Mass Comments, Carbon Pricing, and Building Bureaucracy
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Regulation Digest
April 14, 2021
Vol. 10, No. 14
Editor: Bryce Chinault

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Marketplace of Ideas
GW Regulatory Studies Center
- Mass, Computer-Generated, and Fraudulent Comments, Steve Balla, Bridget Dooling, et al.

Mercatus Center
- Telemedicine Is Evolving Rapidly, Robert Graboyes
- Regulation in Plains States, Kofi Ampaabeng & James Broughel

NBER
- Robust Decarbonization, James Stock & Daniel Stuart

Niskanen Center
- Don’t Exclude Green Tech, Daniel Takash & Annabelle Swift

Reason
- FDA Reverses Course on Abortion Drugs by Mail, Elizabeth Nolan Brown

R Street Institute
- How FERC can catalyze transmission infrastructure, Devin Hartman & Beth Garza

RFF
- How a Price on Carbon Can Inspire Investment, Brian Prest, et al.

SSRN
- AdLaw in the Automated State, Cary Coglianese
- Regulatory Capture and the Dynamics of Interventionism, Germain Belzile, et al.
- Land Use Deregulation, Richard Schragger
- Disruptive Competition, Mario Leccese

The Regulatory Review
- What Comes Next for ANWR?, Hannah Pugh
- Improve the Social Cost of Carbon, Justin Gundlach & Peter Howard
- Establishing Economies on Indian Reservations, Robert Miller
- Does the EU Set or Export Privacy Standards?, Róisin Costello

Washington Legal Fdn.
- Justice Thomas Brings Attention to Regulatory Takings Doctrine, Anastasia Boden & Chris Kieser
- Anti-Money Laundering, Stanley Garnett, et al.

Yale Journal on Reg.
- “Law and Leviathan: Redeeming the Admin. State”, Symposium

American Action Forum
- CRA Tracker, Dan Bosch
- Wrong Solution to the Digital Divide, Jennifer Huddleston & Juan Londoño

AEI
- Privacy and fair info. practices, Jim Harper

Bipartisan Policy Center
- Smarter, Cleaner, Faster Infrastructure, Report

Brookings Institution
- Debate over Section 230, David Morar & Chris Riley
- Justice Thomas on social media regulation, Mark McCarthy

Cato Institute
- An Epidemic Within a Pandemic, Jeffrey Singer
- Occupational Licensing Down South, Ilya Shapiro

CEI
- Ind. Contractor Status Final Rule, Sean Higgins
- Follow in Coinbase Footsteps, John Berlau

Federalist Society
- FCC v. Prometheus Radio Project, Teleforum

Free State Fdn.
- FCC Process Reforms Protect the Rule of Law, Daniel Lyons

Hoover Institution
- Adapt And Be Adept, Terry Anderson

Inst. for Policy Integrity
- Periodic Review of Agency Regulation, Jason Schwartz

Manhattan Institute
- Can American Cities Manufacture Again?, Judge Glock

Various Sources
- Reviewing the CFPB Taskforce, Webinar
Agency Rulemaking Highlights
COVID-19 Related Actions

CFPB: Real Estate Settlement Procedures
ED: Strengthening Institutions Program & Minority Serving Institutions Program
FCC: Telehealth Program & Telehealth for Low-Income Consumers
CDC: Healthcare Infection Control Practices
CLA: Vaccine Access for People With Disabilities
Other Notable Actions

Bankruptcy Regulations
The Commodity Future Trading Commission issued a final rule amending bankruptcy proceedings of commodity brokers to reflect changes regarding the exponential growth in the speed of transactions, lessons learned over prior bankruptcies, and the increased importance of derivatives clearing organizations to the financial system. Effective May 13.

Flammability of Upholstered Furniture
The Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a direct final rule to codify the statutory requirements for the flammability of upholstered furniture under the COVID-19 Regulatory Relief and Work From Home Safety Act, effective June 25. Comments can be submitted to a corresponding notice of proposed rulemaking by May 10.

Energy Conservation Program
The Dept. of Energy issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to modify the process by which DOE arrives at its energy conservation standards and test procedures for certain commercial/industrial equipment. DOE will host a webinar on April 23, and comments are due May 27.

Presidential Commission on SCOTUS
Executive Order 14023 establishes a commission of 36 members to produce a report on the role and operation of the Supreme Court. The commission will seek public comments.
The Opinion Section
Edward Glaeser: How Biden Can Free America From Its Zoning Straitjacket
Ilya Somin: Exclusionary Zoning is Even Worse than Previously Thought
Roslyn Layton: In the Ripple Case, The SEC is Now On Trial – and Knows It
WSJ Editorial: The Green New Deal, in Disguise
NYT Editorial: Trump Abandoned the Climate. This Is Biden’s Moment.
Arthur Fraas & Randall Lutter: Shouldn't Infrastructure Users Shoulder Some of Its Costs?
Brian Feinstein & Kevin Werbach: Don’t Fear Cryptocurrencies. Manage Them.
Steven Rattner: Biden’s Big Government Should Be Handled With Care
Heather Reams: A Boom in Bureaucracy Won't Build America Back Any Better
Wayne Crews: The Growth-By-Deregulation Alternative To Joe Biden’s Cyclopean American Jobs Plan
Bob Inglis: Let Free Enterprise Solve Climate Change (with the Accountability that Only Gov't Can Provide)
Leo Nissola: America Needs an Operation Warp Speed for Cancer
Henry Miller: The FDA’s ‘Pause’ on Distribution of the J&J Vaccine Is Overly Risk-Averse
Ellen Wald: Green Regs Should Not Be One Size Fits All
Daniel Gorfine: Building Digital Infrastructure for the Future of Finance
In the News
Congress & Regulatory Reform
  • Democrats running out of time to undo Trump environment & healthcare rules, Los Angeles Times
  • Gary Gensler Is Confirmed as SEC Chairman by Senate, Wall Street Journal
Financial Markets & Housing
  • Regulators Step Up Scrutiny of SPACs With New View on Warrants, Wall Street Journal
  • Trump Scrapped Two Fair Housing Rules; Biden Is Bringing Them Back, Bloomberg
  • SEC Review Highlights Potentially Misleading ESG Practices Among Funds, Wall Street Journal
Energy & Environment
  • Executives Call for Deep Emission Cuts to Combat Climate Change, New York Times
  • Biden taps energy, environment vets for leadership posts, Greenwire
  • 'Seismic shift' at FERC could kill natural gas pipelines, Energywire
  • Biden budget's $14 billion hike for climate includes big boosts for EPA, science, Reuters
  • Biden to Pick Veteran Oil Drilling Regulator for Interior Role, Bloomberg
Health & Safety
  • Drug Regulators Turn to Zoom-Style Plant Inspections During the Pandemic, Bloomberg
  • Coding to Hide Health Prices from Web Searches Is Barred by Regulators, Wall Street Journal
  • FDA to urge limits on heavy metals in baby foods, starting with arsenic and lead, Washington Post
Business
  • Justice Department Urges Regulator to Nix CP Rail Share Swap Ahead of Merger, Bloomberg
  • Dominos launches driverless pizza delivery pilot program in Houston, The Hill
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