The executive branch
docket (rulemaking)
The public file for one rulemaking: the proposal, every comment received, the supporting analyses, and the final rule. Posted at regulations.gov.
In full
Anyone can read a rulemaking docket, and reading one is the fastest way to see who is actually trying to shape a rule and with what arguments. Comments from trade associations, states, and advocacy groups are all there under their own names, alongside the agency's response in the final rule's preamble.
Where to go next
Keep going
Browse every term in the glossary, or see the vocabulary in motion in the How government works walkthroughs.
A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.