State Rulemaking - Administrative Procedure Act

In response to a decades-long concern about regulatory activity, the federal government and many other states have adopted administrative procedure acts. The intent has been to improve public access to agency decision-making and to increase awareness of agency rules.

The Maine Administrative Procedure Act (A.P.A.) may be found in statute at 5 MRSA sec. 8001 through 11116 -- see Chapters 375, 377, and 377-A. The core legislation was enacted at the First Session of the 108th Legislature, with some amendments since. It applies uniform requirements to state agencies with rule-making power, and sets minimum standards for agencies to follow in adopting and implementing rules.

The Maine Administrative Procedure Act has also been affected by Executive Order 20 11/12.

Very generally, the A.P.A. establishes a uniform, comprehensive set of procedures covering:

• The administrative actions of state agencies, including rule-making, advisory rulings, adjudicatory proceedings, and licensing; and
• Judicial review of those actions.

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