Between the Lines Blog
2024 Privacy Legislative Roundup
December 11, 2024
by Lizzi Esparza
2024 was a banner year for state privacy legislation. This year saw seven new states pass comprehensive consumer privacy laws, joining the ranks of 12 other states that have previously passed similar laws. While other state laws followed a general pattern with marginal variances in definitions and…
Business Owner Alert: BOI Reporting Deadline Stayed by Court Order
December 9, 2024
by Craig R. Cockrell
As discussed in a recent alert, most business entities are required under the Corporate Transparency Act to file a Beneficial Ownership Information Report with FinCEN by December 31st, 2024. However, a recent federal court order has blocked enforcement of the CTA and delayed the end-of-year…
National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Fall 2024 Meeting Summary
Download the meeting summary here. The Mitchell Williams Insurance Regulatory team of attorneys recently attended the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Fall 2024 National Meeting which was held in Denver, Colorado. We have prepared a summary of the open sessions conducted over…
Business Owner Alert: File BOI Report Before Year End
November 22, 2024
by Craig R. Cockrell
As you may be aware, the Corporate Transparency Act (the “CTA”) requires most private U.S. legal entities to file a Beneficial Ownership Information (“BOI”) report with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or “FinCEN,” a part of the Department of Treasury. For entities formed before January 1…
FinCEN Warns Financial Institutions of Fraud Schemes Arising from Deepfake Media Using Generative Artificial Intelligence
November 13, 2024
by Anton L. Janik, Jr.
Today the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an Alert to help financial institutions identify fraud schemes relying in part on the use of deepfake media created through generative artificial intelligence (GenAI). FinCEN specifically notes seeing “an…
Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law Blog
Proposed Prospective Purchaser Agreement: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Public Notices Settlement Addressing Joliet, Illinois Site
December 13, 2024
by Walter G. Wright, Jr.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) public noticed in the December 9th Federal Register a proposed Prospective Purchaser Agreement (“PPA”). See 89 Fed. Reg. 97609. The PPA concerns what is described as: …an approximately 2.32-acre portion of the property at 1800 Channahon…
95th Arkansas General Assembly: House Bill 1058 Pre-Filed Addressing Advanced Notice of Inspections
December 13, 2024
by Walter G. Wright, Jr.
The 95th Arkansas General Assembly will convene on January 13, 2025. Bill filing began on November 15th. Representatives Unger and Lundstrum introduced House Bill 1058. The stated purposes of the Bill include: Amend the law concerning ethics and conflicts of interest for public officers and…
Strategic Industries Surging/Driving U.S. Power Demand: Grid Strategies Issues Report
December 13, 2024
by Walter G. Wright, Jr.
The firm, Grid Strategies, issued a December 2024 Report titled: Strategic Industries Surging: Driving US Power Demand (“Report”). The Report is stated to have been sponsored by Clean Gird Initiative. The Report undertakes the analysis of projected load growth over the next five years. It…
State/Tribal Assumption Under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Finalizes Amendments
December 12, 2024
by Walter G. Wright, Jr.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued a final rule on December 11th whose purpose is described as to: …streamline, modernize, and clarify the procedures for states, territories, and authorized tribes to administer programs that protect local waterbodies. EPA states…
Wastewater Plant Reconstruction: Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment - Division of Environmental Quality and City of Wynne Enter into Consent Administrative Order
December 12, 2024
by Walter G. Wright, Jr.
The Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment - Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) and City of Wynne, Arkansas entered into a November 21st Consent Administrative Order (“CAO”) addressing operation of a wastewater treatment facility (“Facility”) damaged by the March 31, 2023 tornado. See…