ELR Citation: 56 ELR 20026
No(s). 6:25-cv-1-JDK (E.D. Tex. Mar 5, 2026) (Kernodle, J.)

A district court granted in part and denied in part 15 states' and homebuilders' motion for summary judgment in a challenge to HUD's and USDA's 2024 determination that heightened energy efficiency standards for certain new housing construction. Plaintiffs argued the authorizing statute was unconstitutional because it delegated the power to establish energy efficiency standards to private code bodies and violated the Spending Clause. The court found the statute did not present a nondelegation issue because the agencies retained their decisionmaking authority and the private bodies remained subordinate, and did not violate the Spending Clause because it included clear standards by which states could measure their compliance. Plaintiffs also argued the determination conflicted with the statute and that it was the product of arbitrary and capricious rulemaking. The court found the plain text of the statute authorized the agencies to update the standards only once, which occurred in 2015, but that plaintiffs failed to explain how the agencies' use of a particular model to analyze the new standards ignored relevant factors or evinced a clear error of judgment. It granted in part plaintiffs' motion, and vacated and set aside the 2024 determination.