MSA SUBMITS AMICUS BRIEF TO ENSURE STABLE REGULATION FOR SMALL BUSINESSES
On September 22, 2023, Main Street Alliance and Democracy Forward filed an amicus brief in the case Loper Bright Enterprises v. Gina Raimondo at the U.S. Supreme Court. The case concerns the preservation of Chevron deference, which allows courts to defer to federal agencies' interpretation of ambiguous statutes.
What are amicus briefs, and why are they important?
An amicus brief presents the authors' expertise and arguments. Individuals or groups without direct involvement in a legal case can offer knowledge or insight to assist a court's decision.
Why is this relevant to small businesses?
When federal agencies have the authority to interpret laws, small business owners should be able to rely on reasonable and predictable federal regulations to maintain their businesses.
Eliminating Chevron would result in unpredictable and unrestricted regulation standards set by big corporations that stifle the Main Street economy. Maintaining the precedent set by Chevron supports small businesses across the nation by:
Establishing regulatory certainty for small businesses to grow, thrive, and compete.
Supporting regulatory lending programs that address funding gaps for BIPOC and women-owned businesses.
Providing a non-partisan approach to decision-making by ensuring that the branches and agencies that are accountable to the people have said authority and not to the personal policy preferences of judges.
Nearly three-quarters of small business owners agree that some regulations are necessary to protect small businesses from unfair competition and predatory corporations. MSA knows that running a small business is hard. Overturning Chevron would inject uncertainty into the world of small business.
A statement from the MSA Executive Director, Chanda Causer:
"Eliminating Chevron would result in unpredictable and unrestricted regulation standards set by big corporations that stifle the Main Street economy. If we want to ensure a strong economy, then we must take on power in all forms.”
A statement from the Democracy Forward, President & CEO, Skye Perryman :
“The efforts behind this case to decimate Chevron are part of a broader movement to undermine how our democracy functions and the ability of the government to be responsive to the needs of people and communities,” said Perryman of Democracy Forward. “Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy, employing more than half the nation’s workforce and responsible for 12.9 million net new jobs over the past 25 years. Overruling the Court’s long-standing precedent set forth in Chevron will harm small businesses and create more—not less—burdens on their operations. Our brief filed on behalf of a coalition of hundreds of thousands of small businesses across the nation urges the Court to uphold longstanding law.”
Press Release from our partners at Democracy Forward.