Seeking Continuous Improvement to the Administrative Process

ACUS identifies best practices for agency guidance, adjudications, and responses to constituent service requests.

The Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) is a federal agency that seeks to encourage continuous improvement in the efficiency and fairness of governmental administration. Since its creation in 1968, ACUS has developed many recommendations for all branches of government to improve how agencies “protect the public interest and determine the rights, privileges, and obligations of private persons.”

At its most recent plenary session held in June, ACUS adopted the following four recommendations directed to U.S. lawmakers and federal agencies:

ACUS revisited principles that it recommends Congress use in legislation to designate specific forums for judicial review of agency rules. It also offered advice on drafting forum-selection provisions.
ACUS identified best practices for agencies to follow when providing individualized guidance in response to requests from regulated entities and members of the public.
ACUS recommended best practices for determining the appropriate scope of Senate-confirmed officials’ participation in agency adjudications.
ACUS offered suggestions for how agencies should respond to congressional constituent service requests to improve the accuracy and timeliness of agencies’ responses.

The Regulatory Review invited the ACUS consultants who helped develop these recommendations to discuss their potential for improving administrative government.

This series of essays features the following contributors: Matthew A. Gluth of ACUS, Jeremy S. Graboyes of ACUS, Sean J. Kealy of Boston University School of Law, Joseph W. Mead of Georgetown University Law Center’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, Shalini Bhargava Ra y of the University of Alabama School of Law, and Jennifer L. Selin of Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.