Prop 12 enforcement will wait in California for Supreme Court ruling
A California judge has extended his ban on enforcement of voter-approved Proposition 12 until July 1, to allow time for the Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of the animal welfare law. Justices heard arguments on the farm-group challenge of Prop 12 in October and a decision is expected by the end of June.
Piggybacking onto a Supreme Court case over hogs
With varying perspectives, the pharmaceutical industry, the Canadian Pork Council and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker hope to influence the Supreme Court in deciding whether an animal welfare law approved by California voters is an unconstitutional burden on the rest of America. The pork industry and the Justice Department say it is.
Supreme Court hears case to limit Clean Water Act
The Supreme Court should restrict federal regulation of wetlands to marshy areas with a surface connection to a waterway — a dramatic reduction in coverage but a standard that would be easier to understand than the "significant nexus" test now in use, said a lawyer for the conservative Pacific Legal Foundation on Monday. Two justices said the court's decision, in a case involving a home site in Idaho, could rewrite wetlands regulations nationwide.
Supreme Court refuses Bayer’s Roundup appeal, but another pending
The Supreme Court disposed of one Roundup appeal by Bayer on Tuesday but it will not be the final word in Bayer's attempts to shield itself from lawsuits alleging its weedkiller causes cancer. Another Bayer appeal was pending before the Supreme Court and the company suggested a case being heard by an appeals court in Atlanta could be the third.
Supreme Court rejects bid for year-round E15 sales
The Supreme Court, without comment, refused to hear an ethanol industry appeal to reinstate year-round sales of E15, gasoline containing 15 percent ethanol. A federal appeals court ruled last July that the EPA, acting at the direction of then-President Trump, exceeded its authority in approving summertime sales of E15 in 2019.
California has sufficient pork supply, says state agency
Some hog farmers plan to expand their operations with Proposition 12 in effect, said California agriculture officials in the "Planting Seeds" blog as the voter-approved law took effect over the weekend. "Additionally, we believe there is sufficient product already in the supply chain to carry through for a number of months."
Court losses are only temporary setbacks, says ethanol industry
Despite losing two high-profile cases in seven days, the ethanol industry says the future is bright for the corn-based biofuel that it promotes as a low-carbon alternative to gasoline and a tool to slow global warming. “We view both decisions as only temporary setbacks but neither will deter …
Supreme Court rules SNAP sales data are confidential
A solid majority of the Supreme Court ruled on Monday that SNAP sales data at the store level are confidential and outside of the reach of public-records laws. The Argus Leader newspaper fought for access to the information for eight years on grounds that taxpayers deserved to know how and where the largest U.S. anti-hunger program spends more than $65 billion a year.
Grocers ask Supreme Court to keep SNAP data secret
In a case testing the limits of public-records laws, a trade group for grocers asked the Supreme Court on Monday to bar the release of store-by-store sales data for the $65 billion-a-year food stamp program. A South Dakota newspaper has fought since 2011 for the data, arguing taxpayers deserve to know how and where the government is spending their money.
Supreme Court nominee Gorsuch is a ‘mixed bag’ on public lands
Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch has a mixed record when it comes to rulings on public lands and environmental issues, says Fortune, based on an Associated Press review of Gorsuch’s case history. "I think that his record, although the number of cases is quite limited, shows that at times it has led to decisions that one might consider environmentally favorable, and about an equal number of times it has led to decisions some might think are environmentally unfavorable," said Donald Kochan, associate dean and professor at Chapman University's Dale E. Fowler School of Law.
Landowners win Supreme Court case over wetlands challenges
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that landowners have the right to challenge in court the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers determinations that a wetland is protected under clean water laws. The case involved peat-mining companies in Minnesota who were told their work in a wetland would affect the Red River of the North 120 miles away.