What is the scope of application of an Executive Order? What I mean by that question is this - The order comes from the Executive Branch and as such would appear to be limited to Executive Branch employees. If not limited to Executive Branch employees it would appear that the President has law making legislative powers. If an Executive Order applies outside of the Executive Branch how is this justified.
Thanks
Federal agency employee here.
Executive Orders are, strictly speaking, directives to Executive Branch agencies. For example, check out the wording of one I deal with a lot, E. O. 11990, Protection of Wetlands.
However, E. O.'s can certainly affect the general public. When I’m considering a permit for an action that might affect wetlands, I might have to place restrictive conditions or stipulations on that permit so that my agency is in compliance with E. O. 11990. Those stipulations could have an economic impact on the private entity that is seeking the permit.
Similarly, the National Environmental Policy Act (I’m a NEPA specialist) imposes no requirements on the general public; it imposes duties on Federal agencies. Of course, our compliance with NEPA can affect those seeking permits from us.
Congress often makes laws that rely on the Executive to create or maintain some sort of order, be it an actual Executive Order or not.
Congress can make “all substances that appear on the Attorney General’s Schedule X list,” illegal, and then the Attorney General has what amounts to legislative authority when he creates and updates Schedule X.
dono, Bricker -
Thanks for your responses.
Tigers
An executive order, just like any executive-branch regulation, has the force of law. The order is subordinate to statute–that is, the order cannot conflict with any existing statute when it is promulgated, and yields to any subsequently enacted statute to the extent of any inconsistency between them. And the President can promulgate an executive order only within the scope of his or her constitutional or statutory authority–that is, either the Constitution or a statute must confer upon the President the authority that he or she is exercising by means of the executive order.
The executive branch can also make policy by regulation. A regulation is similar in many respects to an executive order: it is subordinate to statute, and must fall within the promulgating agency’s statutorily conferred rulemaking authority. But unlike an executive order, most regulations are made by some officer or agency within the executive branch, rather than by the President directly. Most regulations are also subject to certain administrative procedures that often require notice and a public hearing before the regulation can take effect.