Showdown on Inslee's clean air rule reaches Supreme Court

OLYMPIA — In 2015, after another session without procuring a key weapon in his climate change fighting strategy, Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee decided to get it done on his own.

He had pledged to combat a looming environmental cataclysm and was tired of lawmakers thwarting attempts to engage in the battle in a meaningful way.

Tapping into his executive powers, Inslee directed the state Department of Ecology to design a means of capping and, over time, reducing emissions of pollution-abetting carbon.

A sweeping rewrite of the state’s clean air rules emerged. A legal challenge from a few of those in the crosshairs of the new regulations ensued. And in December 2017 a Thurston County judge found the gubernator’s decree went too far and blocked the rule from taking effect.

On March 19, the content of the rule and the breadth of Inslee’s executive authority will be considered by the state Supreme Court.

Ironically, such flexing of executive muscle on behalf of one’s political agenda is what we’ve come to expect from President Donald Trump, the man whose job Inslee is seeking. It’s been Trump’s go-to exercise when stymied by Congress from keeping his political promises.

Trump has pretty much lost every courtroom encounter. It’ll be a few months before the fate of Inslee’s endeavor is known.

https://www.seattleweekly.com/news/showdown-on-inslees-clean-air-rule-reaches-supreme-court/