No Two-Stepping in the Laboratories: State Deference Standards and Their Implications for Improving the Chevron Doctrine

Abstract:     
This article examines the deference standards that the various states apply to agency statutory interpretation and analyzes the implications for the federal Chevron doctrine. First, the article surveys state standards for reviewing agencies' statutory interpretation, finding that none of the state standards exactly follows the federal Chevron test but that state standards fall into one of four categories ranging from 'strong deference' to 'de novo with deference discouraged.' The article then examines four particular state standards in depth, discovering that states tend to use the same methods, tools, and processes for statutory interpretation despite the different announced degrees of deference. Finally, based on the lessons from the state standards, the article recommends revisions to the formulation of the federal Chevron standard.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 48

Keywords: administrative agencies, statutory interpretation, Chevron deference

Accepted Paper Series