[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 100 (Tuesday, May 27, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22224-22225]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-09373]
========================================================================
Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
appearing in this section.
========================================================================
Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 100 / Tuesday, May 27, 2025 /
Notices
[[Page 22224]]
ADMINISTRATIVE CONFERENCE OF THE UNITED STATES
Federal Agency Collaboration With State, Local, Tribal, and
Territorial Governments; Request for Comments
AGENCY: Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS).
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Office of the Chairman of ACUS is requesting public input
on Federal agency approaches and processes for collaborating with
State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments when administering
Federal programs. ACUS is accepting written comments. Responses to this
request may inform an ongoing ACUS project, ``Federal Agency
Collaboration with State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Governments''
which, if warranted, may recommend best practices for agencies to use.
DATES: Written comments must be received no later than 10 a.m. (ET)
July 28, 2025.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by email to [email protected]
(with ``Federal Agency Collaboration with State, Local, Tribal, and
Territorial Governments'' in the subject line of the message), or by
U.S. Mail addressed to Federal Agency Collaboration with State, Local,
Tribal, and Territorial Governments, Administrative Conference of the
United States, Suite 706 South, 1120 20th Street NW, Washington, DC
20036. ACUS will ordinarily post comments on the project web page
(https://www.acus.gov/projects/federal-agency-collaboration-state-local-tribal-and-territorial-governments) as they are received.
Commenters should not include information, such as personal information
or confidential business information, that they do not wish to appear
on the ACUS website. For the full ACUS public comment policy, please
visit https://www.acus.gov/policy/public-comment-policy.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Becaja Caldwell, Attorney Advisor,
Administrative Conference of the United States, 1120 20th Street NW,
Suite 706 South, Washington, DC 20036; telephone (202) 480-2081; email
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Administrative Conference Act, 5 U.S.C.
591-596, established the Administrative Conference of the United
States. The Conference studies the efficiency, adequacy, and fairness
of the administrative procedures used by Federal agencies and makes
recommendations to agencies, the President, Congress, and the Judicial
Conference of the United States for procedural improvements (5 U.S.C.
594(1)). For further information about the Conference and its
activities, see www.acus.gov.
Federal Agency Collaboration With State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial
Governments
State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments (SLTTGs) play a
critical role in administering many Federal programs. Approximately 81
percent of Federal statutes include provisions that contemplate some
kind of collaboration--formal or informal--between Federal agencies and
SLTTGs. When governments collaborate, they work together to produce
more public value than they could produce on their own, promoting
greater accountability, transparency, and innovation in the
administration of Federal programs.
Such intergovernmental partnerships are critical for administering
a wide array of Federal policies in myriad contexts.\1\ For example,
the Army collaborates with State and local environmental agencies when
constructing water navigation projects.\2\ Under the Affordable Care
Act, States are responsible for implementing certain insurance-exchange
provisions which the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
oversees.\3\ In the law enforcement context, HHS and the Department of
Justice are responsible for coordinating Federal, State, and local law
enforcement programs to control fraud and abuse with respect to health
plans,\4\ while the Drug Enforcement Administration pursues its
enforcement efforts under the Controlled Substances Act with the help
of State and local task forces.\5\ The Federal Highway Administration
and Bureau of Indian Affairs work in partnership with Tribal
governments to facilitate Tribal transportation planning on Tribal
lands.\6\ Finally, the Department of Homeland Security oversees a
National Network of Fusion Centers, in coordination with SLTTGs and
other Federal partners, to facilitate threat-related information
sharing among such entities.\7\ These are just some examples of the
many ways in which Federal agencies and SLTTGs partner to more
effectively and efficiently deliver public services.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Pamela J. Clouser McCann, The Strategic Use of Congressional
Intergovernmental Delegation, 77 J. Pol. 620 (2015).
\2\ 33 U.S.C. 2233.
\3\ 42 U.S.C. 18031; see also 42 U.S.C. 18041 (describing State
flexibility in the operation and enforcement of health benefit
exchanges).
\4\ 42 U.S.C. 1320a-7c; see also Dep't of Just. & Dep't of
Health & Hum. Servs., Annual Report of the Departments of Health and
Human Services and Justice: Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control
Program FY 2023 (2024), https://oig.hhs.gov/documents/hcfac/10087/HHS%20OIG%20FY%202023%20HCFAC.pdf (discussing the ways in which both
departments worked together with State and local governments to
combat health care fraud and abuse in Fiscal Year 2023).
\5\ 21 U.S.C. 873; see also State and Local Task Forces, Drug
Enf't Admin., https://www.dea.gov/state-and-local-task-force (last
visited May 20, 2025).
\6\ 23 U.S.C. 201-202.
\7\ See Fusion Centers' Support of National Strategies and
Guidance, U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec., https://www.dhs.gov/topic/fusion-centers-support-national-strategies-and-guidance (last
visited May 20, 2025).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
For these partnerships to be successful, officials must coordinate
and cooperate effectively across government. However, there is limited
research on how Federal agencies and SLTTGs work together to achieve
successful partnerships. Through this project, ACUS is seeking to learn
more about the laws and policies that govern and shape
intergovernmental partnerships; the frequency and scale of Federal
collaboration with SLTTGs; practical considerations that policymakers
evaluate in structuring, implementing, and maintaining such
partnerships; and challenges that administrators face in managing them.
The project will result in a set of recommended best practices that
Federal agencies can use to coordinate and collaborate more effectively
with SLTTG partners.
[[Page 22225]]
Specific Topics for Public Comment
ACUS welcomes views, information, and data on all aspects of
strategies and approaches that agencies are using or might use to
collaborate with State, local, Tribal, and/or territorial governments
in administering Federal programs. ACUS also seeks specific feedback on
the following questions related to agencies' collaboration efforts:
1. What has been your experience regarding collaboration with a
Federal agency to carry out a program?
2. If you have been involved in an intergovernmental partnership,
who are (or were) your intergovernmental partners?
3. In your experience, what makes a collaboration successful? Are
there practices that Federal and SLTTG officials could adopt to
facilitate more productive collaborations?
4. In your experience, what challenges do Federal officials
experience when interacting with SLTTG partners? What strategies have
Federal and SLTTG officials used (or do use) to address these
challenges? Were any strategies particularly effective or ineffective?
Why or why not? Are there any lessons learned, policies, or practices
that could be implemented to enhance intergovernmental partnerships?
5. In your experience, how do (or did) intergovernmental partners
communicate with each other and with other interested persons? Has
technology changed this dynamic, and, if so, how?
6. In your experience, to what extent do Federal agencies and SLTTG
partners develop policies that govern their relationships? To what
extent are such policies made publicly available?
7. To what extent are Federal officials and SLTTG partners aware of
the laws governing their collaboration?
Dated: May 20, 2025.
Shawne McGibbon,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2025-09373 Filed 5-23-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6110-01-P