To the untrained eye, we have plenty of state and federal government agencies to protect our air, water, food, drugs, transportation…all kinds of things to make sure people are safe. But a look at our history gives the context of how these regulatory agencies, as their name implies, regulate harm rather than stop it.
They may slow the harm, but they don’t prevent it. They regulate the harm. And when they regulate the harm, they legalize it, making it illegal for people to actually stop the harm.
So perhaps it should be with relief that we share the astounding news that on May 18, 2022, the Federal 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that rulings by administrative law judges from the US Securities and Exchange Commission are unconstitutional.
Whoa. This is one small attack on the regulatory agencies of the executive branch and may not stick if the Biden Administration successfully appeals it. But if it does stick, or if similar such challenges continue in the future, it could lead to regulatory agencies in general being ruled unconstitutional. The big question is what would fill the void.
For us, at least one answer is obvious. The Community Rights approach is one way for communities to tackle threats on a local level and to stop harms that up until now have been permitted by those agencies. But action would need to be swift and solid. Communities should move forward with local laws that previously would have been seen as illegitimate in light of state regulations. Now’s the time to breathe life into those local ordinances.
Photo credit: “sec-seal-blue-background” by Securities and Exchange Commission is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.