SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Legal Newsline) – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum announced June 5 that that they oppose a Trump executive order mandating that in order to create a new regulation, most federal agencies must repeal at least two existing regulations.
“Once again, President Trump is trying to operate outside the rule of law. ‘Two-for-one’ may be a good slogan, but it’s not a rational way to determine what rules we need to protect or guide our families, our health or our finances. It is illegal to scrap regulations without closely considering the benefits and protections they provide Americans or by blatantly ignoring Congressional intent,” Becerra said in a statement. “Our coalition is therefore asking the court for permission to intervene. We believe that our case is strong, and we are ready to hold the Trump Administration accountable.”
Trump issued the executive order on Jan. 30, 2017. According to Becerra and Rosenblum, the order does not consider the benefits and protections that federal regulations create. Additionally, they claim the rule ignores the government’s role in enforcing Congress-passed laws.
"Oregon is pleased to join our neighboring state, California, in this important motion to intervene. Particularly when it comes to the environment, many federal regulations benefit our two states’ air, land and water equally,” Rosenblum said in a statement. “The idea that two regulations must be repealed for every one that is adopted would be downright silly—if it weren’t so dangerous. This 'Two-for-One' Executive Order allows for no consideration of the value of benefits to the states of the repealed regulations—making it downright illegal."