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Administrative state 2024 legislation: Executive summary

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August 16, 2024
By Ballotpedia staff

Administrative State
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Five Pillars of the Administrative State
•Agency control
• Executive control
• Judicial control
•Legislative control
• Public Control
Click here for more coverage of the administrative state on Ballotpedia.
Click here to access Ballotpedia's administrative state legislation tracker.

Launched in May 2024, Ballotpedia's Administrative State Legislation Tracker covers bills across all 50 states that increase or decrease agency authority and influence or otherwise affect the administrative state.

The tracker categorizes bills according to topic and subtopic, bill status, sponsor, state trifecta status, bill number, and more. The tracker also features custom summaries of each bill.

This report presents findings and analysis from 2024 state legislative sessions on administrative state-related legislation.

Executive Summary

Ballotpedia defines the administrative state as the phenomenon of administrative agencies exercising the power to create, adjudicate, and enforce rules.

Ballotpedia tracked 583 bills and resolutions in 44 states related to the administrative state in 2024.

Thirty-eight states adopted or enacted 129 of those bills or resolutions (including three through veto overrides and three legislatively referred ballot measures).

  • 30 states passed 88 that decreased agency power.
  • 8 states passed nine that increased agency power.
  • 32 bills and resolutions did not clearly increase or decrease agency power.

Partisan breakdown of new laws decreasing agency power:

  • 13 Republican trifectas passed 44 bills (50%).
  • 10 Democratic trifectas passed 20 bills (23%).
  • 7 divided governments enacted 24 bills (27%).

Partisan breakdown of new laws increasing agency power:

  • Four Democratic trifectas enacted four bills (44%).
  • Two Republican trifectas enacted three bills (33%).
  • Two divided government enacted two bills (22%).

Administrative agency actions can be understood according to how the agencies interact with the three branches of government, the public, and each other, which we call the five pillars of the administrative state. Some legislation concerns multiple pillars.

  • Legislative pillar - the interplay between agencies and lawmakers and the related reform proposals and legal doctrines, including the nondelegation doctrine
    • 42 of this year's approved bills and resolutions across 21 states were in the legislative pillar. Thirty-three in 17 states decreased agency power.
    • These included legislative oversight reforms, such as REINS-style laws and sunset review acts.
  • Judicial pillar - interplay between agencies and the courts, including the level of judicial deference given to agency rules
    • 9 of the approved bills were in the judicial pillar, and eight decreased agency power.
    • Three states, Idaho, Indiana, and Nebraska, passed bills to prohibit judicial deference to agency interpretations, requiring courts to hear challenges to agency actions de novo.
  • Executive pillar - interplay between agencies and the executive branch, including executive control of appointment and removal
    • 20 of the approved bills were in the executive pillar across 12 states. Fourteen across eight states decreased agency power.
  • The regulated - how agencies relate to the people and organizations subject to their rules, including procedural rights, enforcement, and adjudication.
    • 44 of the approved bills were in the regulated pillar across 19 states. Twenty-eight across 15 states decreased agency power.
    • These included regulatory sandboxes, permitting and licensing provisions, and public notice and commentary requirements.
  • Agencies - the dynamics among agencies and sub-agencies
    • 28 of the approved bills were in the agency dynamics pillar across 19 states. Twelve across nine states decreased agency power.
    • These included the creation of regulatory reduction agencies and adjudication agencies and state agency restrictions relative to federal agency rules and guidance.
  • States passed 120 state bills or resolutions governing state agencies and their interactions with the state government and people. States passed nine bills or resolutions governing interactions between state and federal agencies and government entities.
  • Ballotpedia separately tracked 30 federal bills related to the administrative state in the 118th Congress, including legislation related to agency guidance transparency, codifying Chevron deference, codifying a prohibition on judicial deference, and a REINS act.


Ballotpedia's Administrative State Legislation Tracker

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Keeping track of the latest administrative state developments in all 50 state legislatures with Ballotpedia's Administrative State Legislation Tracker.

Ballotpedia's Administrative State Legislation Tracker allows you to track, query, and analyze hundreds of bills and resolutions affecting the authority and influence of agencies and agency rulemaking. Whether you're watching for specific reform policies, looking for trends, or keeping up-to-date on the changes in the administrative state landscape, our administrative state legislation tracker is your easy-to-use and flexible solution.

See also

v • e
The Administrative State
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Pillars
Reporting
Laws
Administrative Procedure Act • Antiquities Act • Civil Service Reform Act • Clayton Antitrust Act • Communications Act of 1934 • Congressional Review Act • Electronic Freedom of Information Act • Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 • Federal Housekeeping Statute • Federal Reserve Act • Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 • Freedom of Information Act • Government in the Sunshine Act • Independent Offices Appropriations Act of 1952 • Information Quality Act • Interstate Commerce Act • National Labor Relations Act • Paperwork Reduction Act • Pendleton Act • Privacy Act of 1974 • Regulatory Flexibility Act • REINS Act • REINS Act (Wisconsin) • Securities Act of 1933 • Securities Exchange Act of 1934 • Sherman Antitrust Act • Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act • Truth in Regulating Act • Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
Cases
Abbott Laboratories v. Gardner • A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States • Association of Data Processing Service Organizations v. Camp • Auer v. Robbins • Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council • Citizens to Preserve Overton Park v. Volpe • Federal Trade Commission (FTC) v. Standard Oil Company of California • Field v. Clark • Food and Drug Administration v. Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corporation • Humphrey's Executor v. United States • Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) v. Chadha • J.W. Hampton Jr. & Company v. United States • Lucia v. SEC • Marshall v. Barlow's • Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency • Mistretta v. United States • National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) v. Sebelius • National Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning Company • National Labor Relations Board v. Sears, Roebuck & Co. • Panama Refining Co. v. Ryan • Securities and Exchange Commission v. Chenery Corporation • Skidmore v. Swift & Co. • United States v. Lopez • United States v. Western Pacific Railroad Co. • Universal Camera Corporation v. National Labor Relations Board • Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. Natural Resources Defense Council • Wayman v. Southard • Weyerhaeuser Company v. United States Fish and Wildlife Service • Whitman v. American Trucking Associations • Wickard v. Filburn • Wiener v. United States
Terms
Adjudication (administrative state) • Administrative judge • Administrative law • Administrative law judge • Administrative state • Arbitrary-or-capricious test • Auer deference • Barrier to entry • Bootleggers and Baptists • Chevron deference (doctrine) • Civil servant • Civil service • Code of Federal Regulations • Codify (administrative state) • Comment period • Compliance costs • Congressional Record • Coordination (administrative state) • Deference (administrative state) • Direct and indirect costs (administrative state) • Enabling statute • Ex parte communication (administrative state) • Executive agency • Federal law • Federal Register • Federalism • Final rule • Formal rulemaking • Formalism (law) • Functionalism (law) • Guidance (administrative state) • Hybrid rulemaking • Incorporation by reference • Independent federal agency • Informal rulemaking • Joint resolution of disapproval (administrative state) • Major rule • Negotiated rulemaking • Nondelegation doctrine • OIRA prompt letter • Organic statute • Pragmatism (law) • Precautionary principle • Promulgate • Proposed rule • Publication rulemaking • Regulatory budget • Regulatory capture • Regulatory dark matter • Regulatory impact analysis • Regulatory policy officer • Regulatory reform officer • Regulatory review • Rent seeking • Retrospective regulatory review • Risk assessment (administrative state) • Rulemaking • Separation of powers • Significant regulatory action • Skidmore deference • Statutory authority • Substantive law and procedural law • Sue and settle • Sunset provision • Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions • United States Code • United States Statutes at Large
Bibliography
Agencies
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