How Chevron Deference SCOTUS Ruling Affects Us

Chevron Deference was established by the Supreme Court in 1984 after the lawsuit between *Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.*, and has played a significant role in the authorities of administrative law. In short, the case was a dispute over EPA regulation which allowed states to treat all pollution within an industrial plant in one single “bubble”. When the case concluded, a legal doctrine in administrative law which required courts to defer to a federal agency’s reasonable interpretation of an ambiguous statute was developed. 

The Chevron Deference is a two step process: First the court determines whether the statute is ambiguous to the specific issue; Second, if determined ambiguous the court decides whether the agency’s interpretation is reasonable. If both conditions are met, the court will uphold the agency’s interpretation even if it goes against what the court itself would have chosen. 

What this means, is for the last 40 years agencies and/or bureaucracies can re-interpret laws over time allowing them to shift regulations and demand compliance for businesses and individuals without first determining if it affects their constitutional rights. It demands courts to rule in favor of a federal agency's “interpretation” of regulations and laws based on an administrator’s “expert opinion”. 

In 2020, a lawsuit was filed by *Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo*, claiming that National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) overstepped their authority by requiring Loper Bright Enterprises to pay for federal observers on their vessels. The case was eventually given to the higher courts and was heard in October of 2023 by The United States Supreme Court. It was concluded that NMFS did overstep their authority by using the Chevron Doctrine, and on June 28th, 2024, the Supreme Court decided in a 6-3 vote to eliminate the Chevron Deference deferring individual courts to deliver rulings based on judicial law that follow the Constitution. This new ruling by the Supreme Court to eliminate Chevron Deference puts law making back in the hands of the judicial system rather than allowing made up laws interpreted by agencies and giving them the authority to enforce these laws that may or may not affect our constitutional rights.

For business owners, this new ruling allows them to make long term plans financially, without fear of abrupt regulatory changes. Small business owners will have an easier time functioning without complex and ever shifting rules and regulations. With these changes businesses will be able to better serve their consumers and engage in a healthy competitive platform with other businesses, resulting in more economic growth for communities. For citizens, it ensures that our rights and obligations remain consistent, adhering to the Constitution that supports our “God given rights”; these rights which were stripped away in many cases during the 2020 pandemic. Now with this ruling in place we won’t need to fear unlawful mandates in the future.

This ruling to eliminate Chevron Deference is significant! Courts will now be forced to take more responsibility in interpreting laws and regulations ensuring that agencies do not exceed their authority and are functional under the constitution. Judges will no longer be forced to defer to “expert opinion” as the findings in their ruling, and must instead adhere to the judicial laws of the Constitution. Separation of powers between bureaucrats and congress keeps our constitutional rights protected however, administrative agencies such as the EPA, CDC, FDA, ATF, OSHA etc. have been able to interpret laws based on their “expert opinion” and then enforce them. This is how they were able to enforce shutdowns, lockdowns, and mandates without any negative consequences.

This ruling also makes elected representatives in Congress responsible to take aggressive action in addressing policy issues, upholding the constitution and holding those accountable who flex unauthorized power. Strict judicial review will protect individuals and businesses from the overreach of administrative agencies and ensure their actions are constitutionally justified based on law and fact, not “agency opinion”. 

Circumstances such as mask mandates and vaccination mandates put in place by OSHA from 2020-2023 are not held up by any judicial law and therefore they do not have the authority to make these decisions. Business owners will now be able to take legal action against these agencies who took it upon themselves to create laws. It’s worth noting that all past enforcements by agencies are not eligible to be litigated, however, moving forward all federal agencies can be questioned in a court of law if constitutional rights are in question. This does not apply to state agencies unless they are tied to federal agency regulation.

Business owners need to be aware of the regulations being imposed on them, and if they believe them to be unconstitutional they need to take legal action against these agencies. As for individuals, and our rights as citizens under the constitution, we will have to take responsibility to hold our own legislators in our states accountable. For example, in California so many bills and amendments to our constitution were developed during ‘the state of emergency’ and we the citizens had no idea what congress was doing behind closed doors. We need to actively engage in public hearings especially when bureaucracies are involved to make sure our elected officials are authorizing agency power while preserving our constitutional rights. 

Personally, I can’t even begin to imagine how many rules and regulations that are whipped up out of thin air and forced on us to comply with. It will be interesting to see how many state regulations are tied in with federal regulations, if any, in California. Time is of the essence to make sure our nation and its states are cleaned up of all CFR (Code of Federal Regulation) that may go against our constitutional rights and imposed upon us by power hungry bureaucrats and agencies. If we don’t act on this, our legislators especially under California’s current administration, will ignore this very significant ruling by the Supreme Court. 

The dissolving of the Chevron Deference is a gift to the American people; however, we will not benefit from the rewards owed to us unless we raise awareness in our communities and demand accountability of legislative members in Congress, Judicial Courts, and Administrative Agencies.