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How do government agencies receive their legal powers from legislatures?

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lampoon of Interstate Commerce Commission — Administrative law Cartoon depicting a uniformed Interstate Commerce Commission officer shining a large searchlight on U.S. railroad executive Edward Henry Harriman, who is struggling to carry a large load of packages and toy trains, some labeled “merger.”

Government agencies receive their legal powers through the process of delegation of powers, in which a legislature transfers specific authority to an agency via statute.1

These statutes establish the conditions under which an agency may act and confer the necessary powers to implement broad policy decisions. Legislatures often delegate this authority because many administrative matters are too technical, detailed, or subject to frequent change to be fully addressed within the main body of legislation. By granting agencies the power to issue regulations or ordinances, the legislature allows these bodies to apply their specialized expertise to address complex problems more efficiently than the legislature could on its own.23

To ensure these delegated powers are not misused, agencies are subject to legal safeguards. Their regulations must conform to the aims of the parent statute, must not exceed the scope of the delegated authority, and must comply with constitutional standards. Furthermore, agency actions are generally subject to judicial review to ensure they remain within the bounds of the law.234