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Articles 1 - 4 of 4

Full-Text Articles in Law

The Future Of Agency Independence, Lisa S. Bressman, Robert B. Thompson Apr 2010

The Future Of Agency Independence, Lisa S. Bressman, Robert B. Thompson

Vanderbilt Law Review

Independent agencies have long been viewed as different from executive-branch agencies because the President lacks authority to fire their leaders for political reasons, such as failure to follow administration policy. In this Article, we identify mechanisms that make independent agencies increasingly responsive to presidential preferences. We find these mechanisms in a context where independent agencies traditionally have dominated: financial policy. In legislative proposals for securing market stability, we point to statutorily mandated collaboration on policy between the Federal Reserve Board and the Secretary of the Treasury. In administration practices for improving securities regulation, we focus on White House coordination of, …


Ecosystem Services And The Clean Water Act: Strategies For Fitting New Science Into Old Law, J.B. Ruhl Jan 2010

Ecosystem Services And The Clean Water Act: Strategies For Fitting New Science Into Old Law, J.B. Ruhl

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

This Article explores the administrative reform potential that exists for integrating new knowledge about ecosystem services into Clean Water Act (CWA) regulatory programs as an example for all environmental laws. Part II of the Article reviews the relevant general rules of federal administrative law governing agency interpretation of the policy space available under statutory authority for integrating new science into decision making. Part III then explores the strategies an agency such as EPA can use under those rules to integrate the concept of ecosystem services into regulatory programs by searching for statutory provisions to support what I call "direct protection" …


The Ncaa Rules Adoption, Interpretation, Enforcement, And Infractions Processes: The Laws That Regulate Them And The Nature Of Court Review, Josephine (Jo) R. Potuto Jan 2010

The Ncaa Rules Adoption, Interpretation, Enforcement, And Infractions Processes: The Laws That Regulate Them And The Nature Of Court Review, Josephine (Jo) R. Potuto

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This article takes a comprehensive look at how the NCAA is organized, describes the NCAA committee structure, and explains how the NCAA in its multitude of roles does its work. The article focuses particularly on the NCAA by law interpretation process and the policies, procedures, and scope of authority of the enforcement, infractions, and student-athlete reinstatement processes. In its description of the division of responsibility among enforcement, infractions and student-athlete reinstatement, the article emphasizes the independence of each. The article then assesses the functions and structure of the NCAA in light of the preogatives of a private, multi-state association and …


Climate Change, Dead Zones, And Massive Problems In The Administrative State: A Guide For Whittling Away, J.B. Ruhl, James Salzman Jan 2010

Climate Change, Dead Zones, And Massive Problems In The Administrative State: A Guide For Whittling Away, J.B. Ruhl, James Salzman

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Mandates that agencies solve massive problems such as sprawl and climate change roll easily out of the halls of legislatures, but as a practical matter what can any one agency do about them? Serious policy challenges such as these have dimensions far beyond the capacity of any single agency to manage effectively. Rather, as the Supreme Court recently observed in Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency, agencies, like legislatures, do not generally resolve massive problems in one fell swoop, but instead whittle away over time, refining their approach as circumstances change and they develop a more nuanced understanding of how best …