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Basic Constitutional Concepts
cations Commission, or the Securities and Exchange Commission, are
quasi-legislative, quasi-executive, and quasi-judicial bodies that lie outside the separation of powers system. The first such commission was the
Interstate Commerce Commission, established in 1886; but most are primarily a phenomenon of the twentieth century. Many were created during the New Deal. They are independent in the sense that they are largely
free of executive control. The President may appoint the members, but
that is about the extent of his influence; and Congress may even prescribe
and restrict the causes for which the President may remove them from
office. These commissions are quasi-legislative in the sense that Congress
has given them a portion of its own law-making authority so they can
regulate certain activities, largely commercial in nature, such as the stock
market, the licensing of radio and television broadcasting, and various
trade practices. Regulations adopted by the commissions are treated as
laws and enf