Administrative law deals with the rules and regulations promulgated by the myriad of administrative agencies. These agencies are sometimes referred to as the 4th branch of government. Congress delegates authority to regulate to the Executive Branch agencies. The agencies can interpret and apply statutes, create detailed rules or regulations, and provide procedures of the implementation and enforcement of the rules. Administrative regulations are codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, with the Federal Register providing a daily record as to what all of the Agencies are working on.
You can find a listing of and information about agencies in the Code of Federal Regulations, on USA.gov, in the U.S. Government Manual, the WashLaw Agency Index and by going to the Agency’s own website.
New agencies are periodically created to meet the needs of the U.S. Public or to solve both new and old problems that now need to be addressed. For example, the Department of Homeland Security was founded in 2002 following the World Trade Center Attacks in 2001. The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection was founded in 2011 to enforce the 18 consumer financial protection laws.
