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California’s climate disclosure laws will devastate interstate commerce
This week, on behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, I submitted a public comment to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) notice for state…
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The beginning of the end for net-zero financial alliances
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the world’s premier financial institutions formed bold climate finance coalitions. The most notable of these was…
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DC Circuit Court shields proxy advisor duopoly
In an unfortunate move, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals recently struck down the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) 2020 Proxy Advisor Rule. The…
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The CAT’s nine lives could be up
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals recently vacated a funding proposal for the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) largest regulatory program to date. Known…
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Dodd-Frank 15 years later: How financial regulators leveled up
The leadup to Dodd-Frank This month marks the 15th anniversary of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act. This law was enacted in the wake…
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EU downsizes and delays its climate disclosure policy
The European Union (EU) is undergoing a major reality check regarding its climate disclosure policy for corporations. Its executive arm, the European Commission, has significantly…
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The CFPB director’s dominance over adjudication must end
On behalf of CEI, I submitted a new comment to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) calling on the Bureau to rescind one…
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How IAIS advances DEI policies
As explained in an earlier blog post, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has drifted away from its mission and is actively working…
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SEC commissioners regain subpoena power, potentially curtailing record-level fines
After 16 years, commissioners at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) finally adopted a rule to regain the authority to launch investigations from the…
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CEI primer on agency adjudication
Agency adjudication is the process by which administrative agencies resolve legal disputes that implicate regulatory policies. Agencies render decisions through in-house tribunals commonly known as…
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The shadow nonprofit’s push for ESG
Nonprofit interest groups play a significant role in advancing policy change in government. The IRS affords tax exemption to thousands of these groups via their…
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SEC restores corporate control over ESG proposals
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has wasted no time in reforming controversial regulations under the Trump administration. Beyond targeting formal rules, GOP commissioners have…
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Legislation would restore the full power of the Seventh Amendment
Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY) has introduced a bill offering the first legislative step toward administrative law court (ALC) reform. Known as the Seventh…
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SEC abandons legal arguments in favor of climate disclosure rule
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced this month that it will no longer defend the indefensible, abandoning in court its arguments favoring mandatory…
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Trio of agencies scrap their climate disclosure mandate, SEC should take note
Prior to Inauguration Day 2025, the Department of Defense (DoD), General Service Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) collectively withdrew a…
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Regulators need to cool off and slow down their rulemakings
Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY) has reintroduced an important bill that would make the administrative rulemaking process fairer for the public. Known as the “Regulatory…
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DOGE should investigate Biden’s natural capital accounts
With an incoming Congress and president at the helm, Republicans are taking aim at problematic Biden-era regulations. In concert with the Department of Government Efficiency…
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US businesses brace for a triple climate disclosure burden
Thousands of US companies—both public and private—are bracing for an expensive wave of climate disclosure mandates. If regulators in the US and abroad have their…
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Circuit Courts split over the SEC’s regulatory treatment of proxy advisors
The Fifth and Sixth Circuits are currently split over the legality of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Proxy Advisory Rule. Depending on what…
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The ‘Carbon’ Futures Trading Commission vows to decarbonize futures trading
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently approved one of its most controversial guidance document to date. Under this new policy, the CFTC will…
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In honor of Free Speech Week, end all regulatory gag orders
Free Speech Week is an annual, nonpartisan celebration of the indispensable right to speak one’s mind. While every level of government is expected…
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House advances anti-ESG legislation on investments, pensions
The US House of Representatives recently passed a major ESG reform package that is on its way to the Senate. In a vote of…
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Political review of agency adjudication and recommendations for reform
Abstract Formal agency adjudication reserves the final decision-making authority to the political leadership of the agency. Many organizations and watchdogs have taken issue with how…
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ESG policy trembles in our post-Chevron world
The US Supreme Court recently rendered one of the most historic decisions in administrative law in the consolidated cases of Loper Bright v. Raimondo…
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The politics of proxy voting and the importance of shareholder representation
As the 2024 election quickly approaches, many Americans consider how their vote will affect political races. While our focus tends to be on the voting…
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Supreme Court’s Jarkesy decision sheds light on the SEC’s hidden advantages
The Supreme Court’s momentous decision in SEC v Jarkesy provides us with a rare glimpse into the murky realm of administrative adjudication. Despite there being more…
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Spam alert! A devastating outlook on the SEC’s final climate disclosure rule
I have a paper out today, exploring the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) landmark finalized climate disclosure rule and the many challenges it…
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SEC’s Orwellian surveillance system faces its greatest challenge yet
The Eleventh Circuit Court will soon decide whether the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) acted arbitrarily and capriciously by proposing the first market-wide surveillance…
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Has ESG gone guerrilla warfare?
There has been much discussion recently over declining institutional support for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing theory. Many indications suggest that US shareholders…
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House GOP prepares CRA resolutions against Biden climate-risk rules, including SEC climate disclosure rule
Members of the House Financial Services Committee have passed four Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions targeting four Biden-era climate-risk rulemakings. Among these is a…
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FTC tightens grip over its in-house judges
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) possesses one of the most conflicted administrative law court (ALC) systems. The agency recently began hiring new administrative…
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The Fifth Circuit blocks the SEC’s climate disclosure rule in the first legal challenge to the rule
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently voted to approve its highly-awaited climate disclosure rule. However, fewer than 10 days after its finalization, the…
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CEI briefs the public on the need for administrative law court reform
The Competitive Enterprise Institute recently hosted our first Capitol Hill event of the year, urging Congress to propose administrative law court (ALC) reform. Our…
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The Stop Woke Investing Act and ‘ESG fatigue’
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has made it far too easy for activist shareholders to overturn the traditional proxy review process. The SEC’s…
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The full Scope of problems with the SEC’s climate disclosure rule
I have a paper out today, examining the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) proposed rule on mandatory climate disclosures. The SEC’s rule seeks…
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The Natural Asset Hydra
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) recently proposed a radical rule to amend its manual for listing public companies to include a new form…
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When the FTC’s anti-merger goals overshadow the prospect of saving lives
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued a ruling on the important case of Illumina-Grail v. Federal Trade Commission. A unanimous 3-0…
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Transparent New Year: SEC shows its work after CEI prodding
As we enter the New Year, it is important to reflect on what went well and not so well in 2023. We should do our…
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Should government-favored non-profits have their own shadow courts?
Imagine being sued by a private nonprofit that is sanctioned by a federal agency to enforce securities laws. The nonprofit appoints its own judges and…
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Obscuring the SEC’s climate disclosure rule may invite a host of legal problems
The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) pending climate disclosure rule has been delayed yet again. The climate disclosure rule will require publicly traded companies to quantify…
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Exposing the federal bureaucracy’s blurry courts
Many federal agencies prevent regular Americans from understanding what they are up to by obscuring the work being conducted by their little-known administrative law courts…
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SEC commissioner bashes private markets, shows why public capital flight is happening
Caroline Crenshaw, a designated Democratic commissioner with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently was sharply critical of private markets. “Investor protection and systemic risk…
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Shareholder support for ESG proposals is falling
With the 2023 proxy voting season officially behind us, we can note a few trends in corporate governance that stood out. For one, it…
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The SEC’s anti-competitive assault against private fund advisers
The Securities and Exchange Commission is adopting new rules that radically redefine how investment companies are regulated, undercutting the ability of private fund advisers to…
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S&P Global downplays its ESG ratings. Will rival ratings firms follow suit?
S&P Global, a premier financial data company, has recently put an end to its quantitative environmental, social, and governance (ESG) rankings. Rather than issue…
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America receives first debt downgrade in 12 years as history repeats itself
Fitch Ratings, a credit reporting agency, recently issued a foreboding outlook on America’s credit health. For the first time in 12 years, the United States…
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Are we ready for a ‘Carbon’ Futures Trading Commission?
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is testing the waters for its commodity-based carbon credit market. As an agency traditionally tasked with regulating commodities, the…
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Republican Working Group issues first critical report against ESG
Last month, the Republican Environmental, Social, and Governance Working Group (ESG Group) unveiled an interim report outlining GOP efforts to combat the ideological subversion of…
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Adam Smith and the wealth of America
2023 is the 300th anniversary of Adam Smith’s birth. This post is part of a series highlighting aspects of Smith’s thought that continue to influence…
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America takes Entrepreneurship Index top spot, former Soviet bloc countries close behind
Retail software maker Shopify recently released its “Entrepreneurship Index,” a global ecosystem of entrepreneurial activity. Shopify ranks the top ten countries with economies that…
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Activist securities regulators should worry as Supreme Court revisits Chevron doctrine
The U.S. Supreme Court recently issued a major announcement that may impose significant changes to agency statutory interpretation. The Court has agreed to hear…
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Time to rip the veil of secrecy off government agencies’ in-house courts
In a previous piece, we explored some of the pros and cons of administrative law courts (ALCs). These are regulatory agencies’ special in-house courts,…
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Has Gary Gensler turned the SEC into a regulatory ‘Hotel California’?
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler hadn’t testified before the U.S. House of Representatives for 18 months. Republican members made up for lost…
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The Supreme Court’s Axon decision shatters the in-house advantage of administrative law courts
Last Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a significant ruling that upended the adjudicatory monopoly enjoyed by administrative law courts (ALCs). In Axon…
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Are Administrative Law Courts More Trouble Than They’re Worth?
As touched upon in an earlier piece, administrative law courts (ALCs) are a threat to the separation of powers, in which the executive branch…
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Why Congress Must Think Twice About Adopting Biden’s Brazen Budget Proposal
Last Thursday, President Joe Biden finally unveiled his budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year 2024. This marks the third straight year that Biden…
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What Are Administrative Law Courts? Why Do They Matter?
The judicial branch is presumably an independent branch of government, alongside the legislative and executive branches. But many regulatory agencies have their own in-house court…
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Congress Hands Biden His First Legislative Defeat by Overturning DOL ESG Rule Affecting Retirees
Republicans in Congress have just teed up the first major legislative rebuke to the Biden Administration’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies. On Tuesday,…
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Why the ETF is Uniquely American and Ideally Capitalist
A 30-year-old rule by the Securities and Exchange Commission succeeded in lowering barriers to entry for cheaper and more flexible investment options. In January, the…