Experts, professionals and activists are worried about the ramifications of a recent Supreme Court decision.

“Every agency is going to face new hurdles in the wake of this confusing decision,” Alexandria Givens of the Center for Democracy and Technology told the Associated Press in an article in Monday’s Williamsport Sun-Gazette.

The ruling pertained to regulations by the Environmental Protection Agency to limit power plant emissions. The Supreme Court ruled 6-3, in effect, that the agency had too much latitude in determining these regulations and that Congress — our duly elected legislators — should pass the limits instead.

While the Supreme Court is correct, we do appreciate the concerns of Americans who want our environment protected, who want the digital privacy of Americans protected and who want a number of other actions and initiatives taken to improve the lives of Americans.

We certainly want Congress to listen to the agency, where specialized knowledge to address the diverse array of challenges confronting America can be found.

We can appreciate the worries of such Americans because, while the Supreme Court is correct that the legislative process, undertaken by our directly elected representatives and senators, is the avenue most accountable to the public for drafting regulations, rules and limits, the reality is that our legislature is too often mired in partisan bickering and procedural gamesmanship to adequately fulfill this role.

We can hope that our lawmakers can recognize why many Americans, invested in one issue or another, would rather see the initiative to address the issues handled by unelected agency staff. We can hope that the Supreme Court’s ruling will galvanize our lawmakers to set aside the partisan tactics and work on compromises on which they can vote, clearly and transparently.

The court, after all, has recognized the central role of the legislature in our system of government. It’s time the legislature live up to those responsibilities.