SEC Climate Proposal, Merger Guidelines, and Digital Assets
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Regulation Digest
March 23, 2022
Vol. 11, No. 12
Editor: Bryce Chinault

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Marketplace of Ideas
GW Regulatory Studies Center
- Dynamic Competition & Public Policy, Apr. 14
- Agile Governance for Our Future, Apr. 26

Federalist Society
- Crypto Regulation, Video
- Emergency Management Statutes, Podcast
- State Data Privacy Legislation, Podcast

Free State Fdn.
- FCC Universal Service Fund, Randy May, et al.

Heritage Foundation
- Anti-NFT Regulations, Peter St. Onge

Hoover Institution
- Political Regulation Wave, Shiran Shen
- Hands Off Private Equity, Richard Epstein
- Digital Currency, Michael Bordo

Inst. for Policy Integrity
- Clean Energy Marriage, Justin Gundlach

ITIF
- DOJ/FTC Merger Enforcement, Aurelien Portuese & Julie Carlson 
- Antitrust Rage, Robert Atkinson

Manhattan Institute
- Remove Barriers to Productivity, Eli Dourado

Mercatus Center
- Improving the Regulatory Process via Regulatory Budgeting, James Broughel & Patrick McLaughlin

NBER
- "Non-Health" Effects of Air Pollution, Sandra Aguilar-Gomez, et al.

Reason
- Occupational Licensing Hurts the Vulnerable, J.D. Tuccille

R Street Institute
- FTC/DOJ Merger Guidelines, Josh Withrow

RFF
- Improve Federal Environmental Regulation, Mar 30-31

SSRN
- ICOs & Extraterritorial Application of U.S. Securities Laws, Freya (Fangheng) Zhao
- Antitrust Overreach In Labor Markets, Richard Epstein
- Governance of Algorithmic Credit Scoring, Nydia Remolina

Tech Policy Institute
- FCC Universal Service Fund, Sarah Oh & Scott Wallsten
- Crypto EO, Mar. 30

The Regulatory Review
- Changes in Antitrust & Admin. Law, Richard Pierce
- Regulatory Engagement is Due for an Upgrade, Samara Spence & Robin Thurston

Urban Institute
- US Small Businesses, Brett Theodos

Washington Legal Fdn.
- DOJ/FTC Merger Guidelines, John Masslon & Cory Andrews

Yale Journal on Reg.
- Supervising the Guantanamo Tribunal Supervisor after Arthrex, Laura Stanley
- TX Medical Association v. HHS, Bernard Bell

ACUS
- Contractors in Rulemaking, Mar. 24

American Action Forum
- FTC/DOJ Merger Guidelines, Jeffrey Westling
- SEC Disclosures of Climate-Change Risks, Thomas Wade
- Davis-Bacon Act Regulations, Dan Bosch

American Prospect
- SEC’s Crypto Investigation, Alexander Sammon

Bipartisan Policy Center
- Supporting Innovations to Drive Down Costs, Mar. 24
- Infrastructure Permitting & Environmental Review, Andy Winkler & Owen Minott

Brookings Institution
- Future of regulation at SCOTUS, Mar. 28
- Biden’s EO on crypto, Aaron Klein

Cato Institute
- Ellig’s Lasting Views on the Regulatory Process, Michael O'Reilly
- Regulation Magazine, New Edition

CAP
- Enhance State Climate Action, Meredith Alexander, et al.

CPR
- (Mis)Estimating Regulatory Costs, Dan Farber

CEI
- FCC Universal Service Fund, Ryan Nabil
- Federal Regulatory Disclosure, Wayne Crews
- Climate Overreach at the SEC, Richard Morrison
- New Anti-Merger Bill, Ryan Young

Various Sources
- Cost-Benefit Analysis in Federal Agency Rulemaking, CRS Report
- How Apple Became Tech's Biggest Regulator, Podcast
Agency Rulemaking Highlights
COVID-19 Related Actions

OSHA: Exposure in Healthcare Settings
USDA: Spot Market Hog Pandemic Program
CDC: Immigrant Quarantine Order Termination
FDA: Advisory Committee Mtg, EUAs: Biological Product, Medical Devices, & Revocation
HUD: Exception or Delay to Vaccine Requirement
HRSA: Advancing Health Equity, Rural Reporting
Other Notable Actions

Davis-Bacon
The Dept. of Labor issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to review and update Davis-Bacon labor standards for construction projects. Comments due May 17.

Cybersecurity Risk Management
The Securities & Exchange Commission issued a proposed rule to enhance and standardize disclosures regarding cybersecurity risks and governance. Comments due May 9.

Pre-Enforcement Notices
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to modify the agency's procedures for issuing pre-enforcement notices. Comments due April 21.

Equity in Contracting
President Biden issued Executive Order 14069 to enhance pay equity and transparency for job applicants and employees of Federal contractors and subcontractors.

Designating Aliens for Expedited Removal
The Dept. of Homeland Security rescinded a July 2019 notice "which expanded to the maximum extent permitted by the Immigration and Nationality Act the application of expedited removal procedures to noncitizens not already covered by previous designations."
The Opinion Section
Howard Beales & Todd Zywicki: Junk Fees or Junk Policy?
Timothy Fitzgerald & Kevin Hassett: Waive the Jones Act to Get the Supply Chain Flowing Again
Narayana Kocherlakota: The Fed Needs a Boring Bank Regulator
Jason Riley: Environmental Alarmism Has Hardly Changed Since the ’60s
Hannah Wiseman, et al.: Clean Energy Is Grid Reliability’s Best Hope, Not Enemy
Jay Clayton & Patrick McHenry: The SEC’s Climate-Change Overreach
Nir Kaissar: SEC’s Climate Rules Are No Environmental Crusade
Wayne Crews: SEC’s Climate Disclosure Rules Advance Biden’s Epic Whole-Of-Government Regulatory Agenda
Matthew Levine: The SEC Will Regulate Climate
WSJ Editorial: Gary Gensler Stages a Climate Coup
Oonagh McDonald: Biden's Executive Orders on Digital Assets May be too Little too Tate
Steve Forbes: Biden’s Crypto Executive Order: Breakthrough Or Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing?
Hilary Allen & Christopher Odinet: The Problems with Biden's Crypto Executive Order Take Us Back to 2008
Kristin Tate: The Coming Federal Weaponization of Banking
Alden Abbott & Andrew Mercado: US Companies Should Bring Their Boxing Gloves to Europe's Courts
Alexander Salter: Mandate Drift at the Fed is Par for the Course
In the News
Congress & Regulatory Reform
  • Senate Panel Approves Jerome Powell’s Renomination as Fed Chairman, Wall Street Journal
  • Senate bill directs FERC to bolster interregional transmission planning, require GHG reporting, Utility Dive
  • Tensions in House GOP over how to go after Big Tech are boiling over, Washington Post
Financial Markets & Housing
  • SEC Floats Mandatory Disclosure of Climate-Change Risks, Emissions, Wall Street Journal
  • New SEC climate rule leaves progressives wanting more, The Hill
  • The S.E.C. moves closer to enacting a sweeping climate disclosure rule., New York Times
  • Five Key Takeaways From SEC’s Proposal for Climate Disclosures, Bloomberg
  • Powell: Digital currencies will require new regulations, Associated Press
  • Critics say a proposed S.E.C. rule would curb activists’ ambitions., New York Times
  • U.S. Consensus Forming Over Stablecoin Oversight, Liang Says, Bloomberg
Energy & Environment
  • Appeals court revives Biden climate damage cost estimate, Associated Press
  • Biden Administration Can Use Higher Climate-Cost Estimate in Making Policy, Appeals Court Rules, Wall Street Journal
  • In Clampdown on U.S. Methane Emissions, Belching Cattle Get a Pass, Wall Street Journal
  • Largest Federal Utility Chooses Gas, Undermining Biden’s Climate Goals, New York Times
  • Interior moves forward on planning for oil and gas leases after court reinstates climate tool, The Hill
  • EPA eyes new rule for gas-fired power plants, E&E News
Health & Safety
  • Moderna’s Covid-19 Vaccine Works Safely in Young Children, Company Says, Wall Street Journal
  • FDA advisory panel to discuss additional COVID booster shots in April, The Hill
  • Biden Administration to Stop Reimbursing Hospitals for Covid-19 Care for Uninsured, Wall Street Journal
  • FAA Increases Reviews of Midair-Collision Warnings for Commercial Flights, Wall Street Journal
Business & Technology
  • D.C. Suit Accusing Amazon of Controlling Prices Is Thrown Out, New York Times
  • Tech leaders face threat of prison under new UK online bill, Associated Press
  • U.S. labor board issues a complaint against Starbucks., New York Times
  • What is DeFi?, New York Times
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