Public Policy

  • March 13, 2024

    NC City Asks State Justices To Review Homebuilders' $5M Win

    The North Carolina city of Greensboro urged the state's high court to review the $5.25 million judgment won by D.R. Horton Inc. and True Homes LLC in the homebuilders' class action accusing the city of charging illegal preservice water fees.

  • March 13, 2024

    DOL Slacks On Enforcing Farm Labor Protections, Groups Say

    A group of farmworkers unions and nonprofits that advocate for farmworkers' interests have sued the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., federal court, saying the agency hasn't been complying with a 1980 regulation designed to improve its enforcement of farmworkers' legal protections.

  • March 13, 2024

    Mass. Gov. Announces Pardon Plan For Marijuana Possession

    Massachusetts Gov. Maura T. Healey has announced plans for sweeping pardons of misdemeanor cannabis possession convictions, following the directive of President Joe Biden, who urged state executives to follow his lead in pardoning low-level marijuana offenses.

  • March 13, 2024

    CoreCivic Beats Asylum-Seeker's Miscarriage Liability Suit

    A California federal judge handed CoreCivic Inc. a win Tuesday in a negligence lawsuit filed by an El Salvadorian asylum-seeker who alleged she miscarried while detained at the prison giant's immigration detention center near the U.S.-Mexico border, finding there to be no triable factual dispute over whether she miscarried in custody.

  • March 13, 2024

    Atty Who Skipped Vote-Tampering Hearing Can't Ditch Warrant

    A Michigan judge on Wednesday urged counsel for a lawyer evading a bench warrant to direct his client to turn herself in, rejecting claims previous counsel didn't adequately inform her of a hearing she skipped in a case where she's alleged to have tampered with voting machines after the 2020 election.

  • March 13, 2024

    CFPB Slams 'Forum-Shopping' Bid To Halt Card Late-Fee Rule

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is urging a Texas federal judge to refuse bank industry groups' request for an emergency injunction over the agency's recently finalized $8 credit card late-fee rule, arguing their case is too flimsy to justify putting the new rule on hold.

  • March 13, 2024

    Don't Let Texas 'Rewrite' Immigrant Arrest Law, SG Tells Justices

    The Biden administration has told the U.S. Supreme Court that Texas is trying to recast a law allowing the state to arrest and deport immigrants in a more palatable light when it argued for the first time it doesn't require removal.

  • March 13, 2024

    Italy Defeats Investor Suit Against Solar Subsidy Reduction

    Italy has beaten back a German investment fund's claims that the country's lowered solar energy subsidies breached treaty obligations to ensure a stable investment environment, after an international tribunal ruled that the scale-down was reasonable, foreseeable and in the best interests of the public.

  • March 13, 2024

    Colo. Fees Are Really Taxes, Conservative Group Tells Judge

    Colorado's upcoming fees on retail deliveries, short-term vehicle rentals and ride-hailing services violate the state Taxpayer's Bill of Rights and other provisions in state law, a conservative group has told a state judge in seeking a trial.

  • March 13, 2024

    DC Circ. Affirms Trafficker Label For Venezuelan Businessman

    The D.C. Circuit has refused to disturb a fugitive Venezuelan businessman's designation as a narcotics trafficker, rejecting claims that the Office of Foreign Assets Control failed to give fair notice before levying the sanctions.

  • March 13, 2024

    JCT Indicates Pillar 1 Is Bad Deal For US, GOP Lawmakers Say

    An analysis of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Pillar One taxing rights overhaul by congressional scorekeepers makes clear the plan should not receive U.S. support because it would disadvantage U.S. multinationals and federal tax revenue, Republican leaders of Congress' taxwriting committees said Wednesday.

  • March 13, 2024

    FCC Seeks $58M Budget Bump Next Fiscal Year

    The Federal Communications Commission has sought a roughly $58 million boost in its operating budget for next year, an increase of about 15%, offset by fees levied on regulated industries.

  • March 13, 2024

    FTC Bid To Block Kroger's $25B Albertsons Deal Set For Aug.

    An Oregon federal court has scheduled an August hearing on the Federal Trade Commission's challenge of Kroger's planned $24.6 billion purchase of fellow grocery store giant Albertsons, a deal also under attack by state enforcers in Washington and Colorado.

  • March 13, 2024

    Flint Found In Contempt Over Lead Pipe Replacement Delays

    A Michigan federal judge has found the city of Flint in contempt for dragging its heels on court orders to replace the city's lead pipes after a 2017 settlement, finding that its belated, partial compliance was not enough to avoid the sanction.

  • March 13, 2024

    FCC Waives Rules So Tribes Can Access Midband Spectrum

    The Federal Communications Commission is waiving rules for spectrum over tribal lands, allowing six Native American tribes to obtain licenses for unassigned 2.5 gigahertz spectrum over off-reservation lands in an effort to boost their wireless connectivity.

  • March 13, 2024

    Mass. Justice Presses AG On Fast-Track Bid For Zoning Case

    A Massachusetts high court justice on Wednesday expressed concerns about the state attorney general's aggressive bid to fast-track the enforcement of a divisive housing law to the full court as soon as May.  

  • March 13, 2024

    Environmental Groups Seek To Defend EPA Methane Rule

    Environmental groups on Tuesday told the D.C. Circuit they want to help the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency defend its new regulations for methane emissions at oil and gas facilities from Texas' legal challenge.

  • March 13, 2024

    FERC Can't Change Power Auction Results, 3rd Circ. Rules

    The Third Circuit has wiped out the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's tweak to the results of an electricity capacity auction run by the nation's largest regional grid operator, saying it amounted to retroactive rate-making in violation of the filed-rate doctrine.

  • March 13, 2024

    Fla. Ex-Municipal Atty Alleges LGBTQ Discrimination

    A gay former town attorney for Pembroke Park, Florida, has launched a state lawsuit alleging that she was unlawfully fired as a result of "a campaign of discrimination and harassment" against her from a town commissioner on account of her sexual orientation.

  • March 13, 2024

    Ore. Tax Court Restores Property Value To Local Assessment

    Neither the owner of a residential riverfront property in Oregon nor a county assessor showed enough evidence to change the county's $72,000 valuation, the Oregon Tax Court has ruled, rejecting the higher value found by the court's magistrate division.

  • March 13, 2024

    Ohio Says 'Fatal Flaws' Doom Justice's Partisan Label Suit

    Ohio Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Brunner's effort to keep alive her suit challenging a new rule requiring certain judicial candidates in the state to have their political party affiliations listed on general election ballots did nothing to fix her complaint's "numerous fatal flaws," the Ohio secretary of state has said.

  • March 13, 2024

    Tower Taxes To Partly Fund $10B Midtown NYC Bus Terminal

    Tax revenue from up to three private towers would help pay for a $10 billion replacement of the aging Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan, under a deal approved by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

  • March 13, 2024

    House OKs TikTok Divestment Bill Despite Free Speech Worry

    The House voted 352-65 on Wednesday to pass legislation that would require ByteDance Ltd. to divest TikTok or face a ban in the United States, in a vote that transcended party lines.

  • March 13, 2024

    Ga. Judge Tosses 6 Counts In Trump Indictment

    A Georgia judge on Wednesday threw out six counts of the indictment charging former President Donald Trump and several of his co-defendants with solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer, saying the state didn't provide enough detail in the charges to allow the defendants to properly defend themselves.

  • March 12, 2024

    Committee Approves Bill Aimed At Blocking New Mining Rule

    The House Committee on Natural Resources voted Tuesday to approve a bill aimed at blocking a proposed rule amendment by the Biden administration that would tighten the permitting process for mining projects deemed critical by the federal government despite concerns from Democrats over impacts to the environment and Native American sacred sites. 

Expert Analysis

  • Corporate Transparency Act Takeaways For Banking Industry

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    As of Jan. 1, the Corporate Transparency Act requires millions of companies to report the identities of their beneficial owners and applicants to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, and this groundbreaking change adds compliance obligations and complexity for lenders, borrowers and investors, says George Singer at Holland & Hart.

  • Bribery Settlement Gives Insight On DOJ Policies

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    Chemical company Albemarle’s recent $218 million settlement with the government to resolve foreign bribery claims provides valuable data points for companies on the U.S. Department of Justice’s voluntary self-disclosure policy and its clawback pilot program, say Michael DeBernardis and Tiauna Mathieu at Hughes Hubbard.

  • A Primer On New Calif. Health Transaction Reporting Rules

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    New California regulations regarding the reporting of certain transactions involving healthcare entities, which took effect on Jan. 1, address some industry feedback about overly broad requirements but still leave several areas of concern, says Andrew Demetriou at Husch Blackwell.

  • Environmental Justice: A 2023 Recap And 2024 Forecast

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    A 2023 executive order directing each federal agency to make environmental justice part of its mission, as well as the many lawsuits and enforcement actions last year, demonstrates that EJ will increasingly surface in all areas of law and regulation, from technically challenging to seemingly ordinary permitting and construction matters, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • 2 Cases Highlight NJ Cannabis Employment Law Uncertainties

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    More than two years after its enactment, the employee protections and employer obligations in New Jersey's Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance and Marketplace Modernization Act remain unsettled, and two recent lawsuits draw attention to the law's enforceability and its intersection with federal law, say Ruth Rauls at Saul Ewing and David White at Seton Hall.

  • Opinion

    Waiving COVID-19 IP Protections Would Harm US Industry

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    President Joe Biden should turn down a World Trade Organization proposal to waive crucial intellectual property protections behind COVID-19 tests and diagnostics — protections that allow U.S. companies to sustain millions of jobs and develop life-saving treatments that benefit patients in every country, says former U.S. Circuit Judge Paul Michel, now at the Council for Innovation Promotion.

  • Series

    In The CFPB Playbook: Rulemaking Rush Before Election Year

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    In this quarterly Consumer Financial Protection Bureau activity recap by former bureau personnel, attorneys at McGuireWoods explain the regulator's recent push to finalize new rules about data aggregators, digital payment apps and more before the election-year Congressional Review Act window opens.

  • What May Define Contract Disputes Act Jurisdiction In 2024

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    Now is a good time to reflect on how several recent decisions may have limited the government's ability to weaponize jurisdictional prerequisites under the Contract Disputes Act, and how this new direction may affect government contractors and practitioners filing CDA appeals in 2024, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • 5 Privacy And Cybersecurity Resolutions For 2024

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    In 2023, companies grappled with an unprecedented array of data privacy and cybersecurity challenges that are likely to continue in 2024, meaning businesses will be well-served to incorporate strategies, such as data governance and website configuration, into their compliance programs, say Steven Stransky at Thompson Hine and Violet Sullivan at Crum & Forster.

  • What Last Year's Trends Mean For Compliance In 2024

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    In 2023, compliance teams grappled with questions related to artificial intelligence, data analytics and corporate culture — trends that are likely to become even more prominent in the year to come, says Hui Chen at Ropes & Gray.

  • What The Law Firm Of The Future Will Look Like

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    As the legal landscape shifts, it’s become increasingly clear that the BigLaw business model must adapt in four key ways to remain viable, from fostering workplace flexibility to embracing technology, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.

  • The Year Ahead In Foreign Investment And National Security

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    In 2024, expect the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, already at the forefront of addressing national security threats, to increase monitoring and enforcement related to outbound investment, focus on supply chain resilience in nondefense sectors, and heighten oversight of agricultural transactions, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • 4 PR Pointers When Your Case Is In The News

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    Media coverage of new lawsuits exploded last year, demonstrating why defense attorneys should devise a public relations plan that complements their legal strategy, incorporating several objectives to balance ethical obligations and advocacy, say Nathan Burchfiel at Pinkston and Ryan June at Castañeda + Heidelman.

  • Unpacking The Proposed Production Tax Credit Regulations

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    Recently proposed tax regulations for claiming the U.S. clean-energy manufacturers' production credit under Internal Revenue Code Section 45X are less stringent than many had feared but fail to define a fundamental eligibility requirement, say Casey August and Jared Sanders at Morgan Lewis.

  • Compliance Risk After SEC Warning Against 'AI Washing'

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has begun looking into the way public companies disclose how they use artificial intelligence to investors and it is likely to become an enforcement priority, meaning companies and their compliance programs should take steps now to avoid regulatory sanctions and shareholder lawsuits, say attorneys at Bracewell.

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