If an agency regulation directly conflicts with a statute, which rule best describes which authority governs?

• A. The agency regulation prevails over the statute.
• B. Regulations and statutes operate independently and neither governs the other.
• C. The regulation may prevail if the statute is ambiguous.
• D. Statutes generally trump inconsistent regulations; regulations must comply with statutes.

Answer: (D)

The main idea is that statutes set the authority and boundaries for agencies, and regulations created by those agencies must operate within that framework. When a regulation directly conflicts with a statute, the statute controls because lawmakers, not agencies, forge the fundamental rules. Agencies can interpret and implement statutes, and they may fill in details within the authority granted, but they cannot override or contradict the statute itself. So, the correct view is that statutes trump inconsistent regulations and regulations must comply with statutes. The other possibilities fail because they grant supremacy to regulations, allow independent operation, or suggest that regulation could prevail merely due to ambiguity in the statute, all of which would undermine the legislative framework.