The Compact requires the Commission to conduct its price regulation rule-making proceedings in compliance with the general requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act for informal rulemaking.[1] In addition to the general APA requirements, the Compact also calls for the Commission to hold a public hearing and to make specific findings of fact regarding the impact of the pricing order on all components of the marketplace, from farmer to consumer.[2] Based on these procedural requirements, the Commission initiated what proved to be an extensive rulemaking proceeding.
[1] See 5 U.S.C. § 553(c) (1994) (requiring an agency engaged in informal rulemaking to give “a concise general statement of [the rule’s] basis and purpose”).
[2]
Compact § 12 (a)(1)–(4). The
findings must include whether a pricing order will serve the public
interest; what level of pricing will permit dairy farmers to recover their
costs and yield an adequate supply of milk; whether the other provisions of
the order are in the public interest; and whether farmers have approved the
amendment by referendum. Id.