SCOTUS Ruling Creates More Stable Regulatory Environment for Business

Source: U.S. Chamber of Commerce

In its decision in the Loper Bright and Relentless cases, the Supreme Court overturned its 40-year-old administrative law precedent from Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, taking a major step toward improving the regulatory environment for businesses.

Why it matters: The court made an important course correction that will help create a more predictable and stable regulatory environment for businesses.

Be smart: Under the longstanding Chevron deference doctrine, judges deferred to federal agencies’ reasonable interpretations of ambiguous statutes.

• This created an unpredictable and unstable regulatory climate for businesses.
• Now, courts will exercise full, independent judgment in deciding whether an agency has acted within its statutory authority.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce take: “The Supreme Court’s previous deference rule allowed each new presidential administration to advance their political agendas through flip-flopping regulations and not provide consistent rules of the road for businesses to navigate, plan, and invest in the future,” said U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Suzanne P. Clark. “The Chamber will continue to urge courts to faithfully interpret statutes that govern federal agencies and to ensure federal agencies act in a reasonable and lawful manner."

What the U.S. Chamber did: The U.S. Chamber filed an amicus brief, urging the Court to reject the practice of reflexive judicial deference to agency interpretations of statutes under an expansive interpretation of Chevron deference.