BAR ADMINISTRATIVE LAW ACTUAL
QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS
COMPLETE LEGAL STUDY GUIDE
●● What is an agency?
Answer: 1. They live in the executive branch, but they have
responsibilities spanning all three branches (rulemaking = legislative,
adjudication = judicial)
2. Agency - an authority of the government that does part of the
government's work using government resources
a. APA § 551 defines an agency as something that grants authority
b. Authority is not defined in the APA
c. This definition is broad enough that it could include individuals ex.
Secretary of State
●● Exceptions to the Definition of an Agency
Answer: Congress, the Courts, and the President
●● Main Agency Functions
Answer: a. Regulate Private Conduct - can enforce their own regulations
and other government laws (can use fines or can file suit against them
under a government law)
,b. Administer Entitlement Programs - Focus on dispensing federal and
state funds for a specified purpose to the proper recipients
c. Licensing
d. Other Duties
i. Provide public services
ii. Manage public lands (ex. State parks)
●● Types of Agency Action
Answer: 1. Rulemaking (legislative function - can still be challenged as
unconstitutional or bad interpretation of congressional intent)
2. Adjudication (judicial function - determine whether someone has
violated a law or rule)
3. Investigations (consider 4th Amendment issues - executive action to
enforce the will of Congress)
4. Separation of Powers
●● APA 551(7) - Adjudication
Answer: The formulation of an order (agency disposition except
decisions produced by rulemaking)
●● APA 551(6) - Order
Answer: The whole or part of a final disposition (result of adjudication)
other than rule making but including licensing
,●● APA 551(5) - Rulemaking
Answer: Agency process for formulating, amending, or repealing a rule
●● APA 551(4) - Rule
Answer: An agency statement of future effect designed to implement,
interpret, or prescribe law or policy (something with general
applicability and future effect)
●● Purposes of the APA
Answer: 1. Keep the public informed and involved
2. Uniformity
3. Restate the law of judicial review
●● Three Steps to decide whether an issue falls under the APA
Answer: 1. Does the APA apply to this inquiry?
a. Is the entity here an agency as defined by APA § 551
2. Does the APA apply to the agency action here (rulemaking,
adjudication, or other) in whole or in part?
a. Need to check the enabling legislation/statute
b. Some statutes exempt particular agencies from particular
review/procedures and set forth their own procedures
c. In order to meet this kind of exception, the organic statute must have
been written after the APA and must state explicitly that the agency is
exempt
, 3. How does the APA interact with other applicable laws (the enabling
statute, coordinating laws, the Constitution)
●● Process of Evaluating Rulemaking
Answer: a. Are you dealing with an agency as defined by APA § 551
b. Did the agency action here actually result in a rule as defined in APA
§ 551(4)(general applicability and future effect - can sometimes apply to
a particular individual or entity, but it is still drafted to have genearl
effect)
c. Did this rule fall under an exception (APA §§ 553(a); (b)(3))
d. Is this subject to additional hybrid procedures?
i. Enabling statute?
ii. Agency rules?
iii. Executive order?
e. Can you use judicial review? (APA §§ 704, 706)
f. Does this fall under an exception to judicial review? (APA §§ 701(a)
and 704)
●● Different Procedures for Promulgating Rules
Answer: a. Informal - APA §§ 553(b)-(d)
b. Formal - APA §§ 553(b)-(d), 556, and 557
c. Also Hybrid rulemaking which is considered a more formal version of
informal, not a less formal version of formal
QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS
COMPLETE LEGAL STUDY GUIDE
●● What is an agency?
Answer: 1. They live in the executive branch, but they have
responsibilities spanning all three branches (rulemaking = legislative,
adjudication = judicial)
2. Agency - an authority of the government that does part of the
government's work using government resources
a. APA § 551 defines an agency as something that grants authority
b. Authority is not defined in the APA
c. This definition is broad enough that it could include individuals ex.
Secretary of State
●● Exceptions to the Definition of an Agency
Answer: Congress, the Courts, and the President
●● Main Agency Functions
Answer: a. Regulate Private Conduct - can enforce their own regulations
and other government laws (can use fines or can file suit against them
under a government law)
,b. Administer Entitlement Programs - Focus on dispensing federal and
state funds for a specified purpose to the proper recipients
c. Licensing
d. Other Duties
i. Provide public services
ii. Manage public lands (ex. State parks)
●● Types of Agency Action
Answer: 1. Rulemaking (legislative function - can still be challenged as
unconstitutional or bad interpretation of congressional intent)
2. Adjudication (judicial function - determine whether someone has
violated a law or rule)
3. Investigations (consider 4th Amendment issues - executive action to
enforce the will of Congress)
4. Separation of Powers
●● APA 551(7) - Adjudication
Answer: The formulation of an order (agency disposition except
decisions produced by rulemaking)
●● APA 551(6) - Order
Answer: The whole or part of a final disposition (result of adjudication)
other than rule making but including licensing
,●● APA 551(5) - Rulemaking
Answer: Agency process for formulating, amending, or repealing a rule
●● APA 551(4) - Rule
Answer: An agency statement of future effect designed to implement,
interpret, or prescribe law or policy (something with general
applicability and future effect)
●● Purposes of the APA
Answer: 1. Keep the public informed and involved
2. Uniformity
3. Restate the law of judicial review
●● Three Steps to decide whether an issue falls under the APA
Answer: 1. Does the APA apply to this inquiry?
a. Is the entity here an agency as defined by APA § 551
2. Does the APA apply to the agency action here (rulemaking,
adjudication, or other) in whole or in part?
a. Need to check the enabling legislation/statute
b. Some statutes exempt particular agencies from particular
review/procedures and set forth their own procedures
c. In order to meet this kind of exception, the organic statute must have
been written after the APA and must state explicitly that the agency is
exempt
, 3. How does the APA interact with other applicable laws (the enabling
statute, coordinating laws, the Constitution)
●● Process of Evaluating Rulemaking
Answer: a. Are you dealing with an agency as defined by APA § 551
b. Did the agency action here actually result in a rule as defined in APA
§ 551(4)(general applicability and future effect - can sometimes apply to
a particular individual or entity, but it is still drafted to have genearl
effect)
c. Did this rule fall under an exception (APA §§ 553(a); (b)(3))
d. Is this subject to additional hybrid procedures?
i. Enabling statute?
ii. Agency rules?
iii. Executive order?
e. Can you use judicial review? (APA §§ 704, 706)
f. Does this fall under an exception to judicial review? (APA §§ 701(a)
and 704)
●● Different Procedures for Promulgating Rules
Answer: a. Informal - APA §§ 553(b)-(d)
b. Formal - APA §§ 553(b)-(d), 556, and 557
c. Also Hybrid rulemaking which is considered a more formal version of
informal, not a less formal version of formal
