Pay to Play
The reconciliation bill has a new approach to try and change substantive law
I posted earlier about a provision in the House reconciliation bill that attempts to effectively repeal NEPA by allowing sponsors of projects to pay a fee to avoid any judicial review of NEPA documents. That provision is not unique, and indeed it looks like House Republicans are trying to develop a new tool to use reconciliation (which can avoid a Senate filibuster) to alter substantive law. Similar pay to play provisions exist elsewhere in the bill. For instance,...
CONTINUE READINGReconciliation and public lands
Most changes would be to the leasing process for oil and gas development and reflect a partisan response to ping-pong governance
As the Senate takes up the House’s version of the reconciliation bill, I wanted to briefly summarize the main provisions that relate to public lands – in part so readers can be aware of the state of play as to what might (or might not) come to pass in the Senate. The bill as passed by the House can be found here. Overall, most of the relevant provisions relate to leases for fossil fuel development, particularly oil and gas. Some other provisions are part of lo...
CONTINUE READINGGiving Away the National Parks?
Another Trump Administration idea that probably requires Congressional action, and thus probably won’t happen
Another national park idea the Trump Administration had recently was to offload hundreds of national parks to states and local governments, in order to trim $900 million from the Park Service budget. The proposal is spare on details, only calling for the “transfer [of] certain properties to State-level management.” Secretary of the Interior Burgum stated that only about 60 “crown jewel” parks would be off of the list for potential transfer. As the article n...
CONTINUE READINGThe Rock
Public lands law stands in the way of Trump’s proposal to reopen Alcatraz
About a month ago, President Trump floated the idea of reopening the federal prison at Alcatraz. The prison has been closed for decades, and it is now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, managed by the National Park Service, and a major tourist attraction. While a lot of the press coverage focused on the cost and practical feasibility of Trump’s proposal, I want to highlight a legal barrier. As part of the Golden Gate National Recreational Area, Al...
CONTINUE READINGAbundance and the Seven County case
The Court’s decision will facilitate fossil fuel projects much more than clean energy
I’ve seen some posts on the social media site formally known as Twitter arguing that the Seven County case is a win for an abundance-focused policy – in that it will facilitate more construction of infrastructure by eliminating or reducing environmental reviews. I think that statement is somewhat accurate in general. But I think it is much less true when it comes to clean energy. In other words, I think the case is generally speaking a big win if you want more...
CONTINUE READINGThese SoCal Clean Air Rules are Being Smeared
Legitimate affordability concerns are being weaponized by the gas lobby and its supporters ahead of an important SCAQMD vote to encourage cleaner appliances.
After years of rule development, Southern California air quality regulators are set to vote tomorrow on a pair of proposals that would reduce harmful pollution from gas furnaces and water heaters. A coordinated campaign by opponents including SoCalGas is painting these relatively moderate rules as a “ban” on gas appliances and an attack on middle-class pocketbooks. Policymakers shouldn’t be swayed by these misleading claims. At issue are Rules 1111 and 1121....
CONTINUE READINGGovernment Hires Shouldn’t Have to Take a MAGA Essay Test
Schedule F was bad, But Trump’s latest move is even worse.
The Trump Administration has adopted new hiring procedures that will impose ideological litmus tests in federal hiring. Job applicants will be graded on essays about their allegiance to “America’s founding principles” and their commitment to implementing Trump’s executive orders. These new essay questions have little to do with the jobs of most government employees and more to do with ideological conformity. I’ll go into more detail below about these quest...
CONTINUE READINGImplications of the Seven County Decision
Possible limitations on NEPA analysis for climate effects and indirect effects
This is the third in our series of posts on the Seven County case. The first post was here, summarizing the key points of the opinion. The second post is here, providing our assessment of the analysis in the opinion. In this third post, we discuss the implications of the case for what have been some of the most significant kinds of indirect effects analyses under NEPA to date. As noted in our first post, the Seven County case has important implications for what ...
CONTINUE READINGSupply-Side Regulations & Clean Vehicles
As Congress votes to undermine California's sovereignty to set supply-side standards on polluting vehicles, CLEE's research shows why these policies are so effective
In May 2025, both the U.S. House and Senate passed resolutions to revoke California’s Clean Air Act waivers, which allow the state to enforce stricter vehicle emissions rules than federal standards (see Ann Carlson’s post on this issue). If signed by the President—and if successful in the face of court challenges to their dubious legality—these resolutions would nullify California’s authority to set stricter vehicle standards, potentially rolling back decad...
CONTINUE READINGA Critical Analysis of the Seven County Opinion
The court’s opinion ignores basic principles of law and statutory text in order to achieve a policy goal.
This is the second in a series of blog posts about the Court’s Seven County opinion. In our first post, we summarized the key points from the opinion. Here, we provide our assessment of the Court’s analysis. The Court’s analysis, especially in Part II.B, where it sets specific limits on the scope of NEPA, relies primarily on two steps. First, it begins with the proposition that the “proposed action” is the basis for NEPA review. Such a starting point...
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