Reading Room Document

Constitutionality of Proposed Regulations of Joint Committee on Printing

Proposed regulations issued by the Joint Committee on Printing, which purport to regulate a broad array of printing activities of the Executive Branch, are not authorized by statute. The proposed regulations are unconstitutional on two grounds. First, because members of the Joint Committee on Printing are not appointed in accordance with the Appointments Clause, art. II, § 2, cl. 2 of the Constitution, they may not perform Executive functions, such as rulemaking, which may be performed only by properly appointed Officers of the United States. Second, the delegation of legislative power to the Joint Committee on Printing violates the constitutional requirements for legislative action, bicameral passage and presentment to the President. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/23606/download.

April 11, 1984