Articles

Update on Clean Power Plan oral argument

September 27, 2016 | By JONATHAN WOOD

The full D.C. Circuit is halfway through what is turning into a marathon argument on the legality of EPA’s “Clean Power Plan”–which has also been characterized as the Costly Power Plan. For those that aren’t familiar, the plan was adopted after Congress rejected legislation, supported by the Obama administration, to re ...

Articles

Is OSHA unconstitutional?

January 06, 2016 | By DAMIEN SCHIFF

I think so.* In 1970, Congress enacted the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the main purpose of which is to assure workers safe and healthful working conditions. To that end, the Act authorizes the Secretary of Labor to issue health and safety standards. The Act defines these, at first blush reasonably enough, as standards that … ...

Articles

President's weekly report — December 18, 2015

December 18, 2015 | By ROB RIVETT

Victory for contracting rights This week, in DirectTV v. Imburgia, the Supreme Court overturned, again, a California rule limiting freedom of contract.  You can read the decision here. California courts have had an unfortunate habit of throwing out arbitration clauses in contracts, despite ample Supreme Court precedent holding that state courts ...

Articles

Venue victory in CARB waiver case

December 18, 2015 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

In an order issued today, the D.C. Circuit agreed with our argument that Dalton Trucking v. EPA should be argued in the 9th Circuit and not in the D.C. Circuit.  The case involves our challenge to EPA’s grant of waiver from federal preemption under the Clean Air Act for CARB’s nonroad diesel engine rules, which set … ...

Articles

President's weekly report — November 13, 2015

November 13, 2015 | By ROB RIVETT

Obamacare case dismissed and the administration continues to evade the law A district court dismissed West Virginia v. Department of Health and Human Services, that state’s challenge to the provisions in Obamacare that forced states to choose between enforcing Obamacare’s requirements for insurance policies or letting the Feds do the en ...

Articles

Ted Hadzi-Antich at oral argument in D. C. Circuit

November 11, 2015 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

Monday of this week, I argued that EPA’s decision allowing California to enforce its statewide controls over emissions of particulate matter and nitrogen oxides from tractors and other nonroad diesel vehicles should be vacated by the D.C. Circuit.  The federal Clean Air Act preempts all state mobile source emissions standards but provides th ...

Articles

Constitutional outrages and power outages

August 25, 2015 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

Those are EPA’s gifts to the nation under the so-called Clean Power Plan.  On August 3rd, EPA unveiled the Plan as a set of Clean Air Act regulations.  Among other things, the Clean Power Plan dictates the mix of fuels that may be used to generate electricity throughout the nation, heavily favoring solar and wind over coal and na ...

Articles

It is almost never “rational, never mind ‘appropriate’” to ignore regulatory costs

June 29, 2015 | By TODD GAZIANO

Today’s Supreme Court decision in Michigan, et al. v. EPA (consolidated with Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA and National Mining Assoc. v. EPA) invalidated EPA’s regulation on electric power plant hazardous air pollutants for not taking its enormous costs into account. It affirms a common-sense principle that EPA too often ignores: ...

Articles

President’s weekly report — February 13, 2015

February 13, 2015 | By ROB RIVETT

Victory for Fishing!  The California Court of Appeal issued this favorable decision in California Association for Recreational Fishing v. Department of Fish and Wildlife.  The genesis of this dispute arose in litigation brought by the Center for Biological Diversity against the State of California over its management of hatcheries.  This led the ...