The House and Senate have passed the latest round of emergency stimulus measures to address the COVID-19 crisis – a $484 billion package geared toward helping small businesses and hospitals negatively affected by the virus....more
The third stimulus effort responding to the COVID-19 pandemic – the CARES Act – has been signed by President Trump and is now law. The $2 trillion stimulus legislation provides much-needed emergency aid to businesses and...more
3/27/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Direct Payments to Families and Individuals ,
Federal Loans ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Health Care Providers ,
Moratorium ,
Mortgages ,
Relief Measures ,
Retirement Plan ,
Small Business Loans ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Deductions ,
Unemployment Benefits
Both parties have recognized the need for significant and immediate relief to assist consumers and small businesses affected by COVID-19. On March 18, 2020, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), the chairwoman of the House Financial...more
New federal legislation introduced in the House and Senate would place a 36% annual percentage rate cap on nearly all consumer loans, potentially killing the small dollar consumer lending industry.
Last month, Congressmen...more
12/20/2019
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Consumer Loan Companies ,
Interest Rate Caps ,
Interest Rates ,
Military Lending Act ,
Military Service Members ,
Predatory Lending ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA) ,
Usury
With no immediate end in sight to the current federal shutdown, financial regulators are seeking to minimize the adverse impacts of the shutdown on individuals. In a January 11, 2019, press release, the Board of Governors of...more
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced, in a highly anticipated decision, that it would begin to consider special-purpose charter applications from fintech entities. This move, which has been the subject of...more
The “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” has passed both chambers of Congress and is expected to be signed by President Trump soon. Details of the final agreement among House and Senate Republicans include rate cuts for “C” corporations,...more
12/21/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Business Taxes ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Income Taxes ,
Individual Mandate ,
International Tax Issues ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Local Taxes ,
Mortgage Interest ,
Pending Legislation ,
R&D Tax Credits ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Rates ,
Tax Reform ,
Trump Administration
Details of a final agreement among House and Senate Republicans emerged last week -- including rate cuts for “C” corporations, individuals and pass-through businesses. Here’s a summary of what the conferees have agreed to,...more
12/18/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Alternative Minimum Tax ,
Business Taxes ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Income Taxes ,
Individual Mandate ,
International Tax Issues ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Local Taxes ,
Mortgage Interest ,
Pass-Through Entities ,
Proposed Legislation ,
R&D Tax Credits ,
State and Local Government ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Rates ,
Tax Reform ,
Trump Administration
The United States governmental committee charged with reviewing foreign mergers and acquisitions with U.S.-based companies or affiliates for potential national security concerns may soon be getting a new set of teeth. The...more
Interacting with public officials and public employees is necessary for many businesses and nonprofit organizations. No one should be discouraged from engaging public officials and public employees on public policy. In fact,...more
On Friday, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order targeting federal regulations. This new executive action, which is designed to enact the White House’s regulatory reform agenda, requires the heads of each...more
Last week, the Alabama Ethics Commission (the “Commission”) held its first of six scheduled meetings for the year. At the meeting, the Commission issued a new opinion addressing charitable solicitations and amended a...more
As reported last week in Bradley’s Governmental Affairs alert in A Sign of Things to Come? Trump’s Regulatory Freeze and Other Early Actions, the Trump administration took immediate action with regard to the Affordable Care...more
2/3/2017
/ Anti-Abortion Memorandum ,
Dakota Access Pipeline ,
Deregulation ,
Environmental Review ,
Executive Orders ,
Expedited Actions Process ,
Federal Funding ,
Federal Grants ,
Health Care Providers ,
Infrastructure ,
ISIS ,
Keystone XL Pipeline ,
Lobbying ,
OMB ,
One In - Two Out ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Sanctuary Cities ,
Trans-Pacific Partnership ,
Travel Ban ,
Trump Administration
Behind the pomp and circumstance of Friday’s inauguration, President Donald J. Trump and his administration set their sights on deploying a new guard of regulatory and economic policies focused on reducing burdensome...more
1/24/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Aircraft ,
Crude by Rail ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Department of the Interior ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
EB-5 ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Energy Conservation ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Farms ,
Federal Housing Administration (FHA) ,
Foreign Investment ,
Genetically Engineered Seed ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Hazardous Substances ,
International Entrepreneur Rule ,
Mortgage Insurance Deduction ,
Oil & Gas ,
OSHA ,
Over-Time ,
Pesticides ,
Pipelines ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Freeze ,
Safety Inspections ,
Startups ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
USDA ,
White-Collar Exemptions ,
Workplace Safety
Last week, in McDonnell v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated the bribery convictions of Bob McDonnell, the former governor of Virginia. In doing so, the unanimous Court rejected prosecutors’ expansive...more
Summary -
Governor Robert Bentley called a second special session of the Alabama Legislature on Tuesday, September 9 at 5 p.m. to address the FY 2016 General Fund budget and associated revenue measures. After meeting for...more
9/22/2015
/ Ad Valorem Tax ,
Business Privilege Tax ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Combined Reporting ,
Department of Revenue ,
ETFs ,
Excise Tax ,
FICA Taxes ,
Gas Taxes ,
General Fund ,
Healthcare ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Lottery ,
Medicaid ,
Pharmacies ,
Property Tax ,
State Budgets ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Amnesty ,
Tax Increases ,
Tax Rates ,
Tax Reform ,
Tax Revenues ,
Tobacco ,
Tribal Government Programs
The Alabama Senate adjourned sine die on Thursday, June 4, and the Alabama House of Representatives met for their last day on Thursday, June 11. Although the legislature passed a record-setting, $6 billion Education Trust...more
On May 12, 2015, U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, released the text of draft legislation intended to reform the regulatory framework...more
5/25/2015
/ Banks ,
Common Securitization Platform ,
Community Banks ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Fannie Mae ,
Federal Reserve ,
FHFA ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Stability Acts ,
Freddie Mac ,
FSOC ,
Mortgage Loan Originators ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Qualified Mortgage Rule ,
RESPA ,
Safe Harbors ,
TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule (TRID) ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
On March 25, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“USACE”) announced the release of their proposed rule redefining what waters fall under federal jurisdiction under the...more
As expected, House Ways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp (R-Mich.) released his long-awaited tax reform discussion draft on Wednesday, February 26, in which he seeks to lower the individual and corporate tax rates as well...more