Alerts

Headlines that Matter for Companies and Executives in Regulated Industries

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) reflects the Biden Administration’s attention to issues of environmental justice and environmental equity. The IRA, directly and indirectly, invests in environmentally overburdened communities.

Projects that produce or recycle wind turbine blades, manufacture energy storage equipment, or refine or blend renewable or low-carbon fuels may qualify for up to a 30 percent tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The IRA provides some significant wins for US manufacturers.

After many years of policy debate and attempts at proposed legislation, some of the most meaningful changes to the ways in which Medicare pays for prescription drugs – and the obligations of manufacturers selling drugs to Medicare beneficiaries - have finally come to pass.

According to a recent unpublished Ninth Circuit ruling, obtaining consent prior to using recording technologies is required for purposes of the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA). This ruling is notable for website operators as it signals obtaining targeted consent.

On August 10, 2022, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued a joint proposal to amend Form PF,[1] a reporting form for SEC-registered reporting private fund advisers to require enhanced periodic disclosures.

An important step in the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Strategic Roadmap for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) was completed on August 12 when the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced the completion of its review of an EPA proposal to designate two PFAS as hazardous.

Headlines that Matter for Companies and Executives in Regulated Industries

Headlines that Matter for Privacy and Data Security.

This week, President Biden signed legislation designed to infuse billions of dollars into the economy to promote clean energy, manufacturing, and construction through a wide array of tax incentives and grants.

Recently, Major League Baseball (MLB) informed teams that cannabidiol (CBD) sponsorships were no longer off limits and that they were free to pursue sponsorships in the CBD category under certain conditions. CBD companies will also no longer be prohibited from airing commercials during MLB games.

Today, President Joe Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “Act”). Although the proposal further restricting the availability of long-term capital gain treatment with respect to carried interests ultimately was dropped from the final version of the bill.

On August 3, 2022, eleven suspended PGA Tour members filed a complaint [1] in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (the “Court”) against PGA Tour, Inc. (the “Tour”), alleging violation of federal and California state antitrust laws.

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA), has several primary goals, including: promoting clean energy, manufacturing, and construction through a wide array of tax incentives and grants; and raising revenue through the primary mechanisms of a new corporate alternative minimum tax.

Headlines that Matter for Companies and Executives in Regulated Industries

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, under a reconstituted Commission, is signaling a new era of aggressive enforcement of the Commodity Exchange Act. 

Consent decrees play a major role in environmental litigation. This week, Maine People’s Alliance v. Holtrachem Manufacturing Company, one of the nation’s longest-running cases under the RCRA citizen suit provisions, has essentially ended with a Maine district court’s entry of a consent decree.

- The efforts to legalize cannabis have gained traction in some states and run into serious roadblocks in others.
- Nineteen states allow adults to possess and use cannabis for non-medical uses (adult use).  
- Thirty-seven states allow for medical cannabis use through state run programs.

As use of cryptocurrency investment has increased throughout the world, regulators have faced a bevy of novel questions, especially related to applying different strains of law to regulate novel digital assets.

In a newly filed lawsuit against the State of Idaho, the federal government argues that Idaho’s “near-total ban on abortion,” scheduled to take effect on August 25, 2022, overreaches by prohibiting abortion even where federal law may require physicians to perform an emergency abortion.

Most of California’s Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC) wage orders mandate that employees “shall be provided with suitable seats when the nature of the work reasonably permits the use of seats.

Five new state omnibus privacy laws have been passed and will go into effect in 2023. 
Organizations should review their privacy practices and prepare for compliance with these new privacy laws.

Regulators at all levels – federal, state, and local – seek to address climate concerns. On July 27, Washington, DC, joined localities banning natural-gas hookups when Mayor Muriel Bowser signed an ordinance limiting use of fossil fuels like natural gas in newly constructed buildings.

Headlines that Matter for Companies and Executives in Regulated Industries

A series of new developments combine to make the broad topic of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing, disclosure, and regulation more relevant to the not-for-profit healthcare sector (Sector).