Laws & Regulations

"States are preparing to fight back as the Trump administration moves to erase Obama-era standards for lightbulbs.

The Department of Energy has proposed new regulations for lightbulbs that would eliminate efficiency standards for half the bulbs on the market.

The move has prompted a backlash from a bipartisan mix of state attorneys general and governors who say it is harmful to the planet and may be illegal."

"Seizing a new opportunity they believe has been opened up by the White House, hard-line foes of climate action on Monday once again asked the Trump Administration to reverse the landmark Obama-era finding that greenhouse gases are a danger to human health and the environment."

"A jury in Oakland, Calif., ordered Monsanto on Monday to pay a couple more than $2 billion in damages after finding that its Roundup weed killer caused their cancer — the third jury to conclude that the company failed to warn consumers of its flagship product’s dangers."

"Proposals to reorder the Trump administration's energy and environmental priorities will come this week as the House unveils its fiscal 2020 spending bills for EPA and the Energy and Interior departments."

"Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has vetoed a bill that would have prevented Florida’s local governments from banning plastic straws."

"New York has adopted a rule to eventually kill off its last two coal-fired power plants."

"Nearly every country in the world has agreed upon a legally binding framework to reduce the pollution from plastic waste except for the United States, U.N. environmental officials say."

"Early in President Trump’s term, a powerful group of manufacturers delivered to his deputies a “wish list” of regulations they wanted rewritten. Two years later, the Trump administration appears to have largely followed through on those requests, according to a new report."

"A more than five-year moratorium on leasing land in California for oil and gas development will be coming to an end with a May 9 Interior Department plan to open up about 725,000 acres across the state’s Central Coast and the Bay Area for drilling."

"The two top lawmakers on the House Financial Services Committee reached an agreement to extend the National Flood Insurance Program another four months, the 11th short-term extension of this financially troubled program in less than two years."