Columbus, OH – On Thursday, The Buckeye Institute filed its second amicus brief in Texas Top Cop Shop v. Garland, calling on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to grant an emergency petition for rehearing en banc (by the full court) and reinstate a preliminary nationwide injunction on the Orwellian Corporate Transparency Act—a federal surveillance program of small businesses.

Upon filing the initial amicus brief, Robert Alt, president and chief executive officer of The Buckeye Institute, who is also counsel of record on both briefs, said, “As most of us look forward to spending time with friends and families over the holidays, the Biden administration has shouted bah humbug and asked the courts to allow it to enforce a law enabling the unconstitutional federal surveillance of small businesses.”

On December 20, The Buckeye Institute filed its first amicus brief in this crucial case to stop the Corporate Transparency Act from going into effect, forcing approximately 32 million small businesses to register the names, addresses, dates of birth, and copies of an unexpired passport or driver’s license for each of its “beneficial owners” with the federal government by December 31, 2024. This new filing follows a December 23 ruling by a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit that lifted the preliminary injunction.

If the Biden administration is successful and is allowed to enforce this draconian law, millions of American small business owners will be forced to register with the government—over the holidays—or face criminal penalties and a $500 fine for every day the report is late, incomplete, or inaccurate. 

On December 3, the U.S. District Court issued a preliminary injunction, finding this questionable law to be “likely unconstitutional.” Despite the impending holiday season, the federal government appealed that ruling on December 13, asking the Fifth Circuit to lift the injunction so that the deadline could go back into effect and the government could begin penalizing small business owners.

The Center for Individual Rights represents Texas Top Cop Shop in this case. 

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UPDATE: On December 26, 2024, a panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit adopted arguments outlined in The Buckeye Institute’s second amicus brief and reinstated a preliminary injunction on the Orwellian Corporate Transparency Act.