Legalized cannabis use is rapidly sweeping the nation. Currently, 29 states have legalized some form of cannabis, effectively turning the majority of the United States green. In this post, we will take a closer look at some of these green states and discuss cannabis real estate trends across both state and country lines.
Municipalities wield considerable power over local businesses as a recent Colorado Supreme Court decision demonstrates.On May 21, the Colorado Supreme Court decided the case of Colorado Union of Taxpayers Foundation v. City of Aspen. The Court held, in a 4 to 3 ruling, that a City of Aspen ordinance imposing a charge of $0.20 on the right to use a paper bag at a grocery store was not a tax, subject to Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR), which was enacted in 1992.
The following notices were published yesterday:
1. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will be taking another look at its implementation of FAST Act Section 61003 regarding the security and resilience of energy infrastructure in the face of emergencies. EEI asked that FERC reconsider the rules it promulgated in November 2016 or at least clarify certain provisions with respect to Critical Energy/Electric Infrastructure Information (CEII). A clarification has been issued, effective July 30, 2018. (83 F.R. 24656)
On May 22, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in an unpublished ruling, affirmed the District Court’s dismissal of a complaint that the actions and inactions of a City of Houston tax reinvestment zone, as well as the City of Houston, resulted in multiple serious flooding incidents that damaged their properties. The case is Residents Against Flooding, et al., v. Reinvestment Zone Number Seventeen, et al.
Recently, our colleagues Matt Morrison and Brendan Hennessey published their Client Alert titled A New Path to Managing Risks from Upstream Oil and Gas Transactions, EPA incentivizes new owners to conduct compliance audits by offering penalty forgiveness for violations found. Takeaways include:
On May 15, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California held that the City of Oakland’s attempt to apply a new “coal ban” ordinance to a coal handling terminal was invalid. The District Court concluded that the record evidence placed before the City Council did not satisfy the ”substantial evidence” criteria contained in the development agreement entered into by the City and Oakland Bulk & Oversized Terminal (“OBOT”) governing a bulk cargo shipping terminal to be built and operated by OBOT. The case is Oakland Bulk & Oversized Terminal, LLC v. City of Oakland.
On May 9, the California Energy Commission announced that it has “adopted building standards that require solar photovoltaic systems starting in 2020.” The 2019 Building Energy Efficiency Standards are expected to “reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an amount equivalent to taking 115,000 fossil fuel cars off the road.” California will be the first in the nation to require solar. The new standards take effect on January 1, 2020.
Recently, our colleague Glenn Sweatt published their Client Alert titled DFARS Clause Blocks Funding for Unsafe Projects in Afghanistan, Recently published regulation implements the FY17 NDAA to prohibit use of funds for DoD construction and infrastructure programs and projects in Afghanistan that cannot be safely accessed by U.S. Government personnel. Takeaways include:
Today, our colleagues Dick Oliver and Glenn Sweat published their Client Alert titled New Proposed DoD Cyber Guidance May Fuel Bid Protest Docket, Newly published draft DoD Guidance for Reviewing System Security Plans (SSP) and the “NIST SP 800-171 Security Requirements Not Yet Implemented” answer some questions but may also result in an increased protest docket due to ambiguous evaluation criteria. Key takeaways include:
