It’s all over but the shouting.
The results of this year’s much-discussed midterm elections are finally (almost fully) in: the U.S. House is now controlled by a Republican from California, President Biden now faces a divided Congress, control of several state legislative chambers switched hands, and voters in 32 states weighed in on 137 ballot measures on issues ranging from abortion to voting rights.
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; in the coming days, additional posts in this series will cover implications for climate justice and regulatory democracy.
Q: How will the outcome of the midterm elections affect policy relating to public protections?
A: Likely layoffs at federal labor agency could undermine worker protections
The union affiliated with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the federal agency that oversees workers’ right to organize and addresses unfair labor practices, asserts that, with fixed costs rising by roughly 4.6 percent, the NLRB is facing "budgetary Armageddon" unless Congress increases the agency's budget.
The agency is already in a hiring freeze, and, for the first time in a decade, it is possible that the NLRB will have to furlough employees — at a time when caseloads are growing and the agency is attempting to develop novel workers' rights theories.
The NLRB's budget has been frozen since 2014, and it is almost inconceivable the situation will improve now that Republicans have won control of the House.
— Michael C. Duff is a law professor at St. Louis University School of Law
A: An auspicious omen for state-based climate policy
For years, addressing climate change seemed politically risky due to fears that we’d lose our way of life, our prosperity, our freedom. But these fears are hard to reconcile with California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s landslide victory this month.
The state has responded aggressively to climate change. In 2021, less than half of California’s electricity came from fossil fuel sources, a share that has been declining for years, and electric cars are ever more prevalent on our roads.
The state has a long way to go, but Californians are well past the feeling that a renewable energy transition is hypothetical and abstract. If responding to climate change was going to stink, we’d know it by now — and we’d take out our frustrations on incumbent politicians. Instead, we just reelected a climate-conscious governor in a landslide — and that bodes well for climate law and policy in California and beyond.
— Dave Owen is a law professor at University of California Hastings College of Law
A: A ‘big boost’ for public and environmental health
The midterm results give a big boost to environmental and public health protections in the second half of Biden’s term.
I expect turnover among top appointees, and the Democratic-controlled Senate will confirm committed progressives to senior positions at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; at the U.S. Departments of Energy, Interior, and Health and Human Services; and at other agencies. That means momentum can continue on reducing carbon emissions, strengthening worker protections, and safeguarding water quality.
— Noah Sachs is a law professor at University of Richmond School of Law
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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 […]
Rachel Mayo | October 12, 2022
Our climate is changing quickly — and outpacing our nation’s ability to prevent or prepare for disruptions to our energy system. And, as is so often the case in the wake of natural disasters, low-wealth people and communities of color, who contribute the least to climate change, are most at risk. Hurricane Ian, which last […]
Catalina Gonzalez | October 11, 2022
This is the second post in a three-part series on recent efforts to place justice and equity at the center of California’s climate plans. The first post and third post are also available on our blog. Environmental justice advocates are calling on California regulators to strengthen protections for underserved and overburdened communities — which are disproportionately […]
Catalina Gonzalez | October 10, 2022
This is the first post in a three-part series on recent efforts to place justice and equity at the center of California’s climate plans. Part II and Part III will run October 11 and 12. In a major victory for climate justice, California regulators recently announced significant improvements to the statewide plan, the AB32 2022 Scoping Plan Update, to […]