The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Aug. 1, 2025, published a proposal to repeal all greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty vehicles and engines from model year 2012...more
8/7/2025
/ Clean Air Act ,
Comment Period ,
Conflicts of Laws ,
Deregulation ,
Endangerment Finding ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Trump Administration
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes to eliminate greenhouse gas regulations for power plants after concluding that power plants do not "contribute significantly" to dangerous air pollution or,...more
In the weeks since Holland & Knight previously reported on challenges to California's Clean Air Act (CAA) preemption waivers on April 30, 2025, Congress has taken decisive action. Following the U.S. House of Representatives'...more
5/27/2025
/ Automotive Industry ,
California ,
Clean Air Act ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Environmental Policies ,
Government Agencies ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Pending Legislation ,
Preemption ,
Trump Administration ,
Waivers
In recent years, states and municipalities have attempted to hold fossil fuel companies liable for their alleged impacts on climate change. Numerous states and municipalities have sued fossil fuel companies, alleging that...more
5/14/2025
/ CERCLA ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Executive Orders ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Pending Litigation ,
Preemption ,
State and Local Government ,
Superfund ,
Trump Administration
When it comes to regulating motor vehicle emissions, California has long been different. California was the first state in the nation to enact tailpipe emission standards and as result of its "pioneering" efforts in the...more
4/30/2025
/ Automotive Industry ,
Biden Administration ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Car Standards ,
Climate Change ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Judicial Review ,
Legal History ,
Preemption ,
Waivers
President Donald Trump on April 9, 2025, issued an executive order (EO) titled "Protecting American Energy from State Overreach." The EO aims at "unleashing American energy" by removing legal restrictions imposed by state...more
Every law student learns that the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) outlines the default rules for how federal agencies propose and finalize regulations and how courts review them. But for many significant actions under the...more
4/4/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Air Pollution ,
Appeals ,
Clean Air Act ,
Deregulation ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Final Rules ,
Judicial Review ,
NAAQS ,
NESHAP ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
SCOTUS
Under Clean Air Act (CAA) Section 209(a) (42 U.S.C. § 7543), states are preempted from adopting or enforcing emissions standards for new motor vehicles or new motor vehicle engines. However, because California had adopted its...more
1/3/2025
/ Automotive Industry ,
Cars ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Car Standards ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Green Cars ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Preemption ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Trump Administration ,
Waivers
As stated in Holland & Knight's recent alert detailing Gov. Gavin Newsom's package of 11 bills to amend the venerable California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), meaningful reforms to CEQA have eluded all past governors in...more
7/18/2023
/ Administrative Procedure ,
California Air Resources Board ,
California Endangered Species Act ,
CEQA ,
CEQA Reform ,
Critical Habitat ,
Endangered Species ,
Energy Projects ,
Governor Newsom ,
Green Banks ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Infrastructure ,
Infrastructure Financing ,
Manufacturers ,
NEPA ,
New Legislation ,
Popular ,
Real Estate Development ,
Renewable Energy ,
Semiconductors ,
State Budgets ,
State Departments of Transportation ,
Surface Water ,
Transportation Industry ,
Utilities Sector ,
Water ,
Water Supplies
For the first time since 2012, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) is actively evaluating potential updates to its Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims (Green Guides or Guides) to provide clarity...more
6/30/2023
/ Advertising ,
Carbon Off-Set Credits ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Claims ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Green Guides ,
Green Marketing ,
Greenwashing ,
Marketing ,
Recycling ,
Supply Chain ,
Sustainability ,
Sustainable Business Practices
Existing safety and environmental oversight and enforcement regulations governing Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) renewable energy activities were moved from the purview of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to that...more
The U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) published a proposed rule to update regulations for the development of offshore wind energy resources, found at 30 C.F.R. Part 585.1 The...more
2/2/2023
/ BOEM ,
Comment Period ,
Energy Projects ,
Leases ,
Offshore Wind ,
Outer Continental Shelf ,
Procurement Guidelines ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proposed Rules ,
Renewable Energy ,
Wind Power
U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Deb Haaland announced in October that the Biden Administration would be opening up the U.S. coastline to large-scale, offshore wind farming. Speaking at a wind industry...more
As in previous years, the California Legislature passed a large volume of laws related to housing in the 2021 legislative session. (See Holland & Knight's previous annual recaps of California Housing Laws in the final section...more
10/13/2021
/ Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) ,
Affordable Housing ,
CC&Rs ,
CEQA ,
Density Bonus ,
Equity Sharing Agreements ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Market ,
Market Rate ,
Multi-Family Development ,
New Legislation ,
Nonprofits ,
Parking Lots ,
Single Family Housing ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Zoning Laws
Citing the urgency of climate change, California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-79-20 on Sept. 23, 2020, to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and "more quickly move toward our low-carbon, sustainable...more
A handful of important state laws related to housing have been passed by the California legislature, including the Housing Crisis Act of 2019 (SB 330), which provides a set of limited reforms to the Housing Accountability Act...more
11/6/2019
/ Affordable Housing ,
Amended Legislation ,
Density Bonus ,
Homeless Issues ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Market ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Multi-Family Development ,
Notice Requirements ,
Pending Legislation ,
Rent Control ,
State and Local Government ,
Tenants ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Zoning Laws