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Public Policy
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July 10, 2024
Senate OKs Two DC Judge Noms As 8 Seats Remain Unfilled
The U.S. Senate confirmed two nominees to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on Wednesday, as lawmakers try to pick up the pace in filling the local court's persistent vacancies.
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July 10, 2024
Mass. Justices Say Intent Not Factor In Boston Appeal Bonds
Boston's zoning law does not require that courts make a finding of bad faith before ordering a challenger to post a bond, Massachusetts' highest court concluded on Wednesday in a case involving the appeal of the issuance of a cannabis dispensary permit.
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July 10, 2024
Calif. Pick Defends Articles On Biological Sex, Judge Diversity
A state judge nominated to serve on the U.S. Northern District of California bench fended off questions from Republicans about articles she wrote in recent years regarding biological sex and diversity in the judiciary.
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July 10, 2024
Ex-Ill. Senator Gets 3½ Years For Misusing Campaign Funds
Former Illinois state Sen. William "Sam" McCann has been sentenced to 42 months in prison following his post-trial admission to spending campaign funds on personal items such as trucks and recreational vehicles.
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July 10, 2024
DC Circ. Won't Block EPA Methane Rule
The D.C. Circuit rejected states and industry groups' efforts to block the implementation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's final rule establishing expanded methane emissions control requirements for oil and gas infrastructure.
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July 10, 2024
Indiana AG Looks To End City Law Limiting ICE Cooperation
The Indiana attorney general sued the city of East Chicago in a state court, looking to force the municipality to drop a policy that restricts local officials' and businesses' ability to assist U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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July 10, 2024
CFPB Pitches Plan To 'Streamline' Mortgage Servicing Rules
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Wednesday that it wants to revamp its mortgage servicing rules to make it faster and easier for struggling homeowners to access forbearance and other relief options, proposing changes that draw in part on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.
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July 10, 2024
Conn. Justices Told Banking Agency's Probe Overstepped
The Connecticut Department of Banking's investigation into Commonwealth Law Group and Commonwealth Servicing Group LLC's debt negotiation practices violated the constitutional separation of powers, because only the state's judicial branch has regulatory authority over legal services provided to clients by their attorneys, the firms told the state Supreme Court.
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July 10, 2024
DOI Pledges $120M For Tribal Climate Resiliency Efforts
The Biden administration said Tuesday that it's making $120 million available to help Native American tribes plan and prepare for climate change threats.
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July 10, 2024
Prove Steel Is North American Or Pay Levy, White House Says
Importers bringing steel and aluminum goods from Mexico must prove that the metals were forged in North America or face national security tariffs starting Wednesday, as part of the Biden administration's effort to counter Chinese goods rerouted through Mexico to avoid duties.
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July 09, 2024
Texas Chief Justice Calls Pulling IDs Over Fines 'Stupid'
The chief justice of the Supreme Court of Texas told the Senate Judiciary Committee during a Tuesday hearing on funding civil legal aid that the practice of revoking a person's driver's license for an inability to pay court fees was "stupid."
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July 09, 2024
CFPB's Latest Rules Agenda Includes Blast From Fed Past
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau may try to resurrect part of a defunct Federal Reserve regulation that banned banks from employing some consumer credit contract terms, according to a new rulemaking agenda from the agency that also hints at a plan B for its $8 credit card late-fee rule.
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July 09, 2024
With Chevron's End, LGBTQ+ Healthcare Regs Face New Risk
The end of Chevron deference is already disrupting regulation meant to protect LGBTQ+ access to healthcare, with three federal judges blocking enforcement of a Biden administration rule prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity in healthcare.
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July 09, 2024
Industry, FCC Argue Net Neutrality's Fate After Chevron's Fall
Industry groups and the Federal Communications Commission filed competing briefs with the Sixth Circuit over whether to delay the enforcement of net neutrality rules after the U.S. Supreme Court tossed the longstanding Chevron doctrine that gave wide deference to agency decision making.
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July 09, 2024
Private Funds Say 5th Circ. Ruling Sinks SEC's AI, Cyber Bids
Several trade groups for the private fund industry urged the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday to withdraw rule proposals on artificial intelligence and investment adviser outsourcing and cybersecurity risk management, in light of a Fifth Circuit ruling that dealt a blow to the agency's private fund oversight.
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July 09, 2024
BCBS Unit Fails To Stop Religious Vaccine Objector Suits
A Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan subsidiary can't escape claims it treated differently employees who sought accommodations from a COVID-19 vaccine mandate, a Michigan federal judge ruled Tuesday, finding it plausible that religious discrimination "was at least a motivating factor" in the way the workers were dealt with.
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July 09, 2024
NY Judge In Trump Case OKs Narrow Subpoena For Atty
An attorney who told reporters he held an impromptu hallway conversation with a New York state judge in the lead-up to February's $464.6 million civil fraud judgment against Donald Trump must turn over any communications he had with the court regarding the underlying action, according to a Tuesday ruling.
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July 09, 2024
FCC Settles Call Caption Privacy Probe For $34.6M
The Federal Communications Commission has secured a $34.6 million settlement with phone call captioning provider CaptionCall for holding onto phone call content too long and other agency rule violations.
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July 09, 2024
CFPB Moves To Unfreeze Credit Card Late Fee Rule In Texas
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has asked a Texas federal judge to formally dissolve a preliminary injunction that has been blocking the agency's $8 credit card late fee rule from taking effect, arguing that the justification of the injunction — the CFPB's allegedly unconstitutional funding structure — no longer holds.
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July 09, 2024
Google Says Social Media Ruling Hurts Common Carrier Case
Google is telling an Ohio state court that a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling bolsters its case against being reclassified as a common carrier.
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July 09, 2024
Texas County Made Sloppy Electioneering Rule, 5th Circ. Told
An attorney representing conservative activists in North Texas told the Fifth Circuit on Tuesday that electioneering rules in Palo Pinto County were not content-neutral because they specifically targeted political speech, urging the court to hand them a win because of the "sloppiness" of the newly crafted regulations.
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July 09, 2024
FCC Majority Takes Heat From House GOP Over New Regs
Democratic leaders of the Federal Communications Commission defended their regulatory policies Tuesday against House GOP critics who accused the agency of tacking in a partisan direction and passing new rules that Republicans said exceed the agency's statutory limits.
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July 09, 2024
Fuel Groups Ask Justices To Revisit Calif. Clean Air Act Waiver
Fuel producers and industry groups called on the U.S. Supreme Court to review the D.C. Circuit's decision to uphold the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Air Act waiver that allows California to set its own greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles and run a zero-emission vehicles program.
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July 09, 2024
5th Circ. Presses SEC On Whistleblower Award Calculation
The Fifth Circuit heard oral arguments Tuesday in a case accusing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of shortchanging two whistleblowers who uncovered the largest fraud in Texas history, with one judge pressing the agency's attorney over how much money it was able to collect after the fraudster declared bankruptcy.
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July 09, 2024
'Plain English, Graphics, Pictures': Enviro Policy Post-Chevron
Environmental policymakers will have to start writing their rules using "plain English, graphics, pictures" and other tactics to make the rationale behind agency and congressional policy crystal clear to judges in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision striking down Chevron deference, attorneys told Law360.
Expert Analysis
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Asset Manager Exemption Shifts May Prove Too Burdensome
The U.S. Department of Labor’s recent change to a prohibited transaction exemption used by retirement plan asset managers introduces a host of new costs, burdens and risks to investment firms, from registration requirements to new transition periods, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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Pay-To-Play Deal Shows Need For Strong Compliance Policies
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, through its recent settlement with Wayzata, has indicated that it will continue stringent enforcement of the pay-to-play rule, so investment advisers should ensure strong compliance policies are in place to promptly address potential violations as the November elections approach, say attorneys at WilmerHale.
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Key Takeaways From FDA Final Rule On Lab-Developed Tests
Michele Buenafe and Dennis Gucciardo at Morgan Lewis discuss potential consequences of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recently finalized rule regulating lab-developed tests as medical devices, and explain the rule's phaseout policy for enforcement discretion.
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A Look At New IRS Rules For Domestically Controlled REITs
The Internal Revenue Services' finalized Treasury Regulations addressing whether real estate investment trusts qualify as domestically controlled adopt the basic structure of previous proposals, but certain new and modified rules may mitigate the regulations' impact, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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7 Effects Of DOL Retirement Asset Manager Exemption Rule
The recent U.S. Department of Labor amendment to the retirement asset manager exemption delivers several key practical impacts, including the need for managers, as opposed to funds, to register with the DOL, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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Kansas Workers' Comp. Updates Can Benefit Labor, Business
While the most significant shake-up from the April amendment to the Kansas Workers Compensation Act will likely be the increase in potential lifetime payouts for workers totally disabled on the job, other changes that streamline the hearing process will benefit both employees and companies, says Weston Mills at Gilson Daub.
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4 Sectors Will Likely Bear Initial Brunt Of FTC 'Junk Fees' Rule
If the Federal Trade Commission adopts its comprehensive proposed rule to ban unfair or deceptive fees across the U.S. economy, many businesses — including those in the lodging, event ticketing, dining and transportation sectors — will need to reexamine the way they market and price their products and services, say attorneys at Skadden.
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What Lies Behind Diverging US And UK Insolvency Trends
Contrasting U.K. and U.S. insolvency trends highlight the importance of policy interventions in shaping consumer financial outcomes and economic recovery, and while the U.K.'s approach seems to have mitigated issues, the U.S. faces challenges exacerbated by economic conditions and policy transitions, says Thomas Curran at Thomas H. Curran Associates.
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Liquidity Risk Management Tops NCUA Exam Priorities
As credit unions map their regulatory initiatives and audit plans, they should look to the National Credit Union Administration’s annual supervisory priorities, which include five important examination areas, including liquidity management and interest rate risk, say Juan Arciniegas and Judy Chen at Chapman and Cutler.
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Protecting IP May Be Tricky Without Noncompetes
Contrary to the Federal Trade Commission's view, trade secret law cannot replace noncompetes' protection of proprietary information because intellectual property includes far more than just trade secrets, so businesses need to closely examine their IP protection options, say Aimee Fagan and Ching-Lee Fukuda at Sidley.
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Regulating Resurrected Species Under The ESA
As the prospect of extinct species being resurrected from DNA and reintroduced into the wild grows closer, an analysis of the Endangered Species Act suggests that it could provide a thoughtful, flexible governance framework for such scenarios, say Caroline Meadows and Shelby Bobosky at the SMU Dedman School of Law.
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A Look At FERC's Plan To End Reactive Power Compensation
A recent notice of proposed rulemaking indicates that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is likely to eliminate compensation for reactive power within the standard power factor range — causing significant impacts for the electric power industry, which relies on income from providing this service, say Norman Bay and Matthew Goldberg at Willkie and Vivian Chum at Wright & Talisman.
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How FTC's Noncompete Rule May Affect Exec Comp Packages
In the event the Federal Trade Commission's final noncompete rule goes into effect as currently contemplated, companies will need to take stock of how they structure post-employment executive compensation arrangements, such as severance agreements and clawbacks, says Meredith O'Leary at King & Spalding.
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Action Steps To Address New Restrictions On Outbound Data
Companies should immediately assess all their data-based operations so they can consider strategies to effectively mitigate new compliance risks brought on by recently implemented transaction restrictions, including a Justice Department proposal and landmark data legislation, say attorneys at Wiley.
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E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Text Message Data
Electronically stored information on cellphones, and in particular text messages, can present unique litigation challenges, and recent court decisions demonstrate that counsel must carefully balance what data should be preserved, collected, reviewed and produced, say attorneys at Sidley.