The Congressional Review Act
Steve Goodman has been practicing telecommunications law since 1983, when he began working at the Federal Communications Commission. He now represents a wide variety of clients, including telecommunications equipment manufacturers, satellite service providers and international carriers.
The Supreme Court recently issued an opinion holding as unlawful an Obama-era EPA rule (which never went into effect) regarding carbon dioxide emissions from coal plants. Under that EPA rule, "to implement the needed shift in generation to cleaner sources, an operator could reduce the regulated plant's own production of electricity, build or invest in a new or existing natural gas plant, wind farm, or solar installation, or purchase emission allowances or credits as part of a cap-and-trade regime."
In its opinion, the Supreme Court explicitly adopted a new principle — the "major question doctrine" — and held that in order for federal agencies to adopt rules to address "major questions," there must be "a clear statement" for a court to be able to conclude that Congress intended to delegate authority "of this breadth to regulate a fundamental sector of the economy."