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Administrative Law Keyed to Breyer
Air Transport Association of America v. Department of Transportation
Citation:
900 F.2d 369 (1990)Facts
In December 1987, Congress enacted amendments to the Federal Aviation Act establishing a two-year “demonstration program” authorizing the FAA to prosecute and adjudicate administrative penalty actions involving less than $50,000. This program was designed to strengthen the FAA’s enforcement powers, as previously the agency had to refer disputed penalties to U.S. Attorneys, resulting in few prosecutions. Nine months after the enactment, in September 1988, the FAA promulgated the “Penalty Rules” establishing comprehensive procedures for civil penalty adjudications, including formal notice, settlement procedures, discovery, hearings before administrative law judges, and administrative appeals. The FAA implemented these rules without prior notice and comment, claiming they were exempt as procedural rules and that the time constraints of the demonstration program constituted “good cause” to dispense with such procedures. The FAA did accept post-promulgation comments but made no changes to the rules. Air Transport Association challenged the rules, arguing that the FAA’s failure to comply with notice and comment requirements rendered them invalid.
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