Note:

Jason Nichols, “Sorry!  What the Regulation Really Means is . . . .”:  Administrative Agencies’ Ability to Alter an Existing Regulatory Landscape Through Reinterpretation of Rules, 80 TEXAS L. REV. 951 (2002).

Abstract:

This Note advocates the application of a due process-based notion of “fair notice” in which administrative agencies reinterpret their regulations, thereby affecting regulated commercial sectors.  While current law does not require such notice under most circumstances, I argue that when a regulated sector has long relied upon an interpretation, formalized notice and comment mechanisms should precede any reinterpretation.  This scheme would foster cross-pollination of ideas between agencies and industry and better reconcile the conflict between a desire for quick action and the commercial sector’s ability to comply with a quickly changing regulatory regime.