jason Webb, and Yackee, Susan Webb. 2006. “A Bias toward Business? Assessing Interest Group Influence on the U.S. Bureaucracy.” Journal of Politics 68:128–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yackee, Susan Webb. 2006. “Assessing Inter-institutional Attention to and Influence on Government Regulations.” British Journal of Political Science 36:723–44.Google Scholar