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U.S. Sen. Mike Lee urges Utah House to rein in executive rulemaking, cites coal rule as example
Summary
U.S. Sen. Mike Lee told the Utah House the legislative branch must reclaim lawmaking authority from federal regulators, touted the REINS and Article 1 efforts, and criticized an Interior Department rule he said harmed the coal industry. He answered questions about emoluments and federal law-enforcement oversight.
U.S. Sen. Mike Lee addressed the Utah House in a Committee of the Whole, urging lawmakers to restore lawmaking authority to Congress and, in some cases, to the states. Lee described efforts such as the REINS Act and the Article 1 Project to require greater legislative review of major executive-branch rules and to limit agencies' ability to make binding law without congressional approval.
Lee singled out a December rule issued by the Interior Department's Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement that he said would make it harder for coal mines to receive permits and operate near streams and rivers. He said one official involved in the rule's drafting called it an "atomic bomb" intended to harm the coal industry and argued Congress should use the Congressional Review Act and related reforms to overturn or constrain such rules.
"My job is to be a check and a balance," Lee said, arguing that many major regulatory decisions with broad economic impact should not take effect until both houses of Congress enact them into law and the president signs them. He framed the proposals as nonpartisan efforts to preserve constitutional separation of powers and to protect citizens from unaccountable rulemaking.
During a question-and-answer period, Representative Brian Greene asked whether a recent Chinese trademark decision involving President Trump's name could implicate the Constitution's emoluments clause. Lee replied, "I don't know, but I'm willing to do the work to figure that out," and said he would investigate the legal implications for Utah lawmakers (Representative Greene's question; Lee's answer). Lee also responded to concerns about alleged misconduct by a federal special agent in San Juan County, endorsing continued investigation and expressing support for reevaluating the scope of federal law-enforcement authority in land management matters.
The House received Lee's remarks and posed several questions; members cited federalism, local control and specific incidents involving federal officers when pressing him for views on rebalancing authority.
The Committee of the Whole recessed after the exchange and the House returned to its regular calendar.
