House Bill Seeks to Check Bureaucratic Power
CV NEWS FEED // House lawmakers this month are considering the Separation of Powers Restoration Act (SOPRA), a bill meant to check bureaucratic power by putting an end to the legal doctrine known as the “Chevron deference.”
The “Chevron deference” refers to the legal principle which holds that judges conducting judicial reviews should defer to administrative agencies’ interpretations of laws.
The “Chevron deference” is named after the 1984 Supreme Court decision Chevron U.S.A, Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., according to Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute.
In Chevron, the Supreme Court set forth a legal test as to when the court should defer to the agency’s answer or interpretation, holding that such judicial deference is appropriate where the agency’s answer was not unreasonable, so long as Congress had not spoken directly to the precise issue at question.
SOPRA would allow courts to decide on interpretations of law without having to defer to administrative agencies’ interpretations. “This bill modifies the scope of judicial review of agency actions to authorize courts reviewing agency actions to decide de novo (i.e., without giving deference to the agency’s interpretation) all relevant questions of law, including the interpretation of (1) constitutional and statutory provisions, and (2) rules made by agencies,” according to the Congressional Research Service’s summary of the legislation. “No law may exempt a civil action from the standard of review required by this bill except by specific reference to such provision.”
After Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-WI, introduced the bill in January, he stated:
Our Constitution clearly gives legislative power to Congress and judicial power to our federal courts. For too long, the Chevron deference has given unelected bureaucrats unjustified power at the expense of Congressional intent. My bill would mitigate the Biden Administration’s overreaching executive actions by rightfully returning power to Congress.
