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Election Month Ruling By Supreme Court Regrettable
FAIRFAX, Virginia, Aug. 3 [Category: Government/Public Administration] -- Americans for Limited Government posted the following news release:
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Election Month Ruling By Supreme Court Regrettable
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June 29, 2026, Fairfax, Va.-Americans for Limited Government Executive Director Robert Romano today issued the following statement on the Supreme Court's ruling in Watson v. Republican National Committee:
"In an apparent bid to avert Democrats' threatened Supreme Court packing scheme, Republican-appointed justices John Roberts and Amy Coney Barrett have apparently opted to just give Democrats
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FAIRFAX, Virginia, Aug. 3 [Category: Government/Public Administration] -- Americans for Limited Government posted the following news release:
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Election Month Ruling By Supreme Court Regrettable
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June 29, 2026, Fairfax, Va.-Americans for Limited Government Executive Director Robert Romano today issued the following statement on the Supreme Court's ruling in Watson v. Republican National Committee:
"In an apparent bid to avert Democrats' threatened Supreme Court packing scheme, Republican-appointed justices John Roberts and Amy Coney Barrett have apparently opted to just give Democratseverything they want including an election month voting where ballots are counted no matter how late they arrive after Election Day. Arguing there is no prohibition against late ballots, the nation's highest court has effectively made Election Day a dead letter. Now, the only resort for the American people who want to restore same-day voting is for Congress to pass another statute to clarify what federal law has already stated for more than a century was 'the day for the election...' This ruling is regrettable and will prove Stalin's maxim that it is not those who vote, but those who count the ballots that decide everything."
For media availability contact Americans for Limited Government at media@limitgov.org.
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Original text here: https://getliberty.org/2026/06/election-month-ruling-by-supreme-court-regrettable/
Statement From Arizona Chamber President and CEO Danny Seiden on the U.S. Department of the Interior's Colorado River Decision
PHOENIX, Arizona, Aug. 1 -- The Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry issued the following statement on July 31, 2026:
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Statement from Arizona Chamber President and CEO Danny Seiden on the U.S. Department of the Interior's Colorado River decision
"The U.S. Department of the Interior's decision on future Colorado River operations places a deeply disproportionate burden on Arizona and fails to deliver the truly basin-wide solution the river demands. Arizona has never denied the seriousness of the river's condition or the need for meaningful conservation.
Our state has repeatedly stepped
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PHOENIX, Arizona, Aug. 1 -- The Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry issued the following statement on July 31, 2026:
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Statement from Arizona Chamber President and CEO Danny Seiden on the U.S. Department of the Interior's Colorado River decision
"The U.S. Department of the Interior's decision on future Colorado River operations places a deeply disproportionate burden on Arizona and fails to deliver the truly basin-wide solution the river demands. Arizona has never denied the seriousness of the river's condition or the need for meaningful conservation.
Our state has repeatedly steppedup, invested billions in water infrastructure and conservation, and put forward workable proposals to protect the system. But a plan that imposes severe, enforceable reductions on Arizona while shielding senior users and allowing other states to avoid comparable mandatory commitments is neither fair nor sustainable.
Arizona's communities and job creators need a fair, durable plan that provides the certainty necessary to invest and grow. This decision does neither.
The good news is that Arizona has planned for decades, has been more responsible with water than any other state, and is prepared to bring certainty to our business community and support continued growth. The Arizona Chamber will continue to stand with state leaders in demanding that every basin state share in the responsibility of protecting the river.
Arizona will do its part, as it always has, but we will not accept being treated as the system's default shock absorber. Any sustainable path forward must recognize Arizona's conservation record, protect the investments our state has already made, and require measurable contributions from the entire Colorado River Basin."
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Original text here: https://azchamber.com/colorado-river-decision
[Category: Business]
Progress Michigan: Planned Parenthood's Closures are a Policy Failure.
LANSING, Michigan, Aug. 1 -- Progress Michigan, an organization that says it holds public officials and government accountable and assist in the promotion of progressive ideas, issued the following statement on July 31, 2026:
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Planned Parenthood's Closures are a Policy Failure.
On Thursday, Planned Parenthood of Michigan announced the closure of three more health centers in Lansing, Livonia, and Warren, a direct result of lawmakers' decisions to cut their funding. he following statement may be attributed to Justin Mendoza, executive director of Progress Michigan:
"Our lawmakers need to
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LANSING, Michigan, Aug. 1 -- Progress Michigan, an organization that says it holds public officials and government accountable and assist in the promotion of progressive ideas, issued the following statement on July 31, 2026:
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Planned Parenthood's Closures are a Policy Failure.
On Thursday, Planned Parenthood of Michigan announced the closure of three more health centers in Lansing, Livonia, and Warren, a direct result of lawmakers' decisions to cut their funding. he following statement may be attributed to Justin Mendoza, executive director of Progress Michigan:
"Our lawmakers need tobe serious about protecting health care and reproductive freedom. The Trump administration and Republicans in Congress have intentionally hamstrung Planned Parenthood with funding cuts that compromise their ability to provide care to their patients.. Since then, Republican lawmakers in Michigan have doubled down on those cuts via their own state budget.
"While Republican lawmakers have always led the way in the fight against reproductive freedom, some of the blame for this crisis belongs to the Whitmer administration. This May, Governor Whitmer declined to use her executive power to provide emergency funding for Planned Parenthood, going against the will of the public, 56 percent of whom supported delivering this funding, and her own purported values as a one-time champion of reproductive freedom.
Our policymakers have an obligation and a clear mandate from voters to defend reproductive freedom. Thousands of people across Michigan rely on Planned Parenthood for things like birth control, prenatal care, and STI testing-- and both Whitmer and the Republican Party complicit in cutting them off from that care. Our lawmakers are falling flat exactly when Michiganders need them most."
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Original text here: https://progressmichigan.org/2026/07/planned-parenthoods-closures-are-a-policy-failure/
[Category: Political]
Environmental Law & Policy Center: Michigan Supreme Court Orders More Rigorous Review of Line 5 Tunnel Case
CHICAGO, Illinois, Aug. 1 -- The Environmental Law and Policy Center issued the following news release on July 31, 2026:
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Michigan Supreme Court Orders More Rigorous Review of Line 5 Tunnel Case
Lansing, MI. - Today, the Michigan Supreme Court handed down a decision that sided with environmental and Tribal groups in their combined cases that challenged Enbridge Energy's efforts to bore a tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac to house its Line 5 oil pipeline. The Supreme Court overturned a lower court decision that upheld the Michigan Public Service Commission's (MPSC) approval for the
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CHICAGO, Illinois, Aug. 1 -- The Environmental Law and Policy Center issued the following news release on July 31, 2026:
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Michigan Supreme Court Orders More Rigorous Review of Line 5 Tunnel Case
Lansing, MI. - Today, the Michigan Supreme Court handed down a decision that sided with environmental and Tribal groups in their combined cases that challenged Enbridge Energy's efforts to bore a tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac to house its Line 5 oil pipeline. The Supreme Court overturned a lower court decision that upheld the Michigan Public Service Commission's (MPSC) approval for thetunnel. The decision reverts the case back to the MPSC for a more thorough review of the tunnel's impact on Michiganders and the environment, as required by the landmark Michigan Environmental Protection Act (MEPA).
The Supreme Court concluded that the lower court applied the incorrect legal standard, that the MPSC's review of the environmental harms from the tunnel was improperly narrow, and that the MPSC failed to consider the tunnel's impact on public trust resources. The Court concluded that the MPSC must consider whether, as plaintiffs allege, the Line 5 tunnel would extend the risks of pumping oil across the Great Lakes and throughout Michigan for another 99 years.
The Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC) and Michigan Climate Action Network (MiCAN) argued alongside the Bay Mills Indian Community, Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, and the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi, represented by Earthjustice and the Native American Rights Fund (NARF). Flow Water Advocates argued that the MPSC should have rejected the tunnel under common-law public trust doctrine.
Denise Keele, PhD, Executive Director of MiCAN, said:
"This inspiring decision accepts the undeniable reality of the need to consider the likely impacts from increased greenhouse gas emissions, and all the risks Michiganders will bear if we continue to allow a foreign corporation to profit from a shortcut through the Great Lakes. We now have a chance to stop new fossil fuel infrastructure and avoid nearly 30 million tons of carbon emissions annually. We are committed to supporting the process moving forward and are grateful for the opportunity to show that the tunnel is not a safer option, especially as Michigan leads the way toward a clean energy future." Keele continued to remark on co-plaintiffs outcome "Additionally, this decision not only acknowledges climate change, but the voices of a sovereign tribal nation, the Bay Mills Indian Community, whose way of life, sacred sites, and ancestors will now have a chance to be protected. We stand as allies with our tribal partners as we live to fight another day and stop this risky and unnecessary tunnel."
David Scott, Senior Attorney at ELPC and MiCAN's pro bono attorneys, said:
"Today the Michigan Supreme Court sent a clear message that the Line 5 tunnel has not yet received the rigorous environmental review that Michigan law requires. The Court's decision stands as an important reminder that the Michigan Environmental Protection Act means what it says: that regulators and courts must determine all of the tunnel's polluting and impairing effects on Michigan's air, water, and natural resources and thoroughly analyze the alternatives to this project. We look forward to reengaging before the Michigan Public Service Commission to pursue a full environmental review and alternatives analysis consistent with the Michigan Supreme Court's directions."
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Original text here: https://elpc.org/news/michigan-supreme-court-orders-more-rigorous-review-of-line-5-tunnel-case/
[Category: Environment]
Environmental Defense Fund: Federal Court Upholds Policy That Will Bring More, Faster Clean Energy to Americans
NEW YORK, Aug. 1 -- The Environmental Defense Fund posted the following news release on July 31, 2026:
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Federal court upholds policy that will bring more, faster clean energy to Americans
EDF Statement from Ted Kelly, Director and Lead Counsel, U.S. Clean Energy
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(Washington, D.C.) A U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit today rejected legal challenges to a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) rule designed to help connect more clean energy to U.S. power grids - and do it more quickly.
"Clearing the way for more affordable clean energy will help lower electricity costs and
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NEW YORK, Aug. 1 -- The Environmental Defense Fund posted the following news release on July 31, 2026:
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Federal court upholds policy that will bring more, faster clean energy to Americans
EDF Statement from Ted Kelly, Director and Lead Counsel, U.S. Clean Energy
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(Washington, D.C.) A U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit today rejected legal challenges to a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) rule designed to help connect more clean energy to U.S. power grids - and do it more quickly.
"Clearing the way for more affordable clean energy will help lower electricity costs andmeet rising power demand when Americans need it the most," said Ted Kelly, Lead Counsel for Environmental Defense Fund, which is a party to the case. "Today's court decision upholds FERC's clear authority to speed up interconnection, to modernize the rules that govern U.S. power grids, and to make sure utilities meet their deadlines."
The D.C. Circuit ruling in Advanced Energy United v. FERC involved challenges from utilities and other groups to FERC's Order 2023, the Generator Interconnection Rule - a set of reforms that will help ease the way for clean energy projects to get online. As the court recognized, FERC issued the rule to address a "decades-long traffic jam" preventing clean energy and storage from getting onto the grid, with delays averaging five years. By upholding the Interconnection Rule, this decision will support a massive acceleration of low-cost clean energy and storage that reduces power bills and reduces health-harming pollution--as long as the Trump administration stops imposing cynical and unlawful roadblocks to clean affordable energy. Environmental Defense Fund intervened in support of the rule.
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With more than 3 million members, Environmental Defense Fund creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. To do so, EDF links science, economics, law, and innovative private-sector partnerships to turn solutions into action. edf.org
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Original text here: https://www.edf.org/media/federal-court-upholds-policy-will-bring-more-faster-clean-energy-americans
[Category: Environment]
Environment America Research & Policy Center Statement: Governor's Ocean Protection Council Recommends Protecting More of California's Coastal Waters
WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 -- Environment America Research and Policy Center issued the following statement on July 31, 2026:
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STATEMENT: Governor's Ocean Protection Council recommends protecting more of California's coastal waters
Expected 'Super' El Nino, kelp forest devastation cited as reasons for action
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Governor's Deputy Secretary for ocean and coastal policy, and the California Ocean Protection Council (OPC) released on Friday an analysis of threats to the ocean and recommendations to strengthen and expand California's marine protected areas off the coast.
The
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WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 -- Environment America Research and Policy Center issued the following statement on July 31, 2026:
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STATEMENT: Governor's Ocean Protection Council recommends protecting more of California's coastal waters
Expected 'Super' El Nino, kelp forest devastation cited as reasons for action
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Governor's Deputy Secretary for ocean and coastal policy, and the California Ocean Protection Council (OPC) released on Friday an analysis of threats to the ocean and recommendations to strengthen and expand California's marine protected areas off the coast.
Theagency recommended approving proposals to create two new marine protected areas off the Central Coast, Point Sal near Santa Barbara County, and Mishopshno, off Carpinteria, California. Native tribes led the development of each proposal.
OPC also recommended expanding the marine protected areas at Point Conception near Santa Barbara and Point Dume in Malibu, to encompass more of the last vibrant healthy kelp forests along the Southern California coast and protecting more of Duxbury Reef off shore at Bolinas, California, and strengthening protections at Pyramid Point and Anacapa Island.
The Ocean Protection Council's recommendations expand on those from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife recommendations, which were much more limited.
Several environmental and community organizations, including Environment California Research and Policy Center and Azul, submitted proposals in December 2023 to protect an additional 2% of our state waters as our most important coastal habitats face unprecedented and worsening threats from global overfishing, marine heatwaves and the loss of more than 90% of kelp forest habitat. The California Fish and Game Commission will formally review the new recommendations at the August meeting and is expected to vote on the various organizations' proposals in October 2026.
In response, Environment California Research and Policy Center State Director Laura Deehan issued the following statement:
"The health of our ocean is critical to our state's future. Vibrant ocean ecosystems, full of darting fish, soaring seabirds and diving sea lions, rely on strong protections for our most important marine habitats, from kelp forests to rocky reefs and eelgrass meadows.
"These recommendations, if enacted, would be the first meaningful action to strengthen California's marine protected area network in its history. Kudos to Governor Newsom and the Ocean Protection Council for responding to the urgent threats facing ocean health and to the calls for conservation from scientists, divers, fishermen, and tens of thousands of Californians from all walks of life."
"We are eager to work with each of the Fish and Game Commissioners, Deputy Secretary Jenn Eckerle, Secretary Wade Crowfoot, CDFW Director Meghan Hertel and all the agency staff to ensure that the Newsom administration's legacy includes protecting California's marine life for future generations, and the next governor can continue the work to protect even more of our oceans' critical habitats."
Azul California Policy Manager Tomas Valadez issued the following statement:
"The future of humanity and that of our ecosystems is intertwined -- which is why California, as a global leader in protecting the critical habitats and life existing in and around our ocean, must follow the science and strengthen our network of marine protected areas.
"Governor Newsom's ocean council recommendations are an important next step to creating the marine protected area network in California that will give our coastal life the best chance of survival in the years to come."
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Environment California Research & Policy Center is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to protecting our air, water and open spaces. We work to protect the places we love, advance the environmental values we share, and win real results for our environment. Environment California Research & Policy Center is part of The Public Interest Network, which operates and supports organizations committed to a shared vision of a better world and a strategic approach to social change.
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Azul is a grassroots organization working to conserve marine resources. We treasure the life-sustaining force of the ocean, as well as the physical and spiritual nourishment it provides us. We are a Gente powered and led effort, focused first on celebrating our rich Latino conservation traditions and connecting them to current solutions. Our work is based in authentic engagement, community building, and collaboration.
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Original text here: https://environmentamerica.org/center/media-center/statement-governors-ocean-protection-council-recommends-protecting-more-of-californias-coastal-waters/
[Category: Environment]
Earthjustice: Tribes Celebrate as Michigan Supreme Court Nixes Line 5 Permit
SAN FRANCISCO, California, Aug. 1 -- Earthjustice issued the following news release on July 31, 2026:
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Tribes Celebrate as Michigan Supreme Court Nixes Line 5 Permit
Victory -- Enbridge must re-do its application to build an oil tunnel below the Straits of Mackinac
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Lansing, MI -- In a major victory for Tribal nations in Michigan, the state's Supreme Court has overturned a key permit that Canadian company Enbridge needs in order to bore a massive four-mile tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac to house its Line 5 oil pipeline. The Court's decision sends the permit back to the Michigan
... Show Full Article
SAN FRANCISCO, California, Aug. 1 -- Earthjustice issued the following news release on July 31, 2026:
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Tribes Celebrate as Michigan Supreme Court Nixes Line 5 Permit
Victory -- Enbridge must re-do its application to build an oil tunnel below the Straits of Mackinac
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Lansing, MI -- In a major victory for Tribal nations in Michigan, the state's Supreme Court has overturned a key permit that Canadian company Enbridge needs in order to bore a massive four-mile tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac to house its Line 5 oil pipeline. The Court's decision sends the permit back to the MichiganPublic Service Commission for a re-do, ruling that the Commission violated the Michigan Environmental Protection Act (MEPA) and its obligations under the public trust doctrine when the Commission approved the tunnel permit in 2023.
"Today is a reminder that when people stand together with courage and conviction, change is possible," said Bay Mills Indian Community President Whitney Gravelle. "For years, Tribal Nations, communities, and thousands of people across the country have raised their voices to protect the Great Lakes. This decision gives us another opportunity to honor our treaty rights, protect our waters, and consider the generations who will inherit this place. The Straits of Mackinac are not simply a route for an oil pipeline to be abused. They are sacred waters, the heart of creation for Anishinaabe people, and a source of life for millions. Some things are simply too sacred to be buried beneath a tunnel. Our work continues, and we remain committed to protecting the Great Lakes for generations to come."
Earthjustice and the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) represented the Bay Mills Indian Community, the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, and Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi in challenging the permit. The Michigan Climate Action Network (MiCAN) and the Environmental Law & Policy Center brought additional and separate arguments before the Michigan Supreme Court.
"This ruling is an inspiring victory for Tribes, environmental advocates, and everyday people who've joined hands in the fight to stop the dangerous Line 5 tunnel project," said Earthjustice Senior Attorney Adam Ratchenski. "The Court's decision upholds the bedrock principles of Michigan environmental law. Enbridge's application to build the tunnel now heads back to the Michigan Public Service Commission, where we will be prepared with robust arguments in defense of Tribal rights and the Great Lakes."
Enbridge's proposal to run a hazardous liquids pipeline through a confined underground tunnel has never been attempted anywhere else in the world. It would turn the Straits of Mackinac -- a sacred site of creation for Anishinaabe tribes -- into a construction zone for more than six years.
"Whether Line 5 is suspended in the water or encased in a tunnel, it is simply a terrible idea to pump more than half a million barrels of oil every day through the middle of the Great Lakes," said Managing Attorney David Gover with the Native American Rights Fund (NARF). "There is a brighter future on the horizon. We can get oil out of the Great Lakes, protect Tribal sovereignty, and preserve our freshwater for generations to come."
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Additional Resources
* Related case documents & news (https://earthjustice.org/library?_case=line-5-enbridge-michigan-tunnel)
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About Earthjustice
Earthjustice is the premier nonprofit environmental law organization. We wield the power of law and the strength of partnership to protect people's health, to preserve magnificent places and wildlife, to advance clean energy, and to combat climate change. We are here because the earth needs a good lawyer.
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Original text here: https://earthjustice.org/press/2026/tribes-celebrate-as-mi-supreme-court-nixes-line-5-permit
[Category: Environment]
