U.S. Supreme Court Targets EPA Regulatory Powers

Even as it has ushered in sweeping changes to American law and society - on abortion, gun rights and affirmative action - the US Supreme Court has kept tabs on another issue of keen interest to its conservative majority-- keeping federal regulatory power in check—Andrew Chung and John Kruzel reported for CNN.

Photo Insert: The court's conservatives, with a 6-3 majority, in recent years have reined in what they viewed as governmental overreach by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other agencies.

The issue will figure prominently during the court's next term, which begins in October, as the justices already have agreed to decide several cases that could curtail the authority of U.S. agencies to issue regulations and enforce laws in areas ranging from finance to fisheries.

The cases involve what has come to be known as the "administrative state," the agency bureaucracy that interprets laws, crafts federal rules and implements executive action.

The court's conservatives, with a 6-3 majority, in recent years have reined in what they viewed as governmental overreach by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other agencies.

"Next term is going to be a huge one at the court for cases involving the administrative state," said Brianne Gorod, chief counsel at the Constitutional Accountability Center liberal legal group.

"These cases all represent challenges that are part of a long-running, multifaceted conservative attack on the administrative state, and nothing less than the ability of the federal government to function effectively is at stake."

The court, in a summer recess after ending its last term on Friday, has agreed to hear in its coming term cases challenging the constitutionality of the funding structure for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the in-house enforcement regime at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

It also could overturn a decades-old precedent that helps federal agencies defend their regulatory actions in court. Legal experts see potential trouble ahead for the agencies.

"It's harder for the court to rule that the agency's composition or funding mechanism is unconstitutional without declaring a lot of what the agency has done to be illegal," said Jonathan Adler, a professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland.

The court's conservatives have proven willing to make vast changes to the law.

Last year, they ended the recognition of a woman's constitutional right to abortion and expanded gun rights. Last week, they rejected affirmative action policies used by many universities to boost Black and Hispanic student enrollment and allowed certain businesses to refuse services for same-sex weddings.

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