On April 3, 2009 in the Federal Register FEMA published the following statement:
"
Update to Part 2 Subpart A, ``Organizations, Functions, and Delegations
of Authority''
FEMA's organizational structure and delegations of authority are
not appropriate for the Code of Federal Regulations, and are not
required to be published in the Federal Register. Pursuant to the
Federal Register Act (44
[[Page 15329]]
U.S.C. 1505), only Presidential proclamations, Executive Orders, and
those documents or classes of documents that either the President has
determined to have general applicability and legal effect or by Act of
Congress are required to be published in the Federal Register. FEMA has
determined that it is in the interest of both the agency and the public
to remove descriptions of its organization and functions from the
regulations."
The entire document is available on this blog under the FEMA Historical docs category which can be clicked on and then click on FEMA resources!
Repsectfully I disagree that this legal postion correctly reflects either the Adminstrative Procedures Act of 1947, as amended, or the Federal Register Act, as amended! Whether or not it is the correct legal position
it effectively destroved accountability over and within FEMA! It is not possible to determine the legal authority of any official or organization within FEMA after publication of this document,and perhaps that was the intent. In an 1803 SOCTUS decision Little v. Bareme, Chief Justice Marshall held that any citizen is entitled to know under what authority any federal officer is acting! That is not possible with respect to FEMA!
