The US Supreme Court agreed Friday to take up a challenge to California’s vehicle emissions standards as well as a Wisconsin case concerning tax exemptions for religious organizations.
In Diamond Alternative Energy LLC v. Environmental Protection Agency, the court will consider a challenge from fuel producers against the Clean Air Act provision allowing California to adopt its own emissions standards. The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit had found that the fuel producers lacked standing to bring the claim. The issue before the court is “whether a party may establish the redressability component of Article III standing by relying on the coercive and predictable effects of regulation on third parties.” The court declined to decide on the legality of the waiver provision.
In Catholic Charities Bureau, Inc. v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission, the court will consider a religious organization’s efforts to be exempt from Wisconsin’s unemployment tax. The Wisconsin Supreme Court had rejected Catholic Charities’ claim. The issues before the court are:
- Whether a state violates the First Amendment’s religion clauses by denying a religious organization an otherwise-available tax exemption because the organization does not meet the state’s criteria for religious behavior; and
- Whether, in addressing federal constitutional challenges, state courts may require proof of unconstitutionality “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Arguments in both cases are expected to be heard this spring, with rulings by the end of June.
