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Public Policy

  • June 23, 2025

    Texas Gov. Abbott Signs Bitcoin Reserve Bill Into Law

    Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has signed into law a bill to establish a strategic bitcoin reserve aimed at helping the Lone Star State's financial resilience, following the Trump administration's own creation of a bitcoin reserve earlier this year.

  • June 23, 2025

    Michigan Must Face Christian Refugee Aid Provider's Bias Suit

    A federal judge said a Christian refugee resettlement agency may move ahead with claims that Michigan sought to force the agency to agree to hire non-Christians to be eligible for contracts.

  • June 23, 2025

    Paxton, Airline Co. Ask To Take Biz Doc Case Out Of 5th Circ.

    The Texas attorney general's office and an airline parts manufacturer have agreed to remove a dispute over a state law allowing the office to examine business records from the Fifth Circuit back to district court.

  • June 23, 2025

    Justices Drop 'Third Country' Removal Due Process, For Now

    A divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that the Trump administration can send noncitizens facing deportation to countries where they have no prior ties without providing due process protections, including written notice or a chance to raise concerns about their future safety.

  • June 23, 2025

    Texas Governor Vetoes Ban On Hemp-Derived THC Products

    Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has vetoed a bill that would have banned hemp-derived THC products, rebuking one of his lieutenant governor's policy priorities and delivering a win to the Lone Star State's hemp industry.

  • June 23, 2025

    DOL Suspends Biden-Era H-2A Farmworker Protection Rule

    The U.S. Department of Labor has put a Biden-era regulation protecting union-related activities for agricultural workers on seasonal H-2A visas on ice while litigation over the rule continues and the agency considers new rulemaking.

  • June 23, 2025

    Mass. Cannabis Shop Seeks $2.3M Refund Of 'Impact Fees'

    A cannabis retailer with a location on Massachusetts' North Shore is asking for a refund of $2.3 million in so-called community impact and other fees it has paid since 2019, the latest dispensary to make such a request since the fees were rescinded by state lawmakers in 2023.

  • June 23, 2025

    Regulator Deleted Texts In $62M Gas Rate Feud, Agency Says

    Connecticut's Public Utilities Regulatory Authority cannot produce text messages requested by two gas companies suing to recover $43.2 million and $19.1 million revenue deficiencies because chairperson Marissa Gillett's personal phone was set to automatically delete communications after 30 days, the agency told a judge on Monday.

  • June 23, 2025

    Dems Demand Info On Emil Bove's Alleged Misconduct

    Ahead of Emil Bove's hearing on Wednesday for his judicial nomination, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are pressing for information on complaints alleging his misconduct while at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and Main Justice earlier this year.

  • June 23, 2025

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    The Delaware Supreme Court reversed a year-old $199 million judgment against TransCanada in a suit challenging a merger that occurred nearly a decade ago, Aspen Technology Inc. was hit with another suit over its pending $7.2 billion merger with Emerson Electric, and Nielson Holdings Ltd. secured a temporary restraining order against its spinoff. In case you missed it, here's the latest from the Delaware Chancery Court.

  • June 23, 2025

    Kennedys Expands With Litigators In Philly, Midwest

    Kennedys Law LLP expanded its litigation team with the recent addition to its offices in Philadelphia and Chicago of four attorneys specializing in liability, insurance and cybersecurity.

  • June 23, 2025

    Takings Not Enough To Lower Lot Value, Mass. Board Says

    A half-acre parking lot in Massachusetts was not overvalued by a local assessor despite temporary and permanent takings by the state highway department during road construction, the state Appellate Tax Board said in a decision released Monday.

  • June 23, 2025

    Mass. Home Was Overvalued, Tax Board Rules

    A Massachusetts home should have its value lowered based on the home's purchase price and comparable sales in the area, the state Appellate Tax Board said in a ruling released Monday.

  • June 23, 2025

    East Lansing To Pay $7.8M After High Court Energy Fee Ruling

    East Lansing, Michigan, has agreed to pay $7.8 million to its residents for an electric bill charge that the Michigan Supreme Court deemed to be a hidden tax.

  • June 23, 2025

    Quinn Emanuel Joins Firms Launching State AG Teams

    Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP announced Monday that it has become the latest major law firm to launch a state attorneys general practice group amid increasing activity from these offices, tapping two alumni of the public sector to lead the new team.

  • June 23, 2025

    No Break For Early Pay After Late Postmark, Ore. Court Says

    An Oregon company could not show that its property tax payments were mailed before the due date for receiving a discount for early payments, the state tax court said.

  • June 23, 2025

    Dems Laud Axing Of Budget Bill's Injunction Bond Provision

    A provision meant to up the ante for plaintiffs filing lawsuits against the federal government by increasing the use of injunction bonds has been ruled ineligible for inclusion in the budget reconciliation package.

  • June 23, 2025

    Michael Best Adds AI Pro To Transactions Group In DC

    Michael Best & Friedrich LLP has announced the firm recently welcomed to its transactional practice group an attorney who has more than two decades of experience working with regulatory, compliance and security matters associated with artificial intelligence governance, data privacy and cybersecurity matters.

  • June 23, 2025

    States Back PBS, NPR In Fight Against Trump Broadcast Cuts

    A coalition of 20 states and the District of Columbia backed a pair of motions from the Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio Inc. seeking pretrial wins in their challenges to President Donald Trump's executive order that purports to revoke their funding, arguing that only Congress can pull that money.

  • June 23, 2025

    Va. City Wants Out Of Landfill Co.'s Suit Over Land Use Law

    The Virginia city of Chesapeake argued in Virginia federal court that a landfill owner's suit over an amended city land use law should be tossed because the owner hasn't actually been punished under the law and hasn't indicated that they're going to violate it.

  • June 23, 2025

    Texas Authorizes Tax Break For Border Safety Infrastructure

    Texas authorized a property tax exemption for real property used to install border security infrastructure in counties that border Mexico, pending voter approval of a proposed amendment to the state constitution, under a bill signed by Gov. Greg Abbott.

  • June 23, 2025

    Crypto Exec Seeks 5th Circ. Redo Over IRS Summonses

    A cryptocurrency executive asked the Fifth Circuit to reconsider his request to quash IRS summonses for his bank records, saying its decision that he was prematurely trying to appeal a lower court's ruling ignored his claims that the agency's documents were incomplete and lacked legal power.

  • June 23, 2025

    Justices To Review Liability For Forcing Prisoner's Haircut

    The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a former Louisiana prisoner's case for damages after guards forcibly shaved his head, removing the dreadlocks he maintained as part of his Rastafarian religion.

  • June 23, 2025

    High Court Won't Revisit 'Right-To-Control' Fraud Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to take a second look at the landmark case that disposed of the "right-to-control" theory of fraud, rejecting a petition that argued the Second Circuit had wrongly remanded the action for retrial before resolving the appeal at hand.

  • June 23, 2025

    Justices Pass On La. Regulators' Tesla Sales Ban

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a Fifth Circuit decision that revived Tesla's lawsuit accusing Louisiana car dealers and regulators of illegally excluding the direct-sale automaker from the state, following a notification from the parties of their intent to reach a settlement.

Expert Analysis

  • State Farm Rate Hike Portends Intensifying Insurance Crisis

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    The California Department of Insurance's unprecedented emergency approval of a 17% rate increase for State Farm General Insurance, the first interim rate relief granted before completing full actuarial justification, represents a regulatory watershed and establishes precedent that could fundamentally reshape insurers' response to climate-driven market instability, says Daniel Veroff at Merlin Law Group.

  • Steps For Universities To Pass Tax-Exempt Test Amid Scrutiny

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    After decades of a quiet governmental acceptance of tax-exempt status, universities are facing unprecedented and public pressure to defend themselves, and must consider how to protect this valuable status, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • In 2nd Term, Trump Has New Iran Sanctions Enforcement Tool

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    As tensions between the U.S. and Iran escalate, the Trump administration may use a whistleblower program enacted in 2022 to target violations that were previously more difficult to detect, thus expanding enforcement of economic sanctions, say attorneys at MoloLamken and Zuckerman Law.

  • Texas Targets Del. Primacy With Trio Of New Corporate Laws

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    Delaware has long positioned itself as the leader in attracting business formation, but a flurry of new legislation in Texas aimed at attracting businesses to the Lone Star State is aggressively trying to change that, says Andrew Oringer at the Wagner Law Group.

  • Explicit Pic Takedown Law Casts A Wide Net

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    With a surprisingly broad range of online platforms potentially subject to the new Take It Down Act’s process for removing revenge porn or explicit deepfakes, all services that allow user interaction or content hosting should proactively evaluate their legal obligations and demonstrate compliance, say attorneys at Goodwin, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • How AI May Reshape The Future Of Adjudication

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    As discussed at a recent panel at Texas A&M, artificial intelligence will not erase the human element of adjudication in the next 10 to 20 years, but it will drive efficiencies that spur private arbiters to experiment, lead public courts to evolve and force attorneys to adapt, says Christopher Seck at Squire Patton.

  • What Money Transmitters Need To Know About New Colo. Law

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    Colorado's new Money Transmission Modernization Act updates standards for the licensing, supervision and regulation of money transmitters while codifying an agent-to-payee exemption, and represents another step toward standardizing these rules across state governments, say Sarah Auchterlonie and Joel Herberman at Brownstein Hyatt.

  • How States Are Taking The Lead On Data Center Regulation

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    While support for data center growth is a declared priority for the current administration, federal data center policy has been slow to develop — so states continue to lead in attracting and regulating data center growth, say attorneys at Steptoe.

  • Justices' Charter School Tie Delays Church-State Reckoning

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent deadlock in Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board v. Drummond, blocking the creation of the nation’s first religious charter school, preserved the separation of church and state for now, but offered little reassurance about its continued viability, says Jeffrey Sultanik at Fox Rothschild.

  • When Legal Advocacy Crosses The Line Into Incivility

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    As judges issue sanctions for courtroom incivility, and state bars advance formal discipline rules, trial lawyers must understand that the difference between zealous advocacy and unprofessionalism is not just a matter of tone; it's a marker of skill, credibility and potentially disciplinary exposure, says Nate Sabri at Perkins Coie.

  • Opinion

    It's Time To Expand The WARN Act Liability Exception

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    With layoffs surging across several industries, Congress should amend the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act to address an exception-based disparity that prevents directors and officers from taking all reasonable steps to save a company before being required to provide workers with a mass-layoff notice, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Texas Bill Could Still Boost Property Rights In Gov't Disputes

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    The passage of a bill in Texas that would provide litigants with access to a greater swath of judicial remedies in immunity disputes with government entities and officials would be an invaluable boon for property rights, says Nathan Vrazel at Munsch Hardt.

  • Two Bills Promise A Crypto Revamp, But Not A Done Deal Yet

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    Recent efforts in Congress toward an updated regulatory framework for digital assets have led to two bills — the GENIUS Act and the CLARITY Act — that represent the most consequential legislative developments yet in the push for coherent, pro-innovation, reliable regulation for the industry, but both face multiple hurdles, says Mike Katz at Manatt.

  • Opinion

    NJ Should Align With Federal Rule On Expert Testimony

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    The time is right to amend Rule 702 of the New Jersey Rules of Evidence to align it with the recently amended Rule 702 of the Federal Rules of Evidence and clarify the standard for admissibility of expert testimony, says Timothy Freeman at Tanenbaum Keale.

  • Recent Reports Shed Light On Section 340B's Effectiveness

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    Recent analyses of the Section 340B program's effectiveness in helping patients afford drugs in Minnesota reinforce concerns about the program's lack of transparency and underscore the need for further evaluation of whether legislative reform should be enacted, say William A. Sarraille at the University of Maryland, and Andrée-Anne Fournier and Molly Frean at Analysis Group.

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