Legislation
Gorsuch is (Partly) Right
Justice Gorsuch is wrong about the cure, but delegation has gotten out of hand.
Justice Gorsuch has made it a personal crusade to revive the nondelegation doctrine, in part because of concerns about the rising tide of presidential power. The nondelegation doctrine tries to limit the ability of Congress to delegate authority to the executive branch. That’s an unworkable solution, but Gorsuch is right that Congress has put far too much trust in the good faith and sound judgment of the President and his subordinates. That’s especially true of national security and emergency powers.
CONTINUE READING‘Solar for All’ Victories and the Future of Grantee Litigation
Two courts vacated U.S. EPA’s termination of solar funds. Guest contributor Adam Earl King outlines what to watch for on appeal.
Guest contributor Adam Earl King is a student at The University of Texas School of Law (JD ’27) and a Summer ’26 Legal Research Assistant at UC Berkeley’s CLEE. This time last year, local-government and non-profit grantees’ hearts dropped when EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced via X that he’s ending the “boondoggle.” The so-called “boondoggle” …
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CONTINUE READINGI Skipped NY Climate Week and Read These Books Instead
The Drain is a roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.
Climate World descended on New York City this week for the annual mad dash of panel discussions, press briefings, newsmaker interviews, influencer gatherings, and sponsored parties that is NY Climate Week, but I stayed home and read books instead. To be more specific, I went to my local bookstore (Village Well in Culver City!) …
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CONTINUE READINGWhither the Governor’s Mansion?
Some big environmental battles are brewing in Sacramento. But where will the next Governor stand?
Those of you who tuned in to the extra-long season finale of my favorite reality TV show, the California State Legislature, on September 1 (a full half-day after session was supposed to end, mind you: Drama!) may have, as I did, audibly gasped at the moment when the Assembly simply declined to vote on a …
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CONTINUE READINGThe EPA Power Plant Rule Repeal Don’t Make No Sense
The Drain is a roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.
The hair-on-fire news this week was the Environmental Protection Agency announcing that it is repealing rules that limit planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from power plants fueled by coal and fossil gas. I saw the headline (“EPA Poised to Repeal Carbon Rules for Coal, Gas Power Plants“) on Sunday evening, when Zahra Hirji, Jen Dlouhy, and …
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CONTINUE READINGTwo Wins from this Legislative Session — Awaiting Newsom
As Gov. Gavin Newsom’s term ends, these two bills present an opportunity to promote ratepayer affordability.
It’s September, and that means another legislative session has come to an end here in California. With it came some welcome news for those of us who have been following California’s efforts to avoid wasteful spending on new natural gas infrastructure. Two important bills, AB 2313 (Berman) and SB 1359 (Stern), both passed the legislature …
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CONTINUE READINGEl Niño is Coming. Californians Still Need Better Tools to Recover from Disaster.
AB 2385 would have helped local governments prepare for disaster recovery, but the bill failed to make it out of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Last week, AB 2385 (Petrie-Norris) died in the California Senate Appropriations Committee. Its demise is the latest frustration in the long saga to rebuild from the terrible January 2025 Los Angeles fires—and to apply some lessons learned about disaster recovery in the process. I’ve had a front row seat, as both an Angeleno and a …
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CONTINUE READINGClimate at SCOTUS, Electrification Victories, Media Moves
The Drain is a regular roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.
It’s not every year that climate change looms large at the U.S. Supreme Court, but it will this coming term. The Supreme Court will begin its 2026-2027 term with a case brought by a Colorado county seeking millions of dollars from oil and gas companies for their role in exacerbating climate change. The justices announced recently …
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CONTINUE READINGScience Wins A Skirmish
The Senate’s Continuing Resolution Blocks Russ Vought’s Odious Politicization of Science — Temporarily
Thank heaven for small favors: Senators on the Appropriations Committee on Sunday released a stopgap funding bill to avert a government shutdown by Oct. 1 and temporarily block a White House proposal that would fundamentally change how the federal government awards and manages grants. In late May, the Office of Management and Budget released …
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CONTINUE READINGWhich way is the wind blowing in wind energy litigation?
The latest court decisions and legal challenges are shaping the future of wind energy development across the United States
Guest contributor Adelaide Duckett, Legal Fellow at the State Energy & Environmental Impact Center at NYU School of Law Across the country, wind developers and state governments are successfully navigating new legal challenges facing wind energy, fighting to keep projects moving forward despite mounting obstacles. Hostility to wind development has manifested in various ways …
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