Last month, the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) announced that it was conducting a public listening session to obtain ideas about how the Biden administration could strengthen the public’s ability to engage in the regulatory system. This is an issue we at the Center have been working hard on in recent years. (See here, here, and here.) So, we were happy to answer OIRA’s call.
OIRA’s listening session took place on November 17. I was joined there by several members of the public interest community. The session was conducted under the Chatham House Rule, so I’m limited in what I can say about what was discussed. But I can report that (1) there was widespread agreement that public participation is an essential part of the regulatory system already and (2) there is much the administration should do to make it easier for the public to influence how regulations are implemented, particularly for members of structurally marginalized communities.
One point I emphasized during my presentation is that the Biden administration must begin affirmatively defending the regulatory system as a vital part of our system of democratic government. This will be essential if we are to overcome the decades of attacks on the regulatory system from corporate special interests and their conservative allies in government. After all, if the public fails to recognize the value of the regulatory system, they are unlikely to take advantage of opportunities to participate in it.
As part of the listening session, OIRA also welcomed written submissions of ideas through an email address. The deadline for submitting written ideas was December 2. The letter I sent OIRA is available here.
My letter set out to accomplish the following three tasks:
Key elements of the reform blueprint my letter offers include the following:
I am delighted to see OIRA undertake this effort to improve the regulatory system. As compared to its traditional role of “regulatory gatekeeper,” this is a far better use of its institutional position and substantive expertise. I look forward to continuing to work with the staff at OIRA on making the regulatory system more inclusive and responsive, especially with regard to members of structurally marginalized communities.
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James Goodwin | December 8, 2022
Last month, the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) announced that it was conducting a public listening session to obtain ideas about how the Biden administration could strengthen the public’s ability to engage in the regulatory system. This is an issue we at the Center have been working hard on in recent years. So, we were happy to answer OIRA’s call.
Alice Kaswan, Allison Stevens, Emily Hammond, Karen Sokol | November 22, 2022
We asked our Member Scholars how the election outcomes will affect policy going forward in our three priority policy areas. Today’s post covers the implications for climate justice.
Allison Stevens, David Driesen, James Goodwin, Sidney A. Shapiro, Thomas McGarity | November 21, 2022
We asked several of our Member Scholars how the midterm election outcomes will affect policy going forward in our three priority policy areas. Today’s post covers the implications for regulations.
Allison Stevens, Dave Owen, Michael C. Duff, Noah Sachs | November 18, 2022
We asked several of our Member Scholars how the election outcomes will affect policy going forward in our three priority policy areas. Today’s post covers the implications for public protections such as environmental health, clean air and water, and workers’ rights.
Katlyn Schmitt | November 17, 2022
For a half century, the Clean Water Act has been the nation's leading water pollution control law. When it passed the modern Clean Water Act in 1972, Congress intended federal and state agencies like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to work together to minimize, and ultimately eliminate, water pollution by 1985. While the country has fallen significantly short in meeting this goal, the Clean Water Act has prevented significant water pollution – and we and our waterways are much healthier for it.
Dave Owen | November 10, 2022
In one of Tuesday’s least surprising outcomes, California voters reelected Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. It wasn’t close. This might seem interesting only if you’re predicting the 2024 presidential primaries. But Newsom’s reelection has broad significance for climate policy and law, both in California and beyond. Think for a moment about traditional arguments against responding to […]
Daniel Farber | November 3, 2022
Well over a century ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it had power to remedy interstate water pollution. That was in 1901. Six years later, the Court decided its first air pollution case. Notably, these cases came during the conservative Lochner era when the Court was hardly known for its liberalism. Quite the contrary. Yet the Court didn't hesitate to address pollution issues.
Karen Sokol | October 13, 2022
When Russia invaded Ukraine, Ukrainian climate scientist Svitlana Krakovska was working from her home with international colleagues to finalize the second installment of the latest report by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. “I started to think about the parallels between climate change and this war, and it’s clear that the roots of both these threats to humanity are found in fossil fuels,” she told The Guardian. “This is a fossil fuel war. It’s clear we cannot continue to live this way; it will destroy our civilization.”
Catalina Gonzalez | October 12, 2022
This is the third post in a three-part series on recent efforts to place justice and equity at the center of California’s climate plans. Read the first and second posts. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and champions of environmental justice in the state legislature and advocacy community are cheering the recent passage of a series of new laws that […]