Administrative Procedure Act Essay Example

their mandate and specificity. As outlined separately in the two Acts, the Federal APA provides basic legislative standards that would offer general guidance to the processes of lawmaking and or public policymaking in all constituent states such as Arizona- a measure to ensure uniformity in the enforcement of Federal laws throughout U.S. Contrarily, the Arizona Administrative Procedures Act is highly specific in regard to the content, definition of rules, application of the rules, interpretations, exemptions, and elaborate procedures of the lawmaking depending on the existing regulations of the concerned agency.

For instance the general definition of rule according to the Federal APA is given as:

[T]he whole or a part of an agency statement of general or particular applicability and future effect deesigned to implement, interpret, or prescribe law or policy or describing the organization, procedure, or practice requirements of an agency . . . (Federal APA 2010)

On the other side, the Arizona APA defines the same concept as follows:

“Rule” means an agency statement of general applicability that implements, interprets or prescribes law or policy, or describes the procedure or practice requirements of an agency. Rule includes prescribing fees or the amendment or repeal of a prior rule but does not include intra-agency memoranda that are not delegation agreements” (ARS 17).

It is quite imperative to note that the general public is not directly involved in rulemaking process at the Federal government but their representatives at the Congress do. Specific interests of the public do not take a centre stage during rulemaking at the Congress because Congress aims at enacting general rules that cater the wider interests of the Federal government. In sharp contrast, the

public has a bigger role to play in the Arizona’s rule making process. As explained in the Arizona APA, the public must be involved in all the processes of rulemaking. This will ensure that the resultant rules represent the best interest of the nation Arizona.