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« At last I get recognition! | Main | Utah weighs restricting CCWs for nonresidents »

Possible limits on ATF "letter rulings"

Posted by David Hardy · 21 May 2008 04:02 PM

Background: agencies are supposed to follow detailed rules when issuing a "regulation": publish a proposal in the Federal Register, receive public comment, then publish a final rule with preamble answering the major comments. Plus comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act, Regulatory Reform Act, etc..

They also issue informal rulings in specific cases, sometimes by letter. ATF technical issues rulings all the time -- this device is or is not a firearm or machinegun, etc.. In practice since these have internal precedent, they can be cited in future letter rulings. (Or as more than one person has found out, they can be completely changed, perhaps on a personal or arbitrary basis). They aren't opened for public comment, usually aren't cleared by any high official, and don't have to comply with the various reg. statutes.

The White House and OMB have started cracking down on these. Here's Exec Office of the President's guidance. Here's an Executive Order. And here's OMB instructions. (all are pdf) As I read them, they include letter rulings within some requirements of an earlier EO, and require that significant rulings (rather narrowly defined) be posted on the web with opportunity for comment.

· BATFE

5 Comments | Leave a comment

Jim W | May 21, 2008 5:12 PM | Reply

Rule of law in my America?

Letalis Maximus, Esq. | May 21, 2008 8:17 PM | Reply

Good. For those of us who do a bit of Administrative Procedure Act work, it is high damned time somebody stopped this out of control practice.

emdfl | May 22, 2008 4:41 AM | Reply

And they will pay as much attention to those "orders" and "instuctions" as they do to court ruling s they don't like.

The Mechanic | May 22, 2008 4:48 PM | Reply

Even under the best conditions it's unelected bureaucrats making law. Instead of "hating us for our freedoms', the terrorist nations are laughing at a wimpy nation that lets itself get pushed around by a bunch of soft fat prozac head appointees.
There's a whole lot more of us than there are of them!

ParatrooperJJ | May 23, 2008 7:46 AM | Reply

I always thought their letter rulings were due to being a tax agency under the Treasury Dept. Now that they are under Justice, so they still have the same authority?

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