State and Local Government Involvement in Federal Rulemaking

• In Event: New Perspectives on the Political Control of the Bureaucracy

Abstract

When do state and local governments comment on federal rules?  The rulemaking literature mainly focuses on the role of federal political actors in the notice-and-comment period. However, while scholars note that subnational governments and politicians comment on federal regulations, we know very little about the conditions under which these actors prioritize this action. State and local government involvement in the rulemaking process can further the goal of democratic accountability by bringing in the voices of the actors who largely carry out the directives of the federal bureaucracy. Using data from the Environmental Protection Agency, we demonstrate that extensive communication occurs between state, local, and federal actors in the realm of federal rulemaking, and these interactions are contingent on partisan agreement between levels of government.

Authors

• Maria Silfa, The Ohio State University

• Mary Kroeger, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill