BW INSIGHTS

Trump Signs New Executive Order Seeking to Eliminate Disparate Impact Discrimination

By Danielle Smid | 04.28.2025

President Trump signed an executive order on April 23, 2025, directing that federal agencies stop using the disparate impact theory of liability under federal civil rights law, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EO, titled “Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy,” deprioritizes disparate impact and specifically... Read More

2025 Government Relations Legislative Update - Week Fifteen

By Matthew H. McKinney, R.G. Schwarm & Julie A. Smith | 04.28.2025

Capitol Update The 110th day of the legislative session is next Friday, May 2nd. Old hands at the Capitol look for boxes on the floor of the House and Senate for legislators to pack their belongings in to take home at the end of session. No such sightings yet! The Senate passed 24 bills this week and the House passed 44 bills. So far this session,... Read More

2025 Government Relations Legislative Update - Week Fourteen

By Matthew H. McKinney, R.G. Schwarm & Julie A. Smith | 04.21.2025

Capitol Update Both the Senate and House had floor debate with the Senate passing 41 bills and the House passing 26 bills. So far this session, 79 bills have been enrolled - which means they have passed both the Senate and the House, have been signed by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House, and are ready for the Governor’s... Read More

2025 Government Relations Legislative Update - Week Thirteen

By Matthew H. McKinney, R.G. Schwarm & Julie A. Smith | 04.14.2025

Capitol Update Breaking News. This morning, Governor Reynolds shared she will not seek reelection in 2026, citing a desire to spend more time with her family. Click here to watch her full announcement. This Week. The Senate debated Monday-Wednesday passing 30 bills. The House debated on Tuesday passing 8 bills. This is the time of year when a lot... Read More

2025 Government Relations Legislative Update - Week Twelve

By Matthew H. McKinney, R.G. Schwarm & Julie A. Smith | 04.07.2025

Capitol Update The second funnel is here and gone. Neither the House or Senate had floor debate this week, instead concentrating on subcommittees and Committee meetings. Next week (week 13) joint rules require that the Senate considers only House bills, House joint resolutions, and unfinished business and the House considers only Senate bills,... Read More

Protecting Your Construction Contracts from Tariffs and Rising Material Costs

By Zoe S. Ginther | 04.07.2025

On Wednesday, President Trump announced new tariffs on many U.S. imports. Many key construction materials may be affected by the new tariffs as the supply chain shifts as a result of uncertainty in international trade. In the ever-evolving landscape of construction, managing costs effectively is crucial for the success of any project. This rings... Read More

2025 Government Relations Legislative Update - Week Eleven

By Matthew H. McKinney, R.G. Schwarm & Julie A. Smith | 03.31.2025

Capitol Update This Week. The days to the next funnel are dwindling. This week the Senate passed 30 bills on the floor and the House passed 49. Most of those bills will have to be pushed through the Committees on the other side by next Friday, April 4 or they will be ineligible for further consideration this session. New Representative Blaine... Read More

FinCEN Issues Interim Final Rule Effecting Drastic Modifications to CTA

By Brennan Block | 03.24.2025

Consistent with the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s March 2, 2025 press release, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an interim final rule on March 21, 2025 effecting the removal of the requirement for U.S. companies and U.S. persons to report beneficial owner information (BOI) to FinCEN under the Corporate Transparency Act... Read More

2025 Government Relations Legislative Update - Week Ten

By Matthew H. McKinney, R.G. Schwarm & Julie A. Smith | 03.24.2025

Capitol Update Both the House and Senate debated bills this week with the Senate passing 29 bills and the House passing 54 bills. During week 10, Joint Rule 20 found in House Concurrent Resolution 5, states that the Senate can only consider Senate bills, Senate joint resolutions, and unfinished business and the House can consider only House bills,... Read More

2025 Government Relations Legislative Update - Week Nine

By Matthew H. McKinney, R.G. Schwarm & Julie A. Smith | 03.17.2025

Capitol Update Most of this past week consisted of House and Senate floor debate as there is a push to advance bills from one chamber to the other in order to meet the next funnel deadline (April 4th), particularly bills that are not filed in both Chambers. The House passed 52 bills and the Senate passed 30 bills. This week, five of those bills... Read More