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Nondelegation: A 50-state survey (2020)

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This survey is part of a series of 50-state surveys examining the five pillars key to understanding the administrative state
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Disclaimer: The research presented on this page was completed in 2020. It has not been regularly updated since its completion. This page is likely outdated and may be incomplete.

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This page compares results from a series of Ballotpedia surveys about the nondelegation doctrine, one of the five pillars key to understanding the main areas of debate about the nature and scope of the administrative state. Ballotpedia reviewed all 50 state constitutions and administrative procedures acts (APAs) to see how each state approached the nondelegation doctrine as of November 2020.

Limiting the delegation of legislative authority by the state legislature to others—the nondelegation doctrine—is a constitutional principle key to understanding one of the main areas of debate about the nature and scope of the administrative state.

This article shows how state approaches to the nondelegation doctrine compared with one another based on the following questions:

In 2025, Ballotpedia updated the pillar system used to understand the main areas of debate about the nature and scope of the administrative state. Click here to learn more about this updated structure and to see Ballotpedia's current content related to the administrative state.



For each survey question, Ballotpedia labeled a state as yes or no based on whether the state gave more or less power to its administrative state. Ballotpedia labeled state provisions that supported a nondelegation doctrine as yeses and provisions that ignored or weakened a nondelegation doctrine as nos.

You can find the results of other Ballotpedia surveys here.

This page features the following sections:

Methodology

Ballotpedia examined all 50 state constitutions and Administrative Procedure Acts (APAs) to see how states approach the nondelegation doctrine in their foundational laws. Administrative Procedure Acts (APAs) govern the procedures state administrative agencies must follow to issue regulations and adjudicate disputes. The particular procedures outlined in each APA vary among the 50 states.

For each survey question, Ballotpedia labeled a state as yes or no based on whether the state gives more or less power to its administrative state. Ballotpedia labeled state provisions that supported a nondelegation doctrine as yeses and provisions that ignored or weakened a nondelegation doctrine as nos.

Other state laws that might address how a state approaches the nondelegation doctrine are beyond the scope of this survey.

To see the specific legal provisions Ballotpedia used to categorize each state, click here.

Summary of key findings

Ballotpedia's survey of state constitutions and APAs produced the following key takeaways (as of November 2020):

  • None of the 50 states had yeses for every nondelegation question. That means every state granted at least some authority to their administrative states that involves the delegation of legislative power to agencies.
  • 15 states had at least 3 yeses for nondelegation questions. These states had the most restrictions on the delegation of legislative power to agencies.
Those states were: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Kentucky, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, and West Virginia.
  • Two states had five nos for nondelegation questions. Those states, Delaware and Kansas, had the fewest limits in their APAs and constitutions on the delegation of legislative authority to agencies.

Table showing how states approached the nondelegation doctrine

The table below includes each state in alphabetical order and indicates how specific provisions in their constitutions or APAs addressed the nondelegation doctrine. Ballotpedia evaluated each state according to the following questions:

  • Does the state APA or constitution clearly prohibit delegation of legislative power to administrative agencies?
  • Does the state APA or constitution define permissible delegations of state legislative power?
  • Does the state APA or constitution always require administrative agencies to follow formal rulemaking requirements?
  • Does the state APA or constitution establish a regulatory review body?
  • Does the state APA or constitution contain a separation of powers provision?

For the answers:

  • Yes means that the state's APA or constitution limited the power of the administrative state
  • No means that the state APA or constitution expanded or did not limit the power of the administrative state
  • The numbers on the right side of the table indicate how many yeses and nos each state has

Other state laws that might address how a state approaches the nondelegation doctrine were beyond the scope of this survey.

State Prohibit delegation Define permissible delegation Formal rulemaking Regulatory review body Separation of powers Yeses Nos
Alabama No No Yes Yes Yes 3 2
Alaska No Yes No Yes No 2 3
Arizona No No Yes Yes Yes 3 2
Arkansas No Yes No Yes Yes 3 2
California No No No Yes Yes 2 3
Colorado No No Yes Yes Yes 3 2
Connecticut No Yes No Yes Yes 3 2
Delaware No No No No No 0 5
Florida No No No Yes Yes 2 3
Georgia No No No No Yes 1 4
Hawaii No Yes Yes No No 2 3
Idaho No No No No Yes 1 4
Illinois No No No Yes Yes 2 3
Indiana No No Yes No Yes 2 3
Iowa No No No Yes Yes 2 3
Kansas No No No No No 0 5
Kentucky No No Yes Yes Yes 3 2
Louisiana No No No No Yes 1 4
Maine No No No No Yes 1 4
Maryland No No No Yes Yes 2 3
Massachusetts No No No Yes Yes 2 3
Michigan No No Yes Yes Yes 3 2
Minnesota No No No No Yes 1 4
Mississippi No No No Yes Yes 2 3
Missouri No No No Yes Yes 2 3
Montana No No No Yes Yes 2 3
Nebraska No No Yes No Yes 2 3
Nevada No No Yes Yes Yes 3 2
New Hampshire No No Yes Yes Yes 3 2
New Jersey No No No Yes Yes 2 3
New Mexico No No No No Yes 1 4
New York No Yes No Yes No 2 3
North Carolina No Yes No Yes Yes 3 2
North Dakota No No Yes Yes No 2 3
Ohio No No Yes Yes No 2 3
Oklahoma No Yes No Yes Yes 3 2
Oregon No No No Yes Yes 2 3
Pennsylvania No Yes No No No 1 4
Rhode Island No No No No Yes 1 4
South Carolina No No No No Yes 1 4
South Dakota No No Yes Yes Yes 3 2
Tennessee No No Yes Yes Yes 3 2
Texas No No No No Yes 1 4
Utah No No No No Yes 1 4
Vermont No No Yes Yes Yes 3 2
Virginia No No No Yes Yes 2 3
Washington No No Yes Yes No 2 3
West Virginia No No Yes Yes Yes 3 2
Wisconsin No No Yes Yes No 2 3
Wyoming No No No Yes Yes 2 3

See also

Nondelegation doctrine

Footnotes

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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
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