Breaking the Cycle: Flooding, Infrastructure, and Climate Law in Practice
Obtaining a Recreational Marijuana License from Your Local Municipality
State AG Pulse | Local Job, National Impact
It’s Not Easy Being Green: How To Comply with the Latest Cannabis Regulations
Recreational Marijuana Use Legalized in NYS – Your Questions Answered
The State of Cannabis in New York
Williams Mullen's COVID-19 Comeback Plan: Part I – Doing Business With the Commonwealth of Virginia
Lifting the Fog Over Lobbying Compliance
Homeless Assistance Centers and the NIMBY Response
Rapid Transit Zones in Miami-Dade County
[WEBINAR] Exploring the CPRA’s Investigatory Privilege
Real Estate Developer Rights When Cities Demand Too Much
[WEBINAR] Clearing the Smoke: 3 Years of Legal Cannabis in California
[WEBINAR] Housing and Land Use Legislative Update
[WEBINAR] Navigating California’s New Regulations for Wetlands and State Waters
[WEBINAR] Understanding and Responding to the FCC Cable In-Kind and Mixed Use Order
[WEBINAR] Advancing the Policy Discussion Around Housing
[WEBINAR] Innovative Partnerships to Overcome Housing Challenges in Communities
[WEBINAR] Focusing on the “US” in HoUSing: Merging Housing, Transportation, Incentives and Community
[WEBINAR] Update: Social Media Meets the First Amendment
Denver’s Department of Housing Stability (“HOST”) and Denver Housing Authority (“DHA”) are partnering to pilot a program aimed at spurring development of middle-income housing. As reported in the Denver Post, Denver Mayor...more
Recent legislation enacted by the Rhode Island General Assembly brings reforms to the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) in March 2026. Other new laws and CRMC priorities, and changes to permitting...more
Share on Twitter Print Share by Email Share Back to top Prior to his June 22, 2025, deadline, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law hundreds of bills passed by the Texas Legislature. Three of these, Senate Bills 15, 17,...more
In handling thousands of disputes and controversies under Illinois’s ever-expanding prevailing wage law for 25 years, there are no surprises anymore—particularly over these past several years where we have seen the Illinois...more
On May 12, 2025, the Honourable Rob Flack, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing (Minister), introduced Bill 17—the Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025 (Bill 17). On June 5, 2025, Bill 17 received...more
On 18 June 2025, the German Federal Cabinet adopted a draft law to accelerate residential construction and secure housing (Schneller bauen mit dem Wohnungsbau-Turbo | Bundesregierung) in order to implement the 100-day target...more
House Bill 497 (HB 497) took effect on April 9, 2025, and introduced various changes to the laws governing counties in Ohio. Below are some key changes in HB 497 that impact county construction projects....more
This information memo is intended to provide an update on an area of law that affects many of our municipal and school district clients....more
After the Charter amendments suggested by the Orange County Charter Review Committee discussed in “Proposed Charter Changes Threaten Orange County's Economic Future” were blocked by the Florida Legislature as discussed in...more
On May 13, 2024, Governor Jared Polis signed House Bill 24-1313 (HB24-1313) into law. This act incentivizes transit-oriented development (TOD) by providing $35 million in grants to transit-oriented communities (TOCs) to help...more
In March 2024, Governor Inslee signed SSB 6192 into law. This amended RCW 39.04.360 to require timely execution of change orders on both public and private construction projects. The amended language, which went into effect...more
As of November 19, 2023, twenty-nine cities and towns have opted in to the Specialized Energy Code by local legislative action. The towns include Brookline, Cambridge, Somerville, Watertown (effective July 1, 2023); Acton,...more
Last year, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources promulgated regulations at 225 CMR 24.00 for the Municipal Fossil Fuel Free Building Construction and Renovation Demonstration Project as authorized by St. 2022, c....more
Effective October 3, 2023, the construction competitive bidding threshold for certain Ohio political subdivisions including libraries, counties, and townships will increase from $50,000 to $75,000 through 2024, and will...more
Can a Michigan municipality require contractors to pay union-level wages when they are awarded government contracts? On December 8, 2022, a 3-0 panel of the Michigan Court of Appeals answered the question in the...more
Massachusetts will soon see significant updates to the energy codes that govern the construction and alteration of buildings throughout the Commonwealth. As required by the 2021 climate bill, the Massachusetts Department of...more
Much of the recent news about climate-influenced building codes has come out of California, where the California Energy Commission announced adoption of revisions to its Building Energy Efficiency Standards, also known as the...more
The Ballard Spahr Zoning and Land Use Team is continuing to monitor all aspects of the Philadelphia land use approval process during the COVID-19 emergency, including the issuance of zoning and building permits, regulation of...more
Exceptions outlined in state and local directives likely encompass the investigatory and remedial activities performed by environmental contractors. Most California stay-at-home orders include exceptions for professional...more
On March 18, 2020, we authored an update regarding housing construction under the shelter-in-place orders jointly issued by six Bay Area counties—Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa...more
Governor Baker’s office issued a guidance letter on March 25, 2020 in an attempt to resolve confusion in the Commonwealth concerning whether construction activities are essential services and may continue amid the shut-down...more
The outbreak of COVID-19 has challenged businesses across the board in unprecedented ways. Major conferences and events have been cancelled, restaurants across the country are closing down, and supply chains have been...more
Welcome back to the Environmental Legislative Updates for the 2020 Connecticut General Assembly’s “short session.” Since all is well with the Rule of Law in general, let’s see what new Rules and Laws our legislators have in...more
Several prior blog posts discussed standing requirements under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) and the timeliness of challenging a SEQRA determination. A decision from the Appellate Division, Third...more