Commercial Law & Contracts, Election & Politics Law

House to hold hearing on CFPB ability to repay/QM rule

by Barbara S. Mishkin | Ballard Spahr LLP on 5/20/2013

The House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit has scheduled a hearing for tomorrow, May 21, on “Qualified Mortgages: Examining the Impact of the Ability to Repay Rule.”...more

Trade group charges CFPB’s closing of Consumer Advisory Board meeting to public violates federal law

by Barbara S. Mishkin | Ballard Spahr LLP on 5/16/2013

A letter sent today to the CFPB by an attorney for the Community Financial Services Association of America (CFSA), a national trade organization for payday lenders, asserts that the CFPB violated the Federal Advisory...more

Proposed Non-Compete Legislation in Connecticut Follows Legislative Trend

by Kenneth Vanko | Clingen Callow & McLean, LLC on 5/16/2013

So far, 2013 has been active for proposed non-compete legislation. At the beginning of any calendar year, it's not surprising to see a number of bills introduced in state assemblies or legislatures - many of which have...more

CFPB Targets Auto Financing For Enforcement

by Michael Volkov on 5/14/2013

The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau continues to spread its wings in the enforcement arena. It is an agency born and confined in political controversy. ...more

Condominium And Homeowners Bills Enacted By The 2013 Florida Legislature

by Martin Schwartz | Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod LLP on 5/14/2013

HB 73- Omnibus Legislation - This bill containing 74 pages is a "stripped down" version of a bill which passed the House last year but failed to obtain Senate approval. It contains a potpourri of changes to the...more

South Carolina Supreme Court (Reluctantly) Upholds Sales Tax Exemptions

by Michael Jacobs, Alexandra Sampson | Reed Smith on 5/13/2013

Yesterday, the South Carolina Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Bodman v. South Carolina, holding that the state’s sales and use tax exemption and cap scheme, as a whole, does not violate the state...more

EU Data Protection Regulation: and the horizon recedes again . . .

by Susan Foster | Mintz Levin - Privacy & Security on 5/13/2013

(LONDON) We recently wrote that a crucial committee vote on the new EU Data Protection Regulation had been pushed back until May 29-30. The vote has been delayed again until an unspecified future date, although Jan Phillip...more

Perennial Legislative Bloomers

by Gail Kulick | Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A. on 5/13/2013

Certain issues come up year after year in the Legislature in the form of unsuccessful proposed bills, with the consistency and reliability of perennial blooms. Some come remarkably close to becoming law. Former State...more

Argument Before Illinois Supreme Court in Performance Marketing Continued to Morning of May 22nd

by Kirk Jenkins | Sedgwick LLP on 5/10/2013

An update on last week’s post on Performance Marketing Association, Inc. v. Hamer: with the posting of the Court’s docket book for the May term, we learned that the oral argument in Performance Marketing has been continued...more

Greenberger: Derivatives Legislation Would Seriously Weaken Dodd-Frank [Video]

by Bloomberg Law on 5/10/2013

May 10 (Bloomberg Law) -- Michael Greenberger, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Law, tells Bloomberg Law's Lee Pacchia that a new set of legislation making its way through the House of Representatives could...more

Reforming Proposition 65: Governor’s “Update” Is a Promising Start

by Michèle Corash, Robert Falk, Michael Steel | Morrison & Foerster LLP on 5/9/2013

Yesterday, Governor Jerry Brown’s office announced his intention to propose “updates” to Proposition 65 (Health & Safety Code section 25249.5 et seq.) supposedly designed to make the law less susceptible to the widespread...more

Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 Passes United States Senate

by Stanley Kaminski, Carolyn Sprinchorn | Duane Morris LLP on 5/9/2013

On May 6, 2013, the United States Senate passed the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 (the "Act") by a vote of 69 to 27. The legislation (S. 743) now moves to the House of Representatives for consideration....more

In North Carolina, Will There Be “Freedom to Negotiate Health Care Rates”?

by Jonathan Lewis, Lee Simowitz | BakerHostetler on 5/9/2013

Despite opposition and the claim from BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina that it “has not used ’most favored nation’ clauses in [its] new contracts and in fact [they are] not part of our strategy to use those clauses on...more

Alabama Legislative Update – Week 12: Gun Bills, Budgets and Medicaid

by Denise Killebrew, Dennis Nabors | Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell &... on 5/7/2013

Last week, legislators turned their attention to the weightiest and most controversial issues, including debate and passage of several gun bills. Now, with only three legislative days remaining, both budgets will take...more

Obama Nominates Key 2nd Term Trade Positions

by Amanda C. Blunt, Ashley Craig, Kelly Suzanne Herman, Lindsay B. Meyer | Venable LLP on 5/6/2013

Yesterday, President Obama put forth nominations for two posts critical to the trade community - U.S. Trade Representative and Secretary of Commerce - rounding out personnel announcements made this week that include the...more

Florida Legislature Passes Manufacturing Competitiveness Act

by Rheb Harbison | Carlton Fields on 5/1/2013

Today, the Florida Legislature passed the Manufacturing Competitiveness Act (HB 357). The bill, which now heads to Governor Rick Scott for signature, significantly streamlines local and state regulation and approvals, giving...more

Congress Drafts Compounding Legislation -- Defines Compounded Drugs as "New Drugs" Under the FFDCA and Creates Bright Line Between...

by Elinor Hart, Rachael G. Pontikes | Duane Morris LLP on 4/30/2013

In the wake of the New England Compounding Center meningitis outbreak, the federal government has actively pushed for greater legislative oversight over compounding pharmacies. On April 26, 2013, the U.S. Senate Committee on...more