A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF RULEMAKING PROVISIONS IN STATE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE ACTS

As the primary source of procedures that state agencies must follow, state Administrative Procedure Acts (APAs) structure administrative discretion in the promulgation of rules and regulations. While the federal APA has been studied extensively, much less has been written about state procedural statutes. This article describes the major rulemaking provisions in state APAs and provides a broad, comparative, and systematic understanding of these provisions. Our analysis yields three major findings. First, state procedural statutes vary considerably in the extent to which they structure administrative discretion in rulemaking. Second, adoption of these rulemaking provisions tends to vary in a systematic way, as states first incorporate due process provisions, and then adopt responsiveness and rationality provisions. Third, in the area of procedural regulatory reform, states have made considerable strides in reforming regulatory administration.