Jerry Brown sues George Bush

Remember that "narrow regulatory change" to the Endangered Species Act that Secretary of Interior Dirk Kempthorne proposed? Remember how Jerry Brown (Attorney General of California) didn't like it?

Well, buckle your seatbelts. Yesterday Jerry Brown filed suit in federal court to block the changes.¹

SAN FRANCISCO- California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. has filed suit in federal court to block an "audacious attempt" by the Bush Administration to gut provisions in the Endangered Species Act mandating scientific review of federal agency decisions that may threaten endangered species and their habitat.

"The Bush Administration is seeking to gut the Endangered Species Act on its way out the door," Attorney General Brown said. "This is an audacious attempt to circumvent a time-tested statute that for 35 years has required scientific review of proposed federal agency decisions that affect wildlife."

The new regulations, initially proposed by the Departments of the Interior and Commerce in August 2008 and made final on December 16, largely eliminate a requirement in the Endangered Species Act that mandates scientific review of federal agency decisions that might affect endangered and threatened species and their habitats. (press release from the Office of the Attorney General)