Procedures and Practices for
Legal Decisions and Opinions
precise issue raised by the act of Congress at issue, and avoidance of the issue is not possible, will OGC question the constitutionality of an act of Congress.
- Issuance of Legal Decisions and Opinions
As a general proposition, OGC issues its decisions and opinions upon completion of its internal quality review process. Unlike audit reports and products covered by GAO’s Congressional Protocols,[1] OGC does not place holds on the release of a decision or opinion. However, OGC does not issue an opinion during a congressional recess unless the affected congressional committees and Members request otherwise. Once a decision or opinion is issued to the requestor, GAO will publicly release the decision or opinion and post a copy on our Web site. Before public dissemination of a decision or opinion, OGC will redact any proprietary data, classified information, or other information the public release of which is restricted by statute. OGC decisions and opinions can be accessed by going to the GAO Web site, www.gao.gov, and clicking on Legal Products.
- Request for Reconsideration
GAO gives precedential weight to its prior decisions and opinions; however, GAO may modify or reverse a prior decision or opinion where it believes a mistake of law has been made in the past. Where a requestor or entity with a stake in a recent decision or opinion believes that GAO has made a mistake of fact or law or that GAO would have resolved the matter differently if it had had the benefit of relevant and material information not reasonably available at the time of the original decision or opinion, GAO will entertain and respond to requests for reconsideration if timely made.
- ↑ See Congressional Protocols, GAO-04-310G (Washington, D. C.: July 2004) at 16.
