RTP's Fourth Branch Podcast

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao are proposing to roll back the Obama Administration’s fuel economy and greenhouse gas standards for model years 2022 to 2025. The proposed rollback will have vast political and economic consequences for automakers, auto dealers, and drivers. Is the rollback legally justified and appropriate? Is it good for consumers? Will the proposed rollback prompt California to enforce its own more stringent standards? If so, what are the legal and policy ramifications of overlapping federal and state standards? This teleforum call will discuss these and other questions related to the Trump Administration’s proposed rollback of the fuel economy and greenhouse gas standards.

Featuring:

- Sean H. Donahue, Partner, Donahue, Goldberg & Weaver, LLP

- Jacqueline Glassman, Partner, King & Spalding, LLP

- [Moderator] James Conde, Associate, Boyden Gray & Associates, PLLC

- [Host] Devon Westhill, Director, Regulatory Transparency Project

Sign up for Regulatory Transparency Project updates at https://regproject.org.

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao are proposing to roll back the Obama Administration’s fuel economy and greenhouse gas standards for model years 2022 to 2025. The proposed rollback will have vast political and economic consequences for automakers, auto dealers, and drivers. Is the rollback legally justified and appropriate? Is it good for consumers? Will the proposed rollback prompt California to enforce its own more stringent standards? If so, what are the legal and policy ramifications of overlapping federal and state standards? This live podcast will discuss these and other questions related to the Trump Administration’s proposed rollback of the fuel economy and greenhouse gas standards.

Featuring:
- Sean H. Donahue, Partner, Donahue, Goldberg & Weaver, LLP
- Jacqueline Glassman, Partner, King & Spalding, LLP
- [Moderator] James Conde, Associate, Boyden Gray & Associates, PLLC

Visit our website – RegProject.org – to learn more, view all of our content, and connect with us on social media.

Facebook is not getting many "likes" these days following revelations that Cambridge Analytica accessed personal information about Facebook users without obtaining clear consent. The reaction from politicians, regulators, and the marketplace has been swift and significant. In this live podcast, experts from the Regulatory Transparency Project’s Cyber and Privacy working group will discuss what happened, the economic, legal, and political consequences, and what this could mean for companies that have built business models around the use of user data.

Featuring:
- Thomas Hazlett, H.H. Macaulay Endowed Professor of Economics, Clemson University
- Jamil Jaffer, Adjunct Professor, NSI Founder, and Director, National Security Law & Policy Program, Antonin Scalia Law School
- Megan Stifel, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Cyber Statecraft Initiative, Atlantic Council
- [Moderator] Matthew Heiman, Visiting Fellow, National Security Institute, Antonin Scalia Law School

Visit our website – RegProject.org – to learn more, view all of our content, and connect with us on social media.

Adam Jackson became a highly trained U.S. soldier who provided cutting-edge security to military bases and embassies. Now as a civilian, he seeks to provide similar protection for American communities through software he has developed that can identify potentially dangerous individuals and prompt a security response before violence occurs. Schools, places of worship, concert venues — all have jumped at the opportunity to use Adam’s service. However, Adam has been barred from utilizing the technology altogether. The Tennessee Alarm Systems Contractors Board considers the software to be an alarm system which requires Adam to undergo a 5-year apprenticeship in alarm system installation before he can obtain a certification to deploy his software. Adam, with the help of the Beacon Center of Tennessee, is challenging the Board’s determination. In the meantime, he has shut down his business while he awaits an administrative resolution to his case.

Featuring:
- Braden Boucek, Director of Litigation, Beacon Center of Tennessee
- Adam Jackson, Founder, Edge AI

Visit our website – RegProject.org – to learn more, view all of our content, and connect with us on social media.

We live in a system where regulators make rules, investigate alleged violations of the rules, and then adjudicate those violations before an Administrative Law Judge who is a member of the agency. When agency decisions are appealed to the traditional court system, judges are obligated to “defer” to the agency on both its legal and factual conclusions. Many opponents of this scheme have criticized the system for “placing a thumb on the scales of justice” by encouraging judicial bias. Many of the same critics assert that the current system of administrative law offends the rule of law, due process, and separation of powers. In April 2018, Arizona passed first-of-its-kind legislation, developed by the Goldwater Institute, that eliminates this legal deference in state courts. This Teleforum call will explore this new law, discuss how it might change state agency rulemaking and enforcement, and also examine how the law might address concerns regarding judicial bias and other issues. Importantly, this program will also consider whether this legislation can serve as a model for the rest of the country, and the federal government.

Featuring:

- Philip Hamburger, Maurice and Hilda Friedman Professor of Law, Columbia Law School

- Jonathan Riches, Director of National Litigation, Goldwater Institute

- [Moderator] Devon Westhill, Director, Regulatory Transparency Project

Sign up for Regulatory Transparency Project updates at https://regproject.org.

We live in a system where regulators make rules, investigate alleged violations of the rules, and then adjudicate those violations before an Administrative Law Judge who is a member of the agency. When agency decisions are appealed to the traditional court system, judges are obligated to “defer” to the agency on both its legal and factual conclusions. Many opponents of this scheme have criticized the system for “placing a thumb on the scales of justice” by encouraging judicial bias. Many of the same critics assert that the current system of administrative law offends the rule of law, due process, and separation of powers. In April 2018, Arizona passed first-of-its-kind legislation, developed by the Goldwater Institute, that eliminates this legal deference in state courts.
This teleforum call will explore this new law, discuss how it might change state agency rulemaking and enforcement, and also examine how the law might address concerns regarding judicial bias and other issues. Importantly, this program will also consider whether this legislation can serve as a model for the rest of the country, and the federal government.
Featuring:

Philip Hamburger, Maurice and Hilda Friedman Professor of Law, Columbia Law School
Jonathan Riches, Director of National Litigation, Goldwater Institute

Visit our website – RegProject.org – to learn more, view all of our content, and connect with us on social media.

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced that his agency would no longer allow the use of “secret science” in developing federal regulations. Specifically, the agency will only use scientific studies to develop regulations when the data and methodology for those studies are made accessible to the public. Is there really a secret science or transparency problem that even needs to be addressed? If so, have there been attempts historically to correct the problem? What are the implications of excluding such studies? This presentation will provide background on this effort and discuss how transparency in government can be strengthened and better inform policymaking.

Featuring:
- Daren Bakst, Senior Research Fellow in Agriculture Policy, Institute for Economic Freedom, The Heritage Foundation
- Richard B. Belzer Ph.D., Independent Consultant in Regulation, Risk, Economics & Information Quality

Visit our website – RegProject.org – to learn more, view all of our content, and connect with us on social media.

In Virginia, it’s perfectly legal to have a happy hour; it’s just illegal to talk about it. The state has several advertising restrictions that opponents claim are outdated and prevent businesses from communicating entirely truthful information about their legal happy hour practices--including the price of any drink. These laws affect entrepreneurs like Chef Geoff Tracy, who owns three restaurants in the DC metro area.

In this live podcast, Chef Geoff tells his story of how these restrictions have driven up the cost of doing business, how they have forced him to alter his successful business model, and why he ultimately decided to sue Virginia over them. Chef Geoff’s attorney, Anastasia Boden of the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), will discuss the lawsuit, explaining why she believes economic regulations are a growing threat to businesses and share what PLF is doing to fight for economic liberty and free speech in the courts.

Featuring:
- Anastasia P. Boden, Attorney, Economic Liberty Project, Pacific Legal Foundation
- Geoffrey Tracy, Founder, Chef Geoff's

Visit our website – RegProject.org – to learn more, view all of our content, and connect with us on social media.

Self-driving vehicles may be on American roads sooner than many think. As a result, the Department of Transportation and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have been increasingly focused on examining the potential regulatory barriers calling for comments on various federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS) that need to be changed and updates to the existing policy guidance on self-driving vehicles. Accommodating the deployment of self-driving vehicles will necessitate addressing outdated FMVSS, current definitions of "driver" or "operator," cybersecurity and privacy concerns, and a regulatory landscape where various authorities are divided between states and the federal government.

Featuring:

- Ryan Hagemann, Director of Technology Policy, Niskanen Center

- Jamie Boone, Senior Director, Government Affairs, Consumer Technology Association

- [Moderator] Devon Westhill, Director, Regulatory Transparency Project

Sign up for Regulatory Transparency Project updates at https://regproject.org.

Self-driving vehicles may be on American roads sooner than many think. As a result, the Department of Transportation and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have been increasingly focused on examining the potential regulatory barriers calling for comments on various federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS) that need to be changed and updates to the existing policy guidance on self-driving vehicles. Accommodating the deployment of self-driving vehicles will necessitate addressing outdated FMVSS, current definitions of "driver" or "operator," cybersecurity and privacy concerns, and a regulatory landscape where various authorities are divided between states and the federal government.

Featuring:
- Ryan Hagemann, Director of Technology Policy, Niskanen Center
- Jamie Boone, Senior Director, Government Affairs, Consumer Technology Association

Visit our website – RegProject.org – to learn more, view all of our content, and connect with us on social media.