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CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Regulation and the Courts

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Chapter Summary

Government regulation--how much government should intrude into the lives of its citizens and private organizations--is a core question for public policymakers. Government regulation can be either economic or social. State and local regulation can be either with or without involvement of the national government. The two regulatory approaches are administrative rulemaking, which emphasizes broad standards for all people or organizations, and adjudication, which focuses on individual cases.

Courts control the regulatory system by settling appeals from agency rules and specific decisions or by dealing with suits filed against agencies. Especially since the Reagan administration, presidents have been working hard to exert greater control over government regulation. Some discretion must be given to regulatory agencies, yet that discretion is subject to abuse.