Congressional Hearings, Social Cost of Carbon, and the Texas Grid.
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Regulation Digest
March 3, 2021
Vol. 10, No. 8
Editor: Bryce Chinault

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Marketplace of Ideas
GW Regulatory Studies Center
- Join us at the SBCA Annual Conference!

CPR
- Recalculating the Cost of Climate Change, Dan Farber

CEI
- Using the CRA to Shield Rather than Discipline Regulation, Wayne Crews

Federalist Society
- Law & Corporate Social Responsibility, Teleforum
- Kisor & Gundy – The Future of AdLaw?, Podcast

Free State Fdn.
- FCC's Broadband Deployment, Andrew Long

GAO
- EPA & PFAS, Report

Heritage Foundation
- Biden’s Energy & Climate Policies, March 9

Inst. for Policy Integrity
- Testimony on Climate Risk Disclosure, Heather McTeer Toney

Mercatus Center
- EOs Aren’t Always the Best Tool, Eileen Norcross & Kofi Ampaabeng

NBER
- Disposable Bag Regulation, Tatiana Homonoff, et al.
- Financial Regulation: Stock Orders, Sida Li, et al.

Niskanen Center
- Understanding the Texas blackouts, Webinar
- Gulf Coast: Model for Industrial Decarbonization, Nader Sobhani

Reason
- COVID-19 & 'Certificates of Need', Eric Boehm

R Street Institute
- Future of Telehealth, Courtney Joslin
- Banning Flavored E-Cigarettes, Stacey McKenna
- Bottom-up Clean Energy Transition, Devin Hartman

RFF
- What Happened in Texas?, Kathryne Cleary & Karen Palmer
- Reducing Emissions, Richard Newell
- Decarbonizing Global Industry, Jeff Rissman, et al.

SBCA
- EO 12866 & Independent Regulatory Agencies, Clark Nardinelli & Susan Dudley

SSRN
- Local Zoning, Sara Bronin
- Global COVID-19 FinTech, Philip Rowan, et al.
- Reg. Sandboxes & Public Health, Jacob Sherkow

The Regulatory Review
- Const. Foundations of Comms Law & Policy, Randy May & Seth Cooper
- The Accredited Investor Exemption Must Go, Lucas Siegmund
- Finding Common Rules to Wrangle Big Data, Lukas Gemar

Washington Legal Fdn.
- Environmental Justice, John King

Yale Journal on Reg.
- Is Administrative Summary Judgment Unlawful?, Symposium
- Lifting Labor’s Voice, Leo Strine, et al.

American Action Forum
- Regulatory Sandbox Proposal, Dan Bosch
- Over-reliance on Executive Action, Dan Bosch

AEI
- Facebook, Google, & Australia, Bronwyn Howell

American Prospect
- The GameStop Mess, Lucy Komisar

Bipartisan Policy Center
- Advancing the Energy Transition, Event

Brookings Institution
- Agencies should plan to auto sunset their rules, Martin Totaro & Connor Raso
- Small bank overdraft giants, Aaron Klein
- Five FTC reforms, Jessica Rich
- The Texas fiasco, Podcast

C. Boyden Gray Center
- Future of Financial Regulation, March 11

Cato Institute
- Drug Approvals, Lauren Cohen, et al.
- FDA restricts at‐​home testing, Podcast
- Texas Electricity Meltdown, Peter Van Doren

CAP
- Responsible Banking, Divya Vijay & Andy Green
- Addressing Climate Change, Samantha Ross

Various Sources
- Five Facts On Presidential Executive Orders, No Labels
- Electricity Rates for An Equitable Energy Transition, Next 10
- Comparing Regulatory Responses to COVID-19, ABA AdLaw - March 12
Agency Rulemaking Highlights
COVID-19 Related Actions

EOP: Continuation of National Emergency
CLA: Impact on Adult Protective Service Programs
FRA: Railroad Operation Mask Requirement
DHS: Contact Tracing
Presidential Actions

President Biden issued a Proclamation revoking a 2020 proclamation that suspended entry of immigrants and nonimmigrants who present a risk to the labor market due to COVID-19. Executive Order 14017 prompts a multi-agency review to strengthen the resilience of the U.S. supply chain, and Executive Order 14018 revokes a number of executive actions during the Trump administration, including Ensuring Democratic Accountability in Agency Rulemaking.

Other Notable Actions

FDIC Supervisory Guidance
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation issued a final rule that codifies a 2018 interagency statement on the role of supervisory guidance. Effective April 1.

FCC Hubs & Satellites
The Federal Communications Commission issued a final rule expanding over-the-air reception devices rules for hub and relay antennas, effective March 19. The FCC also issued a final rule on the "authorization of blanket-licensed earth stations and space stations in a satellite system through a unified license," effective March 31.

More Resilient Fisheries
The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration issued a request for information on how to make fisheries and protected resources more resilient to climate change. Comments due April 2.

Digital Asset Securities
The Securities & Exchange Commission issued a statement and request for comment regarding the custody of digital asset securities by broker-dealers.

Rural Telehealth
The Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality issued a request for information on how the agency can improve rural health through telemedicine communications. Comments due April 1.
*See also: Extending Pandemic Flexibilities for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment
The Opinion Section
Tyler Cowen: When It Comes to Vaccinations, More Is More
Gregory Zerzan: Yellen Can’t Save the Polar Bears
Richard Revesz: Biden’s Path Forward on the Social Cost of Carbon
James Broughel: Out of the Gate, Biden Ditches Bipartisanship
Sidney Shapiro: Attention, Lawmakers — Regulation is More Popular than You Think
Roslyn Layton: The Economics of California’s Net Neutrality Law
Randall Lutter: EPA Dust-Up: A Recent ‘Midnight Regulation’ Needs Work
Sheila Bair: Financial Stability Matters When It Comes to Tackling Climate Change
Adam Thierer: Open-Ended Antitrust is an Innovation Killer
Ilya Somin: The State of the Legal Struggle Over the CDC Eviction Moratorium
John Chorssen & Henry Miller: Suppressing Progress: FDA overregulation of genetic engineering
Robert Graboyes: Telehealth: Eyes on Arizona
Paul Sonnier: Digital Health COVID Boom Should Not be Reversed by Regulators
Timothy Levin & Amy Natterson Kroll: Don't Try to Fix What's Not Broken in Securities
Patrick McLaughlin & Tyler Richards: Biden Should Double Down on Promoting AI Within Government
Jeffrey Westling: Americans Need Better Internet. States Can Help Pave the Way.
In the News
Congress & Regulatory Reform
  • Biden’s Hurdle: Courts Dubious of Rule by Regulation, Wall Street Journal
  • House Energy and Commerce leaders unveil sweeping climate change legislation, Politico
  • Biden’s Picks for Financial Regulator Jobs Emphasize Transparency, Fairness, New York Times
  • Senators Signal Support for Shalanda Young for Deputy OMB Director, Wall Street Journal
  • Gina Raimondo is confirmed as commerce secretary., New York Times
  • Republicans press Biden environment nominee on Obama-era policy, The Hill
Financial Markets & Housing
  • SEC to update climate-related risk disclosure requirements, The Hill
  • Analysis: Biden's SEC chair nominee signals more regulation for cryptocurrencies, Reuters
Energy & Environment
  • White House restores key climate measure calculating carbon's harm, Reuters
  • Biden sparks clean energy lobbying frenzy, Energywire
  • Biden is hiking the cost of carbon. It will change how the U.S. tackles global warming., Washington Post
  • Oil Trade Group Is Poised to Endorse Carbon Pricing, Wall Street Journal
  • SEC Opens Review of Corporate Climate Change Disclosures, Wall Street Journal
  • Reversing Trump, Interior Department Moves Swiftly on Climate Change, New York Times
  • More states follow California's lead on vehicle emissions standards, The Hill
  • Biden administration won't defend Trump-era relaxation of bird protections, The Hill
  • State Attorneys Urge EPA to Reconsider Status Quo Ozone Standard, Bloomberg
Health & Safety
  • Boeing Moved to Replace 777 Engine Covers Before Recent Failures, Wall Street Journal
  • At Last, Democrats Get Chance to Engineer Obamacare 2.0, New York Times
Business
  • DOL Gets 1,500 Comments On Contractor Rule Delay Proposal, Law 360
  • Puff Bar Defies FDA Crackdown on Fruity E-Cigarettes by Ditching the Tobacco, Wall Street Journal
Technology
  • The long, painful path of net neutrality, New York Times
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