FERC’s Duty of Candor Rule: Dead on Arrival

In this episode, Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione sit down with NCLA Litigation Counsel Casey Norman to break down a major regulatory win: stopping FERC’s sweeping “Duty of Candor” rule before it ever hit the books. The proposed rule would have allowed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to punish any speaker — from corporations to ordinary citizens — for any statement, email, or phone call the agency deemed “false,” “misleading,” or missing “material information,” with no mens rea requirement and no defined limits.Casey walks through why this vague, overbroad rule was a First Amendment disaster waiting to happen; how it risked chilling public debate on energy and environmental policy; and how NCLA’s detailed comments helped persuade FERC to scrap the rule entirely. The team also explores how the proposal fit into a broader pattern of government attempts to police “truth,” and why regulatory speech controls should worry everyone.It’s a rare victory in the world of administrative rulemaking — and a reminder that sometimes the best lawsuit is the one you never have to file.