JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – If I say Chevron, what comes to mind? It’s probably the name of a gas station where you pull in and fill your tank.
But the recent overturning of the “Chevron decision” by the U.S. Supreme Court should have as much relevance for Americans as the gasoline moniker.
Why?
Here’s the bottom line: The court struck down a tool for governing. Overturning the “Chevron decision” essentially gives federal agencies the authority to issue rules that aren’t clear.
The ruling is potentially a risk to every household in America with possible impacts on the environment and public health.
Red flags are being raised.
Advocates worry the decision could set back efforts to reduce air and water pollution, restrict toxic chemicals or even take on new public health threats like COVID-19, environmental issues and public health.
Depending on who you talk with in Congress, the ruling means an increased role for lawmakers. Some say it restores an appropriate balance. Others say the court’s conservative majority “shamelessly gutted long-standing precedent in a move that will embolden judicial activism and undermine important regulations.”
The worry is that it opens the door for large corporations to challenge a host of federal rules and, as environmental group advocates put it, “grants every Trump-appointed judge the authority to overrule agency experts’ interpretation of the law and substitute their ideological viewpoint for the informed determination of career public servants.″
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said, “The days of federal agencies filling in the legislative blanks are rightly over.”
But Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey argues the ruling creates “a regulatory black hole that destroys fundamental protections for every American.”
He and others are pushing for legislation to restore the Chevron doctrine. Frankly, that move faces long odds in a sharply divided Congress.
Constitutional law expert Rod Sullivan joined me on this week’s “Path to the Polls” to discuss whether partisan judges and those who may very well be unqualified to make decisions now have the power to block laws they don’t like.
We’ll also look at the potential consequences in food safety, water and clean air that might lead to decisions that jeopardize our health and safety.
You can catch the 7 p.m. Tuesday encore presentation on News4JAX+ or watch any time on demand on News4JAX.com, News4JAX+ and our YouTube Channel.