Public Policy Tool Kit
The Difference Between Legislation and Regulation
**This document is not an exhaustive list of the difference between the differences neither
between legislation and regulation, nor of the various kinds of legislation and regulations,
and is meant to provide a broad overview in the differences between the two. For a more
extensive look at the legislative process, please see the document “How Our Laws Are Made”
put out by the US Senate parliamentarian.
Legislation
Regulation
Definition
Form or draft of a proposed
statute presented to a legislature,
but not yet enacted or passed and
made law (Dictionary.com)
Guidelines from agencies
designed to help implement and
interpret laws passed by Congress
(Administration Procedure Act)
Goals
To address a social or economic
need or problem by changing the
law
To lay out rules and procedures to
follow when implementing
programs to comply with the law
Producers
Congress and state legislative
branches
Write your
Congressman/Senators
Submit statements for the
record to individual
Committees
Federal and state regulatory
agencies; Executive branches
Submit comment letters on
proposed rules
Participate in public
hearings on proposed rules
How to affect
Kinds of Legislation
Discussion Draft
Similar to proposed rules on the regulatory side, discussion draft legislation is a fully conceived and
written bill that legislators want public comment on. The legislators are looking for public comment on the
bill and its impact before its introduction. However, not every legislator does this for every bill.
Introduced
When a bill has been introduced, the content of the bill is still subject to change. The policy making
process is chock full of opportunities for other legislators to influence the bill and for the original author to
compromise. The bill can be amended either in committee or on the floor, depending on the rule of
debate under which the bill is being brought.
Passed
Once a piece of legislation has passed, it is not law yet. After passing one chamber of the legislature, the
bill goes to the second chamber where it could be passed as is or the second chamber could amend the
original bill to its liking. If this happens, the bill is either passed between both Houses until the same
language is adopted by both or it goes to a conference committee where the differences are worked out
among members of each chamber. Once both chambers pass identical versions, then the bill goes to the
executive branch to be vetoed or signed into law.
Kinds of Regulation
Proposed Rule
Once an agency finishes writing new regulations, there is a 30 or 60 day waiting period after they are
published for the first time and before they are finalized when the public is invited to submit comments
on the proposed content. During this period before they are finalized and published a second time, the
regulation is known as a “proposed rule.”
Regulation (as defined by the OMB Report to Congress on the Costs and Benefits of Federal Regulations)
Social – regulations that prohibit firms from producing products in certain ways or with certain
characteristics that are harmful to public interests such as health, safety, and the environment or that
require firms to produce products in certain ways or with certain characteristics that are beneficial to
these public interests.
Economic – regulations that prohibit firms from charging prices or entering or exiting lines of business that
might cause harm to the economic interests of other firms or economic groups.
Process – regulations that impose administrative or paperwork requirements such as income tax,
immigration, social security, food stamps, or procurement forms.
Guidance
Once a regulation has been finalized, sometimes issues come up when companies are trying to comply.
When this happens, the agency that issued the regulation will release guidance to clarify their intent with
the regulation and/or to answer questions they have received about the regulation.