South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, alongside attorneys general from eight other states, has submitted a brief to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. The filing challenges federal agencies’ practices of bypassing public input when implementing binding rules and regulations.
The brief addresses actions taken by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in 2024, where it used its “emergency powers” to mandate new cybersecurity measures for freight and railroad carriers without undergoing the required “notice and comment” process. This process is mandated by Congress to ensure public participation in rule-making.
Attorney General Wilson criticized this approach, stating, “There’s an old saying that if everything is an emergency, then nothing is an emergency.” He expressed concern over federal agencies using emergency powers as a means to circumvent laws requiring public input.
The document submitted to the court argues that such developments would have surprised the Founders due to the emergence of a “vast and varied federal bureaucracy” over recent decades. It emphasizes that these agencies have blurred traditional lines of power by creating regulations with legislative authority.
The coalition of attorneys general calls on the Appeals Court to prevent TSA and other federal entities from misusing their emergency powers unless they can clearly demonstrate an “actual national emergency.”
Joining South Carolina in this legal effort are Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Utah.
