Here’s Another Nice Mess: Executive Order 562 Claims Its First Victim

Last Friday, I posted about Governor Baker's Executive Order 562, which requires cost-benefit analysis, cost effectiveness analysis – and more – before state agencies can promulgate regulations.  It took less than a week before it became clear that EO 562 has real teeth.  Yesterday, MassDEP sent out a one-paragraph notice delaying hearings on its proposed Clean Energy Standard, citing EO 562 as the reason:

MassDEP is postponing the hearings and comment period on the proposed Clean Energy Standard rule until it has completed the reviews required under the recent Executive Order 562.

It will be interesting to see if EO 562 comes back to bite the Baker administration in this instance.  I don't think that there is an environmental economist around who would argue that the Clean Energy Standard is a more efficient way to attain the GHG reduction targets in the Global Warming Solutions Act than a carbon tax would be.  On its face, EO 562 does not limit an agency's