Regulatory Programs: Balancing Federal and State Responsibilities for Standard Setting and Implementation
Abstract
State efforts can be directed toward federal or nationally shared regulatory objectives through a variety of arrangements, each of which reflects (1) a mechanism for defining and issuing regulations or standards and (2) assignment of responsibility for implementing or enforcing the regulations or standards. Regulatory and standard-setting mechanisms with the potential for achieving nationwide coverage include: fixed federal standards that preempt all state regulatory action in the subject area covered; * minimum federal standards that preempt less stringent state laws but permit states to establish standards more stringent than the federal; * inclusion of federal regulatory provisions in grants or other forms of assistance; * cooperative programs in which voluntary national standards are formulated by federal and state officials working together; and * widespread state adoption of voluntary standards formulated by quasi-official entities. The first two of these mechanisms involve preemption. The other three represent alternative approaches. Each mechanism represents a different combination of federal and state regulatory authority. The mechanisms also offer different options with respect to implementation or enforcement. Fixed and minimum federal standards permit three patterns of implementation: (1) direct implementation by a federal agency, (2) implementation by the states with some degree of federal oversight, and (3) state implementation in some states and direct federal implementation in others. The remaining three mechanisms- regulatory provisions in grants or other forms of support, cooperatively set standards, and state adoption of standards set by quasi-official entitled rely primarily on direct implementation by the state under its own authority;
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA399841
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office