I've griped about Federal Agencies and such a few times here. Particularly concerning the EPA and DDTC/ITAR.
It's annoying as citizens and such because there are 20-70K pages worth of changes to federal regulations a year, with around 10-15 new or changed regulations per day. See:
http://cei.org/sites/default/files/Wayne%20Crews%20-%2010,000%20Commandments%202011.pdfThis actually has an interesting run down concerning delegation of authority by Congress to federal agencies.
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/delegation+of+authorityA couple tidbits:
... concerning separation of powers...
Administrative agencies do not fit neatly into any of the three branches. They are frequently created by the legislature and are sometimes placed in the Executive Branch, but their functions reach into all three areas of government.
... ... ...
Combining the three functions of government allows an agency to tackle a problem and to get the job done most efficiently, but this combination has not been accepted without a struggle. Some observers have taken the position that the basic structure of the administrative law system is an unconstitutional violation of the principle of the Separation of Powers.
Delegation of authority:
The first issue that is encountered in the study of administrative law concerns the way in which Congress can effectively delegate its legislative power to an Administrative Agency. Article I, Section I, of the U.S. Constitution provides that all legislative power is vested in Congress. Despite early resistance, the U.S. Supreme Court gradually accepted the delegation of legislative authority so long as Congress sets clear standards for the administration of the duties in order to limit the scope of agency discretion.
Due process:
The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments guarantee that the federal government and the state governments, respectively, will not deprive a person of his or her life, liberty, or property without Due Process of Law. An administrative agency thus may not deprive anyone of life, liberty, or property without a reasonable opportunity, appropriate under the circumstances, to challenge the agency's action. People must be given fair warning of the limits that an agency will place on their actions. Federal courts routinely uphold very broad delegations of authority. When reviewing administrative agency actions, courts ask whether the agency afforded those under its jurisdiction due process of law as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.
Well.... that's fun.
http://uscodebeta.house.gov/browse/prelim@title5/part1&edition=prelimEnjoy making sense out of that... not to mention that federal agencies love to simply send you a notice of a vague breach, a fine due immediately (lest going up 100 fold), and no recourse.... so yeah, due process.
Anyhooo...
edit: fixed a quote block error
