Overview
Marc Sorini explained a Texas court ruling which held that a posting by the Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission on its website constituted a rule, not just informal agency guidance. The distinction is important outside the Texas case, Mr. Sorini argued, because the use of “similar informal policy documents” by state and federal alcohol beverage regulators “has been rising for decades,” and the Texas court opinion “stands as a useful reminder to regulators that this approach has limits.”