Questions and Exercises for Classroom Discussion

What are some of the pros and cons of enacting law through the legislative process versus agency rulemaking?

Students should familiarize themselves with the government’s website: www. regulations.gov. Browse through some of the regulations on food or health. If an agency proposed a regulation pertinent to the course during the semester, students should draft responses and submit them on regulations.gov. Conversely, students should respond to a previous regulation for class.

Ideas for policy come from many different avenues, including genuine needs of the community, grassroots movements, government officials’ personal experiences, major events or crises, local events, hometown issues, lobbyists, donors, information and feedback from constituents who vote, and issues that result in good publicity. How can the various government entities respond to these influences and which government entities might be best suited to address them?

Students should look up the state attorney general in their home state and learn about his or her priorities and whether he or she has addressed public health in general or food specifically. How has the attorney general acted to further public health in a manner not necessarily available to other government entities discussed in this chapter?

al.us/

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