Columbia Law Professor Philip Hamburger, author of Is Administrative Law Unlawful?, has started a nonprofit, public interest law firm called the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA). Per this job posting, the NLCA is looking to hire attorneys both at the senior and more junior level. Here’s a description of the NLCA: Founded by law professor […]
Last Wednesday, President Trump signed his fifteenth congressional resolution disapproving a federal regulation. This was notable not only because, prior to this year, only one such resolution had ever been enacted, but also because it was the first time a president had disapproved a regulation issued during his own tenure. This, along with new opinions […]
Editor’s Note: This is a cross-post from Davis Polk’s FinRegReform blog. It is also the second post in a series of two. The Treasury Department’s recent report on capital markets regulation includes a robust discussion of equity market structure issues. The report does not break new ground or raise issues that have not been debated previously at length, […]
Note: This was a quiet week in the D.C. Circuit — just one nine-page opinion,* and it is about FOIA. This week’s post, accordingly, will be short. This year I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about agency waivers. Why? Well, because I was commissioned to prepare a report on them for the Administrative Conference […]
Today, the President is likely to announce Jerome Powell as his pick for Fed Chair. It’s a move that had been telegraphed for the last few days and followed an unusually extended vetting period. The comparisons between President Trump’s personnel processes and Donald Trump’s reality television showmanship are easy to make and just as easy […]
Editor’s Note: This is a cross-post from Davis Polk’s FinRegReform blog. It is also the first post in a series of two. The U.S. Treasury’s new Capital Markets Report recommends additional administrative requirements for regulatory actions by the SEC and the CFTC (the “Agencies”). If adopted, the process by which the Agencies issue new regulations and guidance […]
I’m pleased to announce that the Administrative Conference of the United States has recently posted a report I was commissioned to author. The report “draws conceptual distinctions among waivers, exemptions, and prosecutorial discretion; examines current practices in agencies that grant waivers and exemptions; reviews statutory and doctrinal requirements; and makes concrete procedural recommendations for implementing […]
House Republicans plan to release the full details of their tax-reform proposal tomorrow. If Republicans follow their prior framework, they will propose a 2% tax increase on individuals in the 10% and 33% tax brackets. If House Republicans want to prove that their tax-reform proposal would not be a tax increase on the middle class […]
Much has been said about Rosa María Hernández, the latest target of the Trump administration’s immigration policies. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has the responsibility and authorization to enforce the immigration laws against those inside the United States without authorization. However, the government’s choice to target a ten-year old girl with cerebral palsy on her […]
On Friday, HHS released a proposed rule that would make a number of adjustments to the rules governing insurance exchanges for 2019. The rule is long and detailed; there’s a lot to digest. Among the most noteworthy changes, however, are those relating to the essential health benefits. They’re significant, and I’m not convinced they’re legal. […]
The Center for the Study of the Administrative State, at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School, exists to encourage scholarship and debate regarding administrative law and the modern administrative state. It does this primarily by organizing roundtables and conferences encouraging and aiding new scholarship on significant issues. Next spring, the Center will host a workshop on “Permits, Licenses, and the Administrative […]
This was a remarkable week in the D.C. Circuit — and, frankly, a confusing one. Here is a very quick version of the backstory (though if you’re reading this post, you already know it). Last week, Judge Kavanaugh (joined in the order by Judge Henderson) heard an emergency appeal and concluded in a short order […]
Effective federal regulation has long been informed by scientific experts external to government. Since 1972, the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) has operated to ensure that this external expertise is offered transparently and in a fair, balanced manner. The question explored in this post is whether our administrative law procedural safeguards are adequate to ensure […]
[CJW Note: Originally posted on 10/23, but reposted with agenda on 10/26] From the conference website: Perspectives on the PTAB: The New Role of the Administrative State in the Innovation Economy November 9, 2017 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University Arlington, Virginia Co-sponsored by the Center for the Protection […]
Over at Jotwell last month, I reviewed a terrific new article by Wendy Wagner, William West, Thomas McGarity, and Lisa Peters entitled Dynamic Rulemaking. It was published in the NYU Law Review earlier this year. Here’s a taste of the review: Despite bipartisan calls for more-rigorous retrospective review, we have little empirical insight into how agencies review regulations today. Enter […]