Once Congress passes a bill, authorizes it, and appropriates funds,
the professionals employed by government agencies are then charged
with developing the procedures and guidelines by which a policy
will be implemented. Experienced advocates recognize that the development
of such rules and regulations must be monitored to ensure an agency
does not alter or diminish the intent of a law. For example, if
Congress passes a law to ensure adequate drinking water for citizens,
but agency regulations only require water quality testing every
10 years, the original intent of the law is lost.
The critical time for citizen involvement in the development
of regulations is when they are initially proposed by a specific
agency. Before new regulations become part of the Administrative
Code, they must first appear as proposals in the "Federal
Register." The public is usually allotted 60
to 90 days to submit written comments. If the rule/regulation
is related to a controversial or technical issue, the agency may
also schedule field hearings that allow additional citizen input.
When rules/regulations are finalized and announced, they carry
the same weight as laws and may invoke penalties for non-compliance.
Agencies develop policy statements and interpretive rulings that
explain specific aspects of individual regulations. Copies of
these documents and the implemented regulations may be obtained
from the agency responsible for ensuring compliance and from the
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
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