by James T. O'Reilly

"Who's on First?" The classic comedy routine is a long way away from the typically rigid silos of administrative law. But on Saturday afternoon, April 19, at the Hotel Washington on 14th Street in Washington, D.C., your Council will be struggling with the relative authorities of administrative agencies and the Congress to make rules "final." Who gets the "final" word on a regulation, and by what means? The debate affects you and your clients, so please consider joining us.

You need to know when an agency rule has become final and effective. The congressional review process of the 1996 SBREFA statute allows Congress not only to pontificate about an agency's final rule, but to dis-establish the final rule, eliminating the rule as if it had never occurred, and precluding the agency from adopting a rule on the same topic until it gets newer or more authority in a revised statute. Nuclear weapons' neutron bomb technology comes to mind -- rarely if ever used, the threat carries weight in how closely agencies stick to the directives they are given by leaders of the congressional factions for and against the policy that this rule presented.

This has been a busy year. Your Section's committees have also been working on hot issues, like "when and why should a reviewing court remand a rule without vacating it?" and "how should states manage central panels of administrative law judges?" A number of significant service-oriented programs like the use of Ombudsmen in federal and state agencies will also be addressed in our April 18-19 sessions. Our Website and publication ventures are taking shape. I encourage you to get more active, to contact us with ideas for programs and publications (OREILLY.JT@PG.COM or fax 513 983-8768) and to bring the richness of your ideas to the many tasks of improving administrative practice. We'll see you in April in Washington!