Introduction to Laws for Sustainability - Unit 1A Notes

Unit 1A: A Continued Re-Introduction to the Law

Your Representatives and Government Structure

Congressional District: Most of South Jersey is in the $2^{nd}$ Congressional District.
Representative to US Congress: Jefferson Van Drew (Republican).
US Senators from New Jersey:
- Cory Booker (Democrat), serving since $2013$ .
- Andy Kim (Democrat), served in House from $2019-2024$ ; serving in Senate since $2024$ .
Governor of New Jersey: Phil Murphy (Democrat), the $56^{th}$ governor, serving since $2018$ .
Mayor of Hometown (example): Anthony Coppola Jr. (Republican), term expires $12/31/2027$ .
State Legislature Representatives (example - District 2):
- Vincent J. Polistina (Republican), State Senate.
- Donald A. Gaurdian (Republican), Assemblyman.
- Claire S. Swift (Republican), Assemblywoman.

New Jersey's State Government

Legislative Branch: Comprises two houses:
- General Assembly: Has $80$ seats.
- Senate: Has $40$ seats.
- Divisions can be less clear, especially in North Jersey areas.
Term Lengths:
- Assembly members serve $2$ -year terms.
- Senators serve $4$ -year terms.
Location: The state legislature is located in Trenton.
Upcoming Elections:
- Next Senate Election: November $2$ , $2027$ .
- Next General Assembly Election: November $4$ , $2025$ . Democrats have held a majority in the chamber since $2002$ . Four legislative district assembly members are retiring.
Voter Registration Deadline: Tuesday, October $14$ , $2025$ . Both the New Jersey governor and all $80$ seats in the General Assembly are up for election.

Checks & Balances in Government

Each branch of government possesses specific powers to check the others, ensuring no single branch becomes too powerful.

Legislative (Congress) Powers:
- Impeachment: Can impeach officials in the Executive and Judicial branches.
- Oversight: Exercises oversight over the other branches.
- Budget: Controls the national budget.
- Advice & Consent: Provides advice and consent on Executive and Judicial appointments.
Executive (President) Powers:
- Veto: Can veto legislation passed by Congress.
- Appointments: Makes key appointments.
Judicial (Courts) Powers:
- Declare Acts Unconstitutional: Has the power to declare acts of both the Executive and Legislative branches unconstitutional.
- Perception: Often considered the "weakest" branch in terms of direct checks and balances.

Advise & Consent Process

Executive Branch Appointments: The President makes appointments for:
- Judges & Justices
- Heads of Departments & Agencies
- Policy Positions
- These appointees are ideally qualified, though political appointments don't always reflect this (e.g., Scott Pruitt, head of the EPA from $2017-2018$ ).
Senate Oversight: The Senate exercises its oversight through:
- Confirmation Hearings: Holds hearings for presidential nominees.
- Approval/Rejection: Can either reject or approve nominees.
Evolution of Process: While originally designed to determine qualifications, the advise and consent process has become increasingly politicized. It can also be circumvented; for instance, Scott Pruitt reportedly reallocated funds from a Clean Water Drinking Law to supplement aides' salaries after the White House rejected a raise request.

Career Civil Servants vs. Political Appointees

Career Civil Servants ("The B Team"):
- Protected by law.
- Carry out the functions of government agencies.
- Remain with changes in administration.
- Include senior deputies.
Political Appointees (Department & Agency Heads):
- Implement policies of the appointing administration.
- Mostly change with each new executive (e.g., President).
- Are themselves political appointments.

Thomas Jefferson on Corporations

In his time, Thomas Jefferson expressed a strong distrust of large corporations:

"I hope that we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country."

Citizens United Decision, $2010$

This landmark Supreme Court case significantly impacted campaign finance law and corporate influence.

Ostensible Purpose: To affirm the right of "independent" organizations to participate in elections.
Scope: The decision went far beyond the specific facts of the case.
Key Findings:
- Corporations are considered "people" with legal rights.
- Corporations possess rights of free speech.
- Corporations are allowed to make political donations.
- The decision assumed transparency of donations, which proved not to be the case.
Fallout and Implications:
- Imbalance of Power: Further tilted the balance of political power towards corporations and the wealthy.
- "Dark/Shadow" Donations: Led to the creation of undisclosed political spending.
- Rise of Super PACs: Facilitated the proliferation of Super Political Action Committees, which can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money.
- Increased Vulnerability: Heightened vulnerability to foreign influence on elections.
- Unlimited Campaign Spending: Corporations can now spend unlimited funds on campaign advertising, provided they do not formally "coordinate" with a candidate or political party.

Citizens United and the Environment

This decision had profound effects on climate policy and regulatory actions:

Climate Policy:
- Contributed to a notable decline in Republican support for climate action and a significant increase in spending by the fossil fuel industry.
- Impacted policies like cap-and-trade, the US withdrawal/rejoining from the Paris Agreement (with the US rejoining on February $19$ , $2021$ , after withdrawing on November $4$ , $2020$ ), and the Clean Power Plan.
Regulatory Actions: Influenced discussions and actions related to the Clean Air Act (power plant emissions) and the Clean Water Act (Waters of the U.S.).
Election of Anti-Environment Candidates: Fostered increased partisanship and an anti-regulation stance to attract corporate funding.
Influence on Legislation and Judiciary: Enabled greater corporate influence over state legislation and judicial appointments.
Industry Group Spending: Led to dramatic increases in political spending by industry groups and associations like the US Chamber of Commerce.

Corporations & The Founding Fathers

The Founding Fathers harbored significant distrust of corporations and similarly envisioned concerns that the Citizens United decision ultimately actualized.

Distrust: They were generally distrustful of corporations.
Moneyed Interests: Viewed corporations as representing moneyed interests.
Undue Political Power: Feared corporations would exert undue political power, as exemplified by the East India Tea Company and the Massachusetts Bay Company (which famously inspired the Boston Tea Party).
Efforts to Limit Power: Sought to limit corporate power, even proposing limits on their lifespans.
Feared Influence: They feared the kind of influence contemplated and enabled by the Citizens United decision.

Business Interests & Environment

The conflict between business interests and environmental protection presents an ongoing challenge.

Resource Exploitation: Business processes often involve the exploitation and depletion of natural resources.
Unequal Distribution of Benefits and Costs: Typically, the benefits of such exploitation accrue to a select few, while the costs and harm are borne by many.
Industrial Revolution:
- Characterized by the rise of powerful trusts.
- Led to widespread political corruption.
- Resulted in significant environmental degradation.
- Became a central issue for presidents like Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft.
Theodore Roosevelt, the "Trust-Buster": This issue continually reemerged, leading figures like Roosevelt to actively confront corporate power.
- Roosevelt stated: "The citizens of the United States must effectively control the mighty commercial forces which they have themselves called into being. There can be no effective control of corporations while their political activity remains. To put an end to it will neither be a short nor an easy task, but it can be done. . . ."
- Example: In $1909$ , a federal court found Rockefeller's company, Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey, in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act and ordered its dissolution.

American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)

ALEC is a significant industry organization that influences state legislation.

Purpose: Provides technical support and research, and drafts and promotes model legislation.
Structure and Role:
- Organized as a $501(c)(3)$ non-profit entity based in Washington D.C.
- Bills itself as "the nation’s largest bipartisan, individual membership association of state legislators."
- The truthfulness of this definition is often debated.
Financial Structure Impact: ALEC's financial structure and operations have a considerable impact on its activities.
Impact on Democratic Processes:
- ALEC's model of "backdoor" legislation, where bills are drafted and essentially pre-decided before public discussion, can undermine democratic processes in state legislatures.
- When lawmakers have limited roles in shaping the legislation they pass, it raises significant implications for democratic representation.
Accountability and Transparency Issues:
- ALEC's practice of not disclosing its membership list is significant.
- This lack of transparency can erode public trust and undermine democratic accountability.
ALEC – The EPA Trainwreck:
- Effective Strategies: ALEC employs strategies that, if utilized for public good, could result in positive legislative progress.
- Motivation to Thwart EPA Regulations: ALEC is motivated to thwart stricter EPA regulations due to corporate interests and a desire to reduce regulatory burdens on businesses.
- Target Audience: The target audience for documents or campaigns related to ALEC's stance on the EPA often includes state legislators, industry leaders, and the public (though often indirectly).
- Corporate vs. Public Interests: A key question is whether corporate interests, as championed by ALEC, align with public interests.
- Arguments Against the EPA: ALEC's arguments against the EPA often center on economic impacts, regulatory overreach, and states' rights.
ALEC’s Influence on State Legislatures: State law-making bodies are particularly vulnerable to ALEC's influence, more so than the US Congress, due to several factors:
- Weak Laws: Many states have weak public reporting and lobbying disclosure laws.
- Limited Resources: State lawmakers are often underpaid, part-time, and have limited resources to evaluate complex laws.
- Membership: State lawmakers become members of ALEC.
- Promotion of Agendas: ALEC promotes corporate agendas as objective, non-profit solutions and drafts "model" bills for introduction.
- Funding Disparity: Public advocacy groups often lack the funding to compete with ALEC's "pay to play" model.