A lawsuit challenging whether the judicial branch is the right place to make policy determinations on greenhouse gas emissions is getting notice in Kansas.
Kansas Attorney General Steve Six joined nine other states in filing an amicus brief requesting that the U.S. Supreme Court hear the case AEP v. Connecticut. The brief, originally filed by the state of Indiana, asks the court to overturn an Appeals Court ruling allowing the lawsuit to move forward.
“Like most Kansans, I am weary of lawsuits which attempt to bypass our legislative process and ask the courts to set public policy,” said Six. “The Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in this case is an intrusion on the policy making authority of the legislative and executive branches. The proper place for a debate over greenhouse gas regulation is among policy makers, not in the court system.”
In 2004, eight states sued five energy companies, asking a federal district court in New York to hold the companies liable as a public nuisance for their greenhouse gas emissions.
The federal district court dismissed the case, concluding that whether companies should be liable for greenhouse gas emissions is a political question that must be addressed by Congress or the executive branch before courts get involved. But the Second Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision, reinstating the lawsuit.
Now Kansas and nine other states are asking the Supreme Court to intervene and dismiss the case.
“Congress and the executive branch have only recently begun to debate regulating greenhouse gas emissions, and the complex question is a best left to our policymakers,” said Six. “Allowing the courts to short circuit our political process could subject Kansas industry to unforeseen liability through lawsuits, and those lawsuits could be brought in courts outside of Kansas.”
Six said that state and local government agencies that operate power plants or engage in other activities that emit greenhouse gases could also be liable. Six said he felt compelled to join the amicus brief because of the potential consequences to Kansas industry and because doing so was in line with his office’s opposition of regulation through lawsuits.
“As Attorney General, I have consistently opposed political lawsuits designed to circumvent the role of elected policy makers,” said Six.
On the Web:
Kansas Attorney General: http://www.ksag.org
Matthew Clark can be reached at matthew.clark@morningsun.net or at 620-231-2600, Ext. 140
