3 U.S.C. § 301 — General authorization to delegate functions; publication of delegations

submitted 75 years ago by ch. 655 to r/title-3-THE-PRESIDENT · 171 words · no verdicts yet

in plain englishAI-generated · not legal advice

The President may authorize department heads or Senate-confirmed officials to perform certain presidential duties without separate approval. The President remains responsible for their actions. Delegations must be in writing and published in the Federal Register. They can be limited or revoked at any time.

This section lets the President hand certain duties off to other officials. The President may designate and empower the head of any executive branch department or agency, or any official there who must be appointed with the Senate's advice and consent, to perform — without needing the President's separate approval, ratification, or other action — either (1) any function the law gives directly to the President, or (2) any function an officer is required or allowed by law to perform only with the President's approval, ratification, or other action. Even so, the President stays responsible for what these designated officials do while performing those functions. Every such designation and authorization must be in writing, published in the Federal Register, and can be made subject to whatever terms, conditions, and limits the President thinks are wise. The President can also revoke it — in whole or in part — at any time.

the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain

The President of the United States is authorized to designate and empower the head of any department or agency in the executive branch, or any official thereof who is required to be appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to perform without approval, ratification, or other action by the President (1) any function which is vested in the President by law, or (2) any function which such officer is required or authorized by law to perform only with or subject to the approval, ratification, or other action of the President: Provided, That nothing contained herein shall relieve the President of his responsibility in office for the acts of any such head or other official designated by him to perform such functions. Such designation and authorization shall be in writing, shall be published in the Federal Register, shall be subject to such terms, conditions, and limitations as the President may deem advisable, and shall be revocable at any time by the President in whole or in part.

Source credit: (Added Oct. 31, 1951, ch. 655, § 10, 65 Stat. 712.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

1951Enacted · Act of Oct. 31, 1951, ch. 655 · 65 Stat. 712

A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by ch. 655 on 1951-10-31.

all 0 arguments · sorted by: best

no arguments yet — make the first case