Attorney General Todd Rokita: ‘Now is the time’ for U.S. Supreme Court to limit power of federal agencies

Attorney General Todd Rokita said today the U.S. Supreme Court should reverse a 39-year-old precedent that gives outsized power to federal agencies in interpreting laws.

“At the federal level, the framers of the Constitution intended Congress to have sole authority to enact laws,” Attorney General Rokita said. “And they intended the courts to interpret those laws to settle any disputes over meaning. Now is the time to curb the excessive power currently given to executive-level agencies to carry out these vital functions.”

On Monday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case that could set the stage for overturning or limiting the 1984 decision that gave such unwarranted deference to federal agencies — Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council.

The case now before the court is Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo — which concerns whether the U.S. agency overseeing commercial fishing exceeded its congressionally granted authority when it commanded fisheries to cover costs of government observers aboard their watercraft.

“Hoosiers’ liberties are threatened when we turn over lawmaking functions to Washington bureaucrats,” Attorney General Rokita said. “When we rely on the administrative state to govern us, we lose the checks and balances inherent in the system created by America’s founders.”

Along with 17 other states, Attorney General Rokita in December asked the Supreme Court to review the case it now has accepted. That amicus brief is attached.