Explain what role administrative agencies have in the government

Question

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Answer 1

Although the Constitution creates three branches of government—legislative, executive, and judicial—there is another branch that has as much, if not more, to do with regulating persons and, especially, businesses. That fourth branch is bureaucracy. Bureaucracies are more formally known as administrative agencies, and their growth in American life can be traced to the administrations of FDR and LBJ. Administrative agencies are generally established with the goal of creating a body of professionals who are experts in a particular field. These experts have delegated authority to regulate an individual industry or a specific area of commerce. Agencies are created by federal, state, and local government. Many agencies are given the authority to adopt rules and regulations that enforce and interpret statutory law. The majority of federal administrative agencies, such as the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission, are part of the executive branch of government. Congress also has established many federal administrative agencies, which are independent of the executive branch and have broad regulatory power. The Administrative Procedures Act (APA), passed in 1946, establishes certain administrative procedures that federal agencies must follow in conducting their affairs. Because the Constitution does not create an administrative branch of government, agencies only have power that is delegated to them by statutes or executive orders. Agencies have a broad range of powers delegated to them: they can legislate by making rules and regulations; they have executive powers that allow them to investigate and prosecute possible violations of the law; and they have certain quasi-judicial power in that they can adjudicate in-agency proceedings, and administrative law judges can issue decisions that are appealable.