My suggested Constitutional Amendment curtailing the Regulatory/Administrative State
"No legislative authority may be delegated from the Congress of the United States to the Executive or Judicial Branch nor to any other group or organization. No citizen or corporation or legal entity shall be subject to any punishment or fine or right abridged except for violation of a Law enacted by the Congress of the United States or a State Legislature. "
Background and Rationale
The first words in the Constitution after the Preamble are "All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in the Congress of the United States,,,, ". The word "All" is clear and unambiguous. It definitively excludes the Executive Branch and Judicial Branch from any legislative powers. This is amplified by Article I, Section 8, 18th (final) Clause: " To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof." This Clause apparently prohibits the delegation of legislative and regulatory power to another Branch, i.e. for ‘implementing regulations’.
Today most laws defer the power to Departments (and Agencies and Bureaus and Administrations) within the Executive Branch of government for 'Implementing Regulations'. These Departments are operated by career civil service employees who are unelected, cannot be fired and are largely unidentified and unaccountable. These Departments are headed by political appointees which means these leaders (and thereby workers) often answer to a political rather than legal agenda. Many laws ( such as ObamaCare) were authored by lobbyists & outside special interests and are too lengthy and complex to be read by every voting member in Congress, hence Nancy Pelosi's admonition that "We must pass this law before we can see what's in it". This power deferment to the Executive Branch (Departments) created mini-governments within themselves; they can pass regulations (Law) , assess fines, operate their own Courts and police forces - they are in essence unelected sovereign powers. If a Department wishes certain language or powers (Implementing Regulations) then it should be required to submit that language to Congress/Legislature for debate and ratification. This lack of transparency and the anonymity in these bureaucracies essentially impedes/blocks the Citizens right/ability to petition the government. This Amendment would likewise render Executive Orders by the President effective only within the Executive Branch of government.
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"He has erected a multitude of New Offices and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and to eat out their substance."
“For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.”
The Declaration of Independence, In Congress, July 4, 1776.