1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,880 Speaker 1: California's Attorney General, Javier Bis Sarah has brought dozens of 2 00:00:03,960 --> 00:00:08,040 Speaker 1: legal actions against the Trump administration, many over its environmental 3 00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:12,000 Speaker 1: policy decisions and their effect on climate change. But Sarah 4 00:00:12,039 --> 00:00:14,520 Speaker 1: is claiming victory in his latest fight with the Trump 5 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:19,479 Speaker 1: administration over greenhouse gas emissions. The administration backed down and 6 00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:24,000 Speaker 1: announced it will implement requirements that states track vehicle emissions 7 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:27,120 Speaker 1: on federal highways after being sued by Bis, Sarah and 8 00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:31,040 Speaker 1: seven other state attorney general for delaying the rule. But 9 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:34,760 Speaker 1: Sarah has called Trump out before. I don't think Donald 10 00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:38,560 Speaker 1: Trump has made the transition from candidate Trump to leader Trump. Uh, 11 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:40,600 Speaker 1: he understands, he doesn't understand yet that he has to 12 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:43,240 Speaker 1: follow the law in order to be president United States. 13 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:47,720 Speaker 1: But will federal officials repeal the new rules next year anyway? 14 00:00:47,880 --> 00:00:50,720 Speaker 1: Joining us as Charles Warren, head of the environmental law 15 00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:55,160 Speaker 1: practice at Cramer levin Chuck, What does the greenhouse gas 16 00:00:55,240 --> 00:01:00,600 Speaker 1: performance measure require? Well? Doing this is all part of 17 00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:04,720 Speaker 1: something that they call Map one Moving Ahead for Progress 18 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:08,600 Speaker 1: that the Obama administration had put in place. And what 19 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:12,520 Speaker 1: it does. It says, in a number of areas, you 20 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:16,319 Speaker 1: want to look at federal highways and the traffic that 21 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:20,200 Speaker 1: moves on them to try to uh, you know, improve 22 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:27,240 Speaker 1: things like traffic congestion, moving freight, the emissions reductions and 23 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:30,760 Speaker 1: things like that and uh and it's all for the 24 00:01:30,800 --> 00:01:36,520 Speaker 1: purpose of sort of carrying out congestion uh mitigation plans 25 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:40,160 Speaker 1: and things like that. And so part of that is 26 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:46,520 Speaker 1: measuring emissions alongside of these highways, these federally funded highways. 27 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:51,240 Speaker 1: And I think the part why this got into trouble 28 00:01:51,280 --> 00:01:55,600 Speaker 1: in the new administration is that they were going to 29 00:01:55,680 --> 00:02:01,240 Speaker 1: be measuring greenhouse gases carbon dioxide, and and this administration 30 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:04,760 Speaker 1: has taken the position that, you know, they don't want 31 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:08,239 Speaker 1: to really be involved in that, even though the law 32 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:11,200 Speaker 1: and the court decisions have said they have to be. 33 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:14,799 Speaker 1: And so that's so they delayed this regulation and that's 34 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:17,840 Speaker 1: what brought a lot that's what brought up the suit 35 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:21,359 Speaker 1: by the Attorney General's California in these other states. So 36 00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:24,640 Speaker 1: where where were we here, Chuck in terms of where 37 00:02:24,639 --> 00:02:29,720 Speaker 1: the lawsuit was, you know, and what was likely to happen. Well, 38 00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:31,680 Speaker 1: you know, they had filed there, they had filed their 39 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:36,000 Speaker 1: lawsuits you know, after they may and May the administration 40 00:02:36,120 --> 00:02:39,400 Speaker 1: said they're delaying parts of it indefinitely and they're going 41 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:42,200 Speaker 1: to come back, and they filed it in the federal 42 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:45,680 Speaker 1: in the federal court. And what I really, what I 43 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:49,840 Speaker 1: think happened, is that the Justice Department really looked at 44 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:52,520 Speaker 1: this in view of some of the decisions that have 45 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:55,320 Speaker 1: already come down by the federal courts and saying that 46 00:02:55,360 --> 00:02:58,480 Speaker 1: you can't, you know, you can't just put these regulations 47 00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:05,040 Speaker 1: on in depth and delay. Uh. And they basically decided 48 00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:07,560 Speaker 1: that they would have to move forward on it, giving 49 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:12,519 Speaker 1: a victory to California in the United States that suit. Now, 50 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:15,120 Speaker 1: that doesn't that doesn't mean, I should say, that doesn't 51 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:17,520 Speaker 1: mean that they might like at some point they could 52 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:19,840 Speaker 1: try to go through a process to try and change 53 00:03:19,880 --> 00:03:23,120 Speaker 1: the regulation, but it means that right now you've got 54 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:25,440 Speaker 1: to go forward with it. You must have heard what 55 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:29,600 Speaker 1: I was thinking, Chuck, because Doug Keycocks, a spokesman for 56 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:34,920 Speaker 1: the Federal Highway Administration, said that they have heard anecdotally 57 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:38,000 Speaker 1: that some states are already collecting such data and we 58 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:43,680 Speaker 1: don't want to complicate their work with potentially duplicative federal requirements, 59 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:48,080 Speaker 1: and that they will undertake a fresh review of whether 60 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:52,760 Speaker 1: this rule is necessary or not. So where does that 61 00:03:52,840 --> 00:03:57,360 Speaker 1: leave it, they could change it. You know what I think, June, 62 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:02,400 Speaker 1: the situation is this, Look, any regulation can be reviewed, 63 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:06,480 Speaker 1: but you have to then go through a whole regulatory process. 64 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:09,280 Speaker 1: You have to be able to justify a change in 65 00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:12,720 Speaker 1: that regulation, and that's not always easy. But what this 66 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:16,080 Speaker 1: administration had been doing is to say, no, we're just 67 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:19,240 Speaker 1: delaying these regulations and we're going to take a look 68 00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:24,760 Speaker 1: at them at our leisure. Basically, Now, what the courts 69 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:27,280 Speaker 1: have increasingly been saying is you just can't do that. 70 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:31,040 Speaker 1: You just can't use that tactic. You either have to 71 00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:35,800 Speaker 1: decide you're gonna come, you know, reconsider the whole regulation 72 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:39,760 Speaker 1: and go through the whole process, and in the meantime, 73 00:04:39,839 --> 00:04:43,960 Speaker 1: the regulation stays in effect or or not. And you 74 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:46,680 Speaker 1: can't just say no, we're delaying it so states and 75 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:49,960 Speaker 1: others don't have to worry about implementing these regulations while 76 00:04:50,040 --> 00:04:53,480 Speaker 1: we go about and decide how we want to change it. Well, 77 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:55,720 Speaker 1: in terms of informing a lot of chuck, you know, 78 00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:58,159 Speaker 1: a lot of people say that the Trump administration is 79 00:04:58,279 --> 00:05:02,560 Speaker 1: undermining Obamacare by not enforcing certain provisions of it, even 80 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:05,400 Speaker 1: though they haven't been successful in getting it repealed. Um 81 00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:08,400 Speaker 1: is there something they could do here in terms of 82 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:11,719 Speaker 1: how they enforce or don't enforce these regulations that could 83 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:14,719 Speaker 1: have a similar effect on this kind of environmental action. 84 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:19,560 Speaker 1: You know, I think it's really tougher here because you know, 85 00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:24,719 Speaker 1: obviously the Affordable Care Act requires affirmative things on behalf 86 00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:28,159 Speaker 1: of the administration to you know, get the website running 87 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:32,239 Speaker 1: and do all kinds of stuff to encourage people to participate, etcetera. Here, 88 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:36,880 Speaker 1: states have mandates to do things, and um, if they 89 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:40,320 Speaker 1: don't do them, and regulations are in effect their subject 90 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:43,719 Speaker 1: to suit from the outside, and they realize that. And 91 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:45,600 Speaker 1: you know that one thing under the Clean Air Act 92 00:05:45,680 --> 00:05:48,200 Speaker 1: and and the Clean Water Act is there's a citizen 93 00:05:48,279 --> 00:05:52,039 Speaker 1: suit provision in both of those acts, and that means 94 00:05:52,080 --> 00:05:56,200 Speaker 1: that citizens can if it's not if things aren't being enforced, 95 00:05:56,279 --> 00:05:59,560 Speaker 1: citizens can come in sue to get them enforce. And 96 00:05:59,640 --> 00:06:02,800 Speaker 1: so so I So I think that's that's a difference here. 97 00:06:02,839 --> 00:06:07,880 Speaker 1: That's important, Chuck. For the Republican president and Republican Congress, 98 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:11,599 Speaker 1: Democratic attorneys general across the country have been assuming a 99 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:15,320 Speaker 1: sort of national role and using the courts to challenge 100 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:20,359 Speaker 1: Trump's policies and to enforce federal regulations, how much impact 101 00:06:20,440 --> 00:06:24,360 Speaker 1: can they have in the environmental area? Tune And I 102 00:06:24,400 --> 00:06:28,560 Speaker 1: think they can actually have quite quite a significant impact, 103 00:06:28,640 --> 00:06:32,120 Speaker 1: because if you think about it, you know, the environmental 104 00:06:32,200 --> 00:06:35,360 Speaker 1: laws are out there and the regulations are out there, 105 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:38,080 Speaker 1: and I said there, you know, there's the mechanisms for suit. 106 00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:42,640 Speaker 1: And I think that you know, people are watching very carefully, 107 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:46,560 Speaker 1: and I think that you know, if they if the 108 00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:50,360 Speaker 1: administration tries to undermine a lot of ongoing regulations with 109 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:53,719 Speaker 1: particularly if they try to short circuit the process, you 110 00:06:53,800 --> 00:06:58,800 Speaker 1: have these attorneys general watching from many states, and I 111 00:06:58,839 --> 00:07:00,360 Speaker 1: think they're going to be subject to a lot of 112 00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:04,200 Speaker 1: lawsuits and and I think they've already had defeats in court, 113 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:07,279 Speaker 1: and that's why you saw them back off here. And 114 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:09,920 Speaker 1: you know they can certainly there's certainly things that can 115 00:07:09,960 --> 00:07:16,360 Speaker 1: be done to impede the the way the regulations are implemented. 116 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:18,760 Speaker 1: But I think it's a little tougher in the environmental 117 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:21,520 Speaker 1: area because because as I said before, there are a 118 00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:23,880 Speaker 1: lot of people watching, and there's the citizen suit provisions 119 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:27,720 Speaker 1: that allow you to challenge these things. As always, Thanks 120 00:07:27,720 --> 00:07:30,960 Speaker 1: for being on Bloomberg Law. That's Charles Warren, the head 121 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:34,280 Speaker 1: of the environmental law practice at Cramer Levin coming up 122 00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:36,920 Speaker 1: on Bloomberg Law. A, T and T and other broadband 123 00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:40,440 Speaker 1: providers are asking the Supreme Court to overturn the Obama 124 00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:41,800 Speaker 1: era net neutrality rule.