Partisan Commenting: Evidence from State and Local Government Involvement in Federal Rulemaking

When do state and local governments comment on federal rules? While scholars note that subnational governments and politicians comment on federal regulations, we know very little about the conditions under which these actors prioritize this action. We argue that participation in the notice-and-comment period by state and local governments depends on partisan misalignment with the president. Using data from the Environmental Protection Agency, we demonstrate that extensive communication occurs between state, local, and federal actors in the realm of federal rulemaking, and these interactions are more likely to occur when there is partisan disagreement between levels of government. Our findings provide evidence for the motivations behind the participation of actors who largely carry out the directives of the federal bureaucracy.