Tag Archives: Administrative Procedure Act
SCOTUS Opinion: Court Narrowly Declines To Lift Nationwide Moratorium On Evictions—For Now
In the early days of the pandemic, Congress enacted a temporary hold on evictions nationwide that expired in July of 2020. On September 4, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an order creating another nationwide moratorium on most evictions, purportedly under authority of the Public Health Service Act. A variety of realtors challenged the order, and ... Read More
SCOTUS Opinion: Anti-Injunction Act Does Not Limit Challenge To IRS Reporting Requirement
The Anti-Injunction Act provides that “no suit for the purpose of restraining the assessment or collection of any tax shall be maintained in any court by any person.” 26 U.S.C. sec. 7421(a). In IRS Notice 2016-66, the IRS required taxpayers to report information about certain insurance agreements, with civil tax penalties and criminal prosecution available in case of noncompliance. CIC ... Read More
SCOTUS Opinion: Court Re-Institutes Federal Communications Commission’s Repeal Of Media Ownership Rules
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires the FCC to review its rules restricting entities from owning multiple media outlets every four years to ensure that competition, localism, and viewpoint diversity were promoted. In 2017, the FCC determined that three of its rules were no longer necessary to promote those values, and that repealing the rules would likely not harm minority ... Read More
SCOTUS Opinion: Court Upholds Birth Control Exclusion for Religious Organizations Under ACA
While the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act required employers to provide coverage for contraceptives, the Government issued rules exempting religious employers from that mandate. After subsequent rulings by the Supreme Court on claims that the rules violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, the Government issued new rules expanding the exemption ... Read More
SCOTUS Opinion: Court Blocks The Citizenship Question From The 2020 Census Questionnaire For Now
The Constitution requires a census to be taken every 10 years, and Congress delegated that task to the Secretary of Commerce. In 2018, the Secretary announced that he would reinstate a citizenship question on the 2020 census questionnaire, a question that had been included in almost every census up through 2000. Opposition to the question claimed that the question would ... Read More
SCOTUS Opinion: Court Requires More Information Before Resolving “Junk Faxes” Case
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act prohibits “unsolicited advertisements.” The Federal Communications Commission issued an order in 2006 interpreting that term to “include any offer of a free good or service.” However, under the Hobbs Act, the federal courts of appeals have the exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set a side, suspend . . ., or to determine the validity ... Read More
SCOTUS Opinion: Medicare Act Requires Notice And Comment Before Any Changes To “Medicare Fraction”
Under the Medicare Act, the enforcing agency is required to go through a public notice and comment period before changing any “substantive legal standard” affecting Medicare benefits. 42 U.S.C. sec. 1395hh(a)(2). Under Medicare Part A, the federal government paid hospitals who served low-income patients through a “Medicare fraction,” which was calculated by dividing the time spent by a hospital ... Read More