Boulder County's National Power Grab
As Boulder goes, so goes the nation. At least, that is the hope of county officials in Colorado bent on imposing their preferred energy policies on the other 49 states. And Boulder is far from alone. From Maine to Hawaii, progressive cities, counties, and states have substituted tort litigation for the climate mandates they could not win in Congress. Soon, in Suncor Energy (U.S.A.) Inc. v. Board of County Commissioners of Boulder County, the Supreme Court will have the chance to reaffirm what the framers settled long ago: States generally may not govern outside their borders, and questions of national consequence belong to Congress.
TL;DR
- Boulder County, Colorado, is suing energy producers for climate-related harms, seeking damages.
- This lawsuit and similar ones are seen as a way for progressive jurisdictions to implement climate mandates they couldn't achieve through Congress.
- Critics argue these suits aim to bankrupt the energy industry, drive up consumer prices, and force an energy transition.
- The article contends that such actions by states or counties to govern outside their borders violate the U.S. federalist system.
- The Supreme Court's review of Suncor Energy v. Board of County Commissioners of Boulder County is expected to address whether states can regulate national emissions and policy.
- The framers intended that questions of national consequence be handled by Congress, not state courts.