BW INSIGHTS

March 15, 2024 REC Summary

The Revenue Estimating Conference (“REC”) met Friday (3.15.24) as part of their standard schedule of meetings to estimate future state revenues. REC members Kraig Paulsen and Jennifer Acton welcomed Jeff Plagge to the panel as the new public representative. A summary of the information discussed during the meeting is below, along with the linked... Read More

Government Relations Legislative Update - Week 9

Capitol Update The second funnel deadline is next Friday. We expect to see mostly Committee work next week as bills that have not made it through the Committee in the other Chamber will be considered dead for the session, with exceptions. Even though a bill itself may be considered dead, ideas are not dead and can come back in the form of... Read More

EPA’s Final Rule for particulate matter (PM) NAAQS

On February 7, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Final Rule on its reconsideration of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Particulate Matter (PM), to lower the primary annual PM2.5 standard from 12.0 micrograms per cubic meter to 9.0 micrograms per cubic meter. The EPA retained the current... Read More

Alabama Court Rules CTA Unconstitutional

On Friday, March 1, 2024, a U.S. District Court judge in Alabama ruled the Corporate Transparency Act unconstitutional. The Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) is a federal law that went into effect January 1 of this year, requiring any entity that does not meet an exemption to file information on its beneficial owners with the Financial Crimes... Read More

Government Relations Legislative Update - Week Eight

Capitol Update This week, many bills were debated in either the House or Senate and then passed onto their last stop in the legislative process. Each chamber must vote on the exact same language in order to finally pass the bill and have it become law. The Senate will often substitute a House File and vice versa during floor debate so the language... Read More

Brand Owners: “Your True Colors Are Beautiful” – And Worthy of Protection! Have You Filed a Color Trademark Yet?

As a child of the 1980s, I’d be remiss if I didn’t kick this blog post off with a nod to the pink-haired Cyndi Lauper (a trademark owner herself), who perhaps said it best in her 1986 hit “True Colors:” “I see your true colors Shining through I see your true colors And that's why I love you So don't be afraid to let them show Your true colors True... Read More

Government Relations Legislative Update - Week Seven

Capitol Update The focus of the legislature this week turned toward Floor Debate. Mostly non-controversial bills were considered. According to Joint House and Senate Rule 20, during week #7 debate is limited to only Senate Files in the Senate and House Files in the House. The next two weeks of debate are not limited by that rule. Budget... Read More

Government Relations Legislative Update - Week Six

Funnel week. Funnel week has come and gone and it was quite a week with 227 bills moving through Committees and 99 scheduled subcommittees. The purpose of the funnel is to “weed out” those bills that will not be given further consideration this session. The next major procedural deadline - the second funnel - is March 15. For a bill to be... Read More

Government Relations Legislative Update - Week Five

The pace continued during week 5 with 164 bills scheduled for consideration in Committees and 165 scheduled for subcommittee discussions. Next week is funnel week - which means bills must be considered in a subcommittee and pass the Committee by next Friday. Of course, there are exceptions to that rule. Although based on the large numbers of bills... Read More

Government Relations Legislative Update - Week Four

Capital Update Big news on Thursday with the Senate Ways and Means Committee Chair Senator Dan Dawson and the House Ways and Means Committee Chair Representative Bobby Kaufmann jointly releasing a tax reform package that will consist of two different bills (SSB 3141 and SSB 3142). The Press Release states the following:  “The first bill... Read More