March 2023

On March 14, President Biden issued an executive order that continues his administration’s policy of antagonism towards gun owners. The order employs a “whole of government approach” to strengthen last year’s Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), which gave the government ill-defined authority to target gun owners and firearm-related businesses. In his executive order, the President orders a variety of federal departments (Justice Department, Health and Human Services, Education, and others) to present how they intend to implement the BSCA to the fullest extent possible. The order also directs federal agencies to promote red flag laws, collect more information on federally licensed firearms dealers, and expand background checks.

President Biden’s Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule went into effect on March 20. The rule officially rescinds the Trump-Pence WOTUS rule and places hundreds of thousands of streams and waterways under the jurisdiction of the federal government. The rule significantly expands federal regulatory authority by redefining “waters of the United States” to include traditional navigable waters, the territorial seas, interstate waters, as well as impoundments of these waters, their tributaries, and a wide set of adjacent wetlands. It also includes lakes, ponds, streams, and other wetlands that either form a “significant nexus” with these waters, or are “relatively permanent.” The executive overreach means that all of these waters will now officially fall under the Clean Water Act.

President Biden’s EPA handed down new heavy-duty vehicle emissions regulations at the end of March, which would significantly hamstring small business owners by driving up costs. The trucking and manufacturing sectors would be hit particularly hard by the new regulatory hoops.

The Biden OPM (Office of Personnel Management) released new “Guidance Regarding Gender Identity and Inclusion in the Federal Workplace” on March 31. The new rules require federal agencies to detail plans for supporting gender transition of federal employees in the workplace. The document requires that these plans reflect internal policies and procedures detailing how gender transitions will be handled, and include details on how gender transitioning employees will be “supported” consistent with the administration’s goals. The OPM guidance says that federal agency rules must set out a procedure that “would include, with the transitioning employee’s input and consent, when and which colleagues to notify of a transition; the timing for name changes and pronoun changes, where applicable and consistent with this Guidance, in email, IT systems, and employee profiles; and a process for any gender identity inclusion training for supervisors, managers, and coworkers if such training would be beneficial.”