Corporate America and Environmental Policy

Crossing the Influence Gap: Clarifying the Benefits of Earlier Interest Group Involvement in Shaping Regulatory Policy

“…Clearly, interest groups are involved throughout the EPA rulemaking process, but the literature illustrates that this influence is not equal across the stages. Scholars assert that stakeholders are most influential on regulatory outcomes during the pre-proposal stage of the process (Kamieniecki, 2006;West, 2009;Wagner et al, 2010;Rinfret, 2011a;2011b;Cook & Rinfret 2013a). This is because the agency is more open to considering different regulatory approaches during the preproposal stage as opposed to the notice and comment stage for fear the rule would be legally vulnerable at that stage (West, 2009).…”

“…Therefore, interest groups attempt to influence outcomes at the pre-proposal stage via their informal interactions with agency personnel (Hoefer & Ferguson, 2007;Naughton et al, 2009;West, 2009;Rinfret, 2011b;Yackee, 2012). In the context of the EPA, scholars (Kamieniecki, 2006;Rinfret, 2011b;Cook, 2018a) have concluded that interest groups exert influence via their strategic framing efforts. Not all interest groups are influential at this stage of the process, and Rinfret (2011b) posited that those interest groups that frame their arguments in scientific and technical terms are more likely to impact regulatory outcomes.…”

“…Though scholars argue that interest groups are less persuasive during the notice and comment stage, they can still influence the outcome via their submitted public comments (Golden, 1998;West, 2005;Yackee, 2006;Yackee & Yackee, 2006;Furlong, 2007;Wagner et al, 2010;West & Raso, 2012;Shapiro, 2013;Cook 2018b). This is because the EPA does make changes to rules in response to public comments (Kamieniecki 2006;Shapiro, 2013). Scholars have found that most often business interests receive rule changes at this stage (Golden, 1998;Kamieniecki, 2006), but the open question is: why some business interests receive rule changes while others do not?…”

“…This is because the EPA does make changes to rules in response to public comments (Kamieniecki 2006;Shapiro, 2013). Scholars have found that most often business interests receive rule changes at this stage (Golden, 1998;Kamieniecki, 2006), but the open question is: why some business interests receive rule changes while others do not? Yackee & Yackee (2006) identified that when interest groups show consensus about a rule change, the agency may be more likely to revise the rule, but this is not always the case.…”

“…Scholars have shown that interest groups are involved throughout the stages of the rulemaking process and this involvement translates into influence via three main pathways, informal interactions with agency personnel, submitting public comments, and filing litigation . Ultimately, scholars have concluded that interest groups are the most influential on regulatory outcomes during the pre-proposal stage via their informal interactions with agency personnel (Kamieniecki, 2006;West, 2009;Rinfret, 2011a;2011b;2011c;Yackee, 2012). The question is whether this earlier involvement also affects stakeholder's ability to exert influence on the process during later stages.…”