Abstract
We provide the first empirical assessment of commenter influence during the rule development stage of administrative rulemaking. We argue that public commenters play a critical agenda-setting role during rule development. To test this proposition, we analyze data from 36 Department of Transportation rules and almost 500 comments. Each of these rules began with an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking-a procedure that allows us to track the formal participation of interested parties during rule development. Our analyses are supplemented by face-to-face interviews with agency officials. We find a strong agenda-setting role for early commenters-both in terms of affecting the content of future regulations and in thwarting unwanted regulations. We conclude that " early-bird" commenters are well positioned to frame public policy debates as rules move through the regulatory process.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 258-277 |
Number of pages | 20 |
Journal | Journal of Policy Analysis and Management |
Volume | 28 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Dec 2009 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Business, Management and Accounting(all)
- Sociology and Political Science
- Public Administration