Section 35 “Reenactment” Rule

• Library: Administrative Law 2011

The general rule is that, when an administrative agency has adopted a rule of long-standing duration and the legislature reenacts the statute that is the predicate for the rule, the legislature is deemed to have adopted the agency’s interpretation and the rule thus becomes a part of the statute. As such, it would be binding on the courts. See, e.g., Roberts v. Comm’r, 176 F.2d 221, 223 (9^th Cir. 1949). Missouri courts, on the other hand, have adopted a more restrictive version of the reenactment rule. The...