The Landis Report was written by

James M. Landis __NOTOC__ James McCauley Landis (September 25, 1899 – July 30, 1964) was an American academic, government official and legal adviser. He served as Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission from 1935 to 1937. Biography Landis was born ...

as a transition team analysis of the United States' administrative agencies for incoming President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

on December 21, 1960. A long-time friend of the Kennedy family, Landis served as a legal advisor to

Joseph P. Kennedy Joseph Patrick Kennedy (September 6, 1888 – November 18, 1969) was an American businessman, investor, and politician. He is known for his own political prominence as well as that of his children and was the patriarch of the Irish-American Ken ...

and was President Kennedy's Special Counsel. At the time of the report, Landis was on the faculty of

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

. The report recommended greater clarity on the roles and authority of agency chairs. The Kennedy Administration adopted many of the report's recommendations.

Summary

The report reviewed the overall state of United States administrative law and the relationship between the independent agencies and the executive branch. Landis expressed a concern for the backlog in administrative law cases and the cost of participating in administrative hearings. The report expressed concerns about ethic of administrative proceedings, including extensive ''ex parte'' communications.

Administrative Conference of the United States

A major recommendation of the Landis Report was the establishment of the

Administrative Conference of the United States The Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) is an independent agency of the United States government that was established in 1964 by the Administrative Conference Act. The conference's purpose is to "promote improvements in the effi ...

, which is a permanent agency to study Federal administrative procedures and develop recommendations for improvement. Similar recommendations were made during the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations. In addition, the Landis Report recommended that legislation be adopted to establish a permanent agency. Such legislation was adopted in 1964 after President Kennedy's death.Administrative Conference Act of 1964, Pub. L. No. 88-499, 5 USC 591-596.

Power of agency chairs

Many federal administrative agencies have multiple members and operate as collegial bodies with one member designated as chairman. The report noted that before World War II, the main role of an agency chair was to preside at meetings, and agencies frequently rotated the chair duties among members annually.Landis Report at 11. However, under post-World War II reorganization plans, the President was given the responsibility to designate the chair from among the agency's commissioners, and the chair was given the power to set the internal organization and policy direction of the agency. Landis noted that most chairs did not exercise this added authority, leaving the leadership of the agency to group decision making. Landis recommended that the reorganization plans for the Federal Power Commission and the Interstate Commerce Commission be amended to make the chair of each agency serve at the pleasure of the President.Landis Report at 60. Landis also recommended that the plans for the administrative agencies clarify that the chair sets the budget, allocates funds and appoints the staff.

References

* This article contains material copied from

External links

Full text of the Landis Report
Presidency of John F. Kennedy United States administrative law