A group of small businesses called on the Supreme Court to strike down previous precedent that gives the federal government wide authority to interpret laws and implement them as it sees fit.
The National Federation of Independent Businesses filed an amicus brief in what could be a landmark case on Chevron deference, the standing practice in which courts defer to agency’s interpretation of statues.
The case in question, Loper Bright Enterprises v. Gina Raimondo, creates an opportunity for the Supreme Court to overturn that practice, something critics hope will cut back on federal authority and allow for more legal challenges to federal rules.
“Small business owners consistently rank unreasonable government regulations as a top problem in running their businesses,” said Beth Milito, Executive Director of NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center. “This case presents an opportunity for the Court to relieve some of that regulatory hardship on small businesses by overturning Chevron. We urge the Supreme Court to abandon the Chevron doctrine and reverse the lower court’s decision.”
The Supreme Court said in May it would take up the case, which has drawn national attention and a flurry of briefs in on both sides.
NFIB made several points in its brief, saying that “the burden of unchecked and unexamined regulation crushes small businesses” and that “states have led the charge in abandoning Chevron deference by demonstrating a more constitutionally appropriate path forward.
“Chevron has led to agency self-aggrandizement, legislative indifference, and judicial passivity…” NFIB said. “Courts already have the skills and interpretive rules to replace Chevron deference.”
