David J. Hayes: AGs are Fighting Wrongheaded, Unlawful Two-for-One Executive Order

Washington, D.C.— David J. Hayes, executive director of the State Energy & Environmental Impact Center at NYU School of Law and former Interior deputy secretary in the Obama and Clinton Administrations, released the following statement after the California and Oregon attorneys general filed a motion to intervene in a court challenge to the Trump Administration’s two-for-one executive order:

“By challenging President Trump’s ‘two-for-one’ executive order, the attorneys general of California and Oregon are attacking the wrongheaded view that any environmental, health and safety protections that impose a cost burden on industry should be presumptively stricken. The executive order instructs federal agencies to focus on cost ‘burdens’ to industry, and discount or ignore the societal benefits of sensible, cost-effective environmental, health and safety measures. Thank you, Generals Becerra and Rosenblum, for insisting that the benefits to ordinary citizens, as well as the costs to industry, continue to guide how agencies implement the laws that Congress passed to protect our interests.”

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About the State Energy & Environmental Impact Center:
The State Energy & Environmental Impact Center at NYU School of Law is a nonpartisan academic center at NYU School of Law. The Center is dedicated to working towards a healthy and safe environment, guided by inclusive and equitable principles. The Center studies and supports the work of state attorneys general (AGs) in defending, enforcing, and promoting strong laws and policies in the areas of climate, environmental justice, environmental protection, and clean energy.