How You Can Influence Government Rules and Regulations

The process of making laws, both at the state and federal levels, is the subject of much study, commentary and media attention. Reporters, lobbyists and advocacy groups flock to Capitol Hill or to state capitals for important votes, debates, and testimony for or against various bills.

When bills that survive the gauntlet of committees and floor votes are finally signed into law, those involved in the process tend to treat it as the end of the story.

But getting a law onto the books is usually only the beginning of the process that brings about change "on the ground". The next step is for the agency charged with enforcing the new law to write administrative rules or regulations to implement it.

In contrast to the more dramatic process of legislative debate, the process of adopting rules generally takes place quietly and without much notice. The rules process, however, builds upon and adds detail to the law, and determines how it will impact the people or groups to which the law applies.

For example, a state legislature may pass a law requiring day care centers to undergo annual safety inspections, but leave it to the state's child protective agency to set details such as who may perform inspections and how long a day care center has to correct problems before facing the threat of closure.

Agency rules, rather than laws passed by legislatures, often determine things such as the fees professionals such as doctors, teachers, plumbers and hairstylists pay for their licenses or certificates; the dates of hunting seasons and the cost of hunting or fishing licenses; what safety features must be installed on school buses; the temperatures at which hot or cold foods must be kept in restaurants and cafeterias; application deadlines for state-sponsored college scholarships or financial aid; or income thresholds for programs designed to aid the elderly or poor families.

The details covered by administrative rules permeate nearly every aspect of daily life. For that reason, the federal and most state governments provide means for persons affected by such rules to make their concerns known before a rule takes effect.