US states and Cannabis[1][2] Fourteen US states and territories have legalized recreational cannabis sales for adults, with varying levels of regulation. A total of 33 states have legalized cannabis for medical purposes. The governors of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania convened this past fall for a summit on coordinating cannabis and vaping policies. New Jersey is putting a [...]
Welcome to 2020! As the Managing Director of Duane Morris Government Strategies, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the past year. 2019 was an exciting year for DMGS and for our country. As policies and initiatives shifted federally and in states, our firm was involved and helping shape changes at all levels [...]
Digital Illustration by Alana Burman NATIONAL Task force to highlight ‘forgotten’ and 'invisible’ women veterans[1] There are approximately 2 million women veterans in the US today. Women make up about 10 percent of the nation’s veteran population, 17 percent of current military personnel, and 30 percent of military service academy students. The number of women [...]
Digital Illustration by Alana Burman ELECTION COVERAGE SPOTLIGHT Voters in several states headed to polls on Tuesday, November 5. The elections could lead to major shifts in power and potentially serve as bellwether elections - indicating how much momentum Democrats have kept since the midterms in 2018, offering a glimpse of potential party performance for [...]
Digital Illustration by Alana Burman RUSSIA AND CRYPTOCURRENCY[1] Russia has struggled to pass cryptocurrency reform for over two years, since January 2018. Various government agencies and the central bank worked on several different bills—including the law on digital financial assets and the law on crowdfunding—without regularly consulting one another. While the law on crowdfunding passed [...]
Attorney General[1] Attorney General Jeff Landry (R) got his second term as the state’s top lawyer by defeating his opponent with a margin of over 400,000 votes. His record while in office, including the establishment of the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation and his current lawsuit against prescription opioid manufacturers, appealed to voters. St. George Becomes [...]
California & For-Profit Schools[1] The Department of Veterans Affairs is working to strip California of its contract to regulate GI Bill benefits, denying the state the ability to investigate alleged abuses by for-profit colleges and to penalize for such abuses. The federal VA and California have been at odds over how the state has used [...]
GUBERNATORIAL RESULTS[1][2] Louisiana held what is referred to as a “jungle” primary yesterday – an election where all candidates from all parties run on the same ballot. In a jungle primary, if a candidate secures more than 50% of the vote, he or she is declared the winner and a general election is not needed. [...]
On August 14, 2019, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released the final rule on project approval for single-family condominiums insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). The final rule goes into effect on Oct. 15. The finalized changes ease restrictions on FHA financing for condominiums. Single Unit Approval HUD suspended the ability [...]
Digital Collage by Alana Burman FLORIDA BLUE-GREEN ALGAE AND SEPTIC TANKS[1] In response to concern over Florida’s water systems, Governor Ron DeSantis issued an executive orde that created the Blue-Green Algae Task Force after state-wide outbreaks of toxic algae and red tide. The problems drew attention to the state’s Southeast and Southwest regions. Algae plagued [...]
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