On July 1, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 6-3 decision, holding that California’s blanket demand for charities to disclose donor information to the state Attorney General (AG) is facially unconstitutional.2 In addition...more
8/10/2021
/ Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFP) v. Bonta ,
California ,
Charitable Donations ,
Charitable Organizations ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Donor Lists ,
Donors ,
First Amendment ,
Freedom of Association ,
Mandatory Disclosure Rules ,
Nonprofits ,
SCOTUS ,
Tax Exempt Entities
On Monday April 19, 2021, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signed Executive Order 2021-09 banning vaccine passports in Arizona—also known as digital health passports (“DHPs”). The Executive Order (“EO”) prevents local governments,...more
4/27/2021
/ Arizona ,
Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Governor Ducey ,
State Bans ,
Vaccinations ,
Vaccine Passports
Traditionally, United States software developers have struggled to compete globally due to strict export control and international trade laws. But since export control reform that began during President Obama’s...more
A recent U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Federal Circuit) decision provides unsuccessful government contractors yet another avenue to pursue a bid protest. Notably, the Federal Circuit resolved the looming...more
In the first quarter of 2021, Arizona has a seen a flurry of legal uncertainty related to the Arizona Supreme Court’s February decision in Schires v. Carlat that has been construed in some quarters as revising and narrowing...more
A common tactic by competitors is to seek adversaries’ (or even supply-chain partners’) data that is maintained by the United States, an individual state, or even municipal governmental agencies. These efforts are meant to...more
3/16/2021
/ Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Data Collection ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
FOIA ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Privileged Communication ,
Privileged Documents ,
Public Records ,
SCOTUS ,
Sierra Club ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service v Sierra Club
On March 7, 2021, President Biden signed an executive order aiming to increase voters’ access to elections. The executive order serves as an “initial step” in President Biden’s plan to work with Congress to attempt to...more
The Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) was created on March 27, 2020 as part of the first COVID-19 relief package. Over the past year, Congress appropriated almost $700 billion to the PPP in an effort to provide forgivable...more
3/8/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FOIA ,
Fraud ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Loan Forgiveness ,
OIG ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Relief Measures ,
SBA
In the wake of COVID-19, small businesses have faced unique challenges and hardships. In response, the government created a federal relief program under the CARES Act, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), aimed toward...more
3/5/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Independent Contractors ,
Loan Forgiveness ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Popular ,
Relief Measures ,
SBA ,
Self Employed ,
Small Business ,
Small Business Loans ,
Sole Proprietorship
Even before COVID-19, counterfeits within the healthcare industry and military supply chains were a significant issue. COVID-19 may only exacerbate the issue for legitimate suppliers and desperate end-users. On February 18,...more
2/25/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Counterfeiting ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Healthcare ,
Military Goods ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Supply Chain ,
Vaccinations ,
Wire Fraud
Many investors, traditional and progressive, are looking hard at cryptocurrency investments as a way to diversify their portfolios. However, there are still multiple known “unknowns” about this new market, including the...more
2/24/2021
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bitcoin ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Export Controls ,
FinCEN ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Virtual Currency
Due to COVID-19, there have been a significant amount of economic incentive programs and government contract opportunities to assist in stimulus and responding to the crisis. This is in addition to the typical government...more
With the never-ending political cycle rolling from one election quickly to the next, the political ads appear here to stay. For those individuals still experiencing the wake of political attack ads, it is possible that...more
In recent years, courts have seen an increasing amount of cases challenging Arizona economic development deal opportunities between public and private parties under the “Gift Clause” of article IX, section 7 of the Arizona...more
In an increasingly connected global economy, foreign countries or companies may find themselves seeking foreign-country money judgments in unexpected places, such as Arizona. To address this situation, the Arizona Legislature...more
On January 19, 2021, the Department of Defense (DoD), the General Services Administration, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration issued a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) concerning...more
On January 14, 2021, the U.S. Department of Commerce issued an interim final rule to address national security, economic security, and public health and safety concerns related to Information and Communications Technology and...more
1/20/2021
/ CFIUS ,
China ,
Cuba ,
Executive Orders ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Adversaries ,
Infrastructure ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Iran Sanctions ,
National Security ,
Russia ,
US Trade Policies ,
Venezuela
On January 6, the Small Business Administration (SBA) issued its Interim Final Rule (IFR) for the original Paycheck Protection Program (PPP-1) to reflect changes to the program included in the recent Economic Aid to Hard-Hit...more
1/11/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Good Faith ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
New Guidance ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Property Damage ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Relief Measures ,
SBA ,
Small Business ,
Small Business Loans
On December 27, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (the “Act”) was signed into law. This Act makes available $284 billion for second draw loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP-2”) and also makes important...more
12/30/2020
/ Borrowers ,
Certification Requirements ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Eligibility ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Loan Applications ,
Loan Forgiveness ,
Loans ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Relief Measures ,
SBA ,
Small Business
As with any presidential (or governor) transition, significant changes occur in regard to the executive offices’ regulatory enforcement priorities and changes from the previous administration. Because the majority of rules...more
On October 1, 2020, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued an advisory regarding the potential sanctions risk for entities that facilitate ransomware payments. OFAC defined “ransomware” as:
A form...more
11/19/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
New Guidance ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Personal Information ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
State Attorneys General ,
Trading with the Enemy Act
On November 12, 2020, President Donald Trump signed an executive order prohibiting “United States persons” from engaging in “transactions” in securities of “Chinese Communist military companies.” The order marks another...more
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) have recently stepped up the pressure on virtual currency companies. Increased regulatory scrutiny has largely taken the...more
On June 19, the Small Business Administration (SBA) published an update to its Interim Final Rules (New IFR) to reflect changes to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) put in place under the new Paycheck Protection Program...more
6/24/2020
/ Applications ,
Borrowers ,
CARES Act ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Loan Forgiveness ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 (PPPFA) ,
Relief Measures ,
SBA ,
Small Business ,
Small Business Loans
The Department of Treasury has recently proposed a rule revising the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States’(“CFIUS”) regulation, 31 C.F.R. Part 800. Generally, CFIUS is a government body that has authority to...more
6/15/2020
/ CFIUS ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Exports ,
Foreign Investment ,
ITAR ,
Mandatory Requirements ,
NAICS ,
New Rules ,
Reporting Requirements ,
U.S. Treasury