President Trump’s Executive Order declaring a crime emergency in the District of Columbia triggers a complex legal and constitutional framework that could impact businesses nationwide....more
Recently, the City of Denver’s Department of Public Health and Environment (DDPHE) ordered, among other things, the destruction of Titan Health LLC’s (Titan Health) marijuana plants that it deemed to “hav[e] evidence of...more
History - On December 14, 1819, Alabama was granted statehood after previously being part of the Mississippi and Alabama territories. The first Alabama constitution was drafted and passed at a convention in Huntsville,...more
In a major recent decision, the California Court of Appeal rejected a city’s interpretation of what constitutes an “objective” standard under the Housing Accountability Act (HAA), Government Code section 65589.5, and upheld...more
On April 20, 2021, the First District Court of Appeal filed its first published opinion interpreting California Senate Bill 35’s streamlining provisions in Ruegg & Ellsworth v. City of Berkeley. The Court held that the City...more
Senate Bill 35 (Government Code section 65913.4) was enacted in 2017 as part of an effort by the State Legislature to increase housing production. The law compels local agencies, including charter cities, to issue streamlined...more
On March 15, 2020, the long-awaited Paid Sick Days Act of the City of Pittsburgh (the Act) will go into effect. Originally enacted by the city in 2015, it took a 2019 decision of the state Supreme Court to re-define the...more
California Appellate Court Says Charter City Cannot Block California Values Act - In a significant decision addressing the tension between charter city “home rule” authority and state law, a California appellate court...more
In Anderson v. City of San Jose (2019), the Sixth District Court of Appeal held that California’s charter cities must comply with the Surplus Land Act (Govt. Code § 54220 et seq.). This decision, essentially, ruled that the...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On Wednesday, July 17, 2019, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court reversed trial and appellate court rulings that found the Pittsburgh Paid Sick Days Act—first enacted in August 2015—in violation of state law....more
RESIDENCY QUOTAS FOR CITY CONTRACTORS - OHIO SUPREME COURT TO HEAR ARGUMENTS IN MARCH. THE CASE: On March 6, 2019, the Supreme Court of Ohio is set to hear oral arguments on City of Cleveland v. State of Ohio, Supreme...more
Massachusetts is a Home Rule state (Commonwealth, actually, but that’s a separate issue). Our 351 cities and towns can pretty much legislate as they please, so long as the local action is not preempted. Our state Wetlands...more