An act through which Congress creates an agency to address a specific problem is known as enabling legislation. Through enabling legislation, Congress defines an agency’s mandate, how the agency is to satisfy its mandate, how the agency is to be structured (including how its leaders will be appointed), and what authority the agency possesses. Most authority that Congress defines for an agency is executive authority. Remember, all duties that involve execution of the law and administration of a pro-gram are executive in nature.

As a general rule, there is no separation-of-powers problem with an agency possessing executive authority because nearly all agencies fall under the executive branch. However, Congress also delegates responsibilities to agencies. When Congress delegates its authority to make laws to an agency, the agency is receiving quasi-legislative authority. Agency-created laws are not known as statutes, as are the laws created by Congress. Instead, they are referred to as rules or regulations. When Congress gives an agency the responsibility to hear disputes as a court would, the agency has been delegated quasi-judicial power.

Congress delegates these authorities for a variety of reasons. Therefore, it transfers some of its lawmaking authority to agencies that possess the expertise and resources to develop a complete regulatory scheme. Additionally, Congress sometimes delegates quasi-judicial authority to agencies. Why doesn’t Congress simply rely on federal courts to hear these cases? There are many reasons.