On August 10, the Federal Trade Commission published amendments to its Telemarketing Sales Rule, which prohibits certain unfair or deceptive telemarketing acts or practices. The FTC’s summary of the amendments states that they “define debt relief services, prohibit debt relief providers from collecting fees until after services have been provided, require specific disclosures of material […]

The U.S. Department of Energy announced that the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling will hold an open meeting on August 25. The Commission, which was organized under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, will meet from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade […]

In a little-noticed announcement on July 27, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Mary L. Schapiro announced that the SEC will make it easier for the public to provide comments as the SEC “sets out to make rules required under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.” Under the SEC’s new process, “the […]

On August 2, Senator Mark L. Pryor (D-AR) introduced S. 3685, the Insurance Competition and Transparency Act of 2010. In brief, the bill would authorize the Federal Trade Commission, notwithstanding the provisions of the McCarran-Ferguson Act, to use the authority described in section 6 of the Federal Trade Commission Act “to conduct studies, prepare reports, […]

On August 4, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, pursuant to the Iranian Transactions Regulations, issued a press release listing 21 entities in Iran’s banking, insurance and investment, mining, and engineering industries that were determined to be owned or controlled by the Government of Iran. As guidance by Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control make […]

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has posted a vacancy for a General Attorney position, GS 11/14 (excepted service). The closing date is Monday, August 2. This post was originally published on the legacy ABA Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice Notice and Comment blog, which merged with the Yale Journal on Regulation Notice and […]

Since last week, there have been two noteworthy developments that concern federal agency practices with respect to electronic information. First, on July 22, the General Accountability Office (GAO) published testimony about challenges that federal agencies face in using Web 2.0 technologies (e.g., agencies’ presence on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube). In brief, the challenges that GAO […]

On July 13, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held in Fox Television Stations v. FCC, that the Federal Communications Commission’s indecency policy “violates the First Amendment because it is unconstitutionally vague, creating a chilling effect that goes far beyond the fleeting expletives at issue here.” (Slip op. at 4) While the […]

Last Thursday, May 20, the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law held an oversight hearing on ACUS. The two panels of witnesses included Justices Breyer and Scalia, as well as two former Admin Law Section Chairs (Paul Verkuil, the new ACUS Chairman, and Sally Katzen of the Podesta Group), Jeffrey Lubbers of […]

On February 25, 2010, the New York City Department of Education (DOE) issued Regulation A-812 “to provide additional flexibility for fundraising while conforming to the Department of Education’s Wellness Policy and initiatives to improve the quality and nutritional value of foods and beverages that are available for children.” In brief, Regulation A-812 allows New York […]

The Administrative Conference of the United States has two senior-level vacancies for which it has posted announcements on USAJobs: Administrative Officer (GS-14) and Public Affairs Specialist (Communications Director) (GS-15). Both positions are full-time career/career-conditional appointments. The closing date for both postings is Monday, May 17, 2010. This post was originally published on the legacy ABA […]

On April 27, in Washington Gas Light Company v. FERC, No. 09-1100, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied a petition by Washington Gas Light Company for review of a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) decision approving a construction project (known as “the Expansion”) that would allow two companies that receive and […]

Today, the Food and Drug Administration announced a new initiative “to address safety problems associated with external infusion pumps, which are devices that deliver fluids, including nutrients and medications, into a patient’s body in a controlled manner.” The initiative will include (1) “additional premarket requirements for infusion pumps, in part through issuance today of a […]

Last Monday, April 19, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in City of Ontario v. Quon, No. 08-1332, a case with potentially significant effects in workplaces across the country. The critical issue is whether the Ontario Police Department violated the Fourth Amendment by searching the department-issued pager of one of its officers who was […]

On Wednesday, April 21, the European Commission posted for the first time a draft of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) for public review and comment. The draft, which the EC termed a “PUBLIC Predecisional/Deliberative Draft,” is the product of a multinational process going back to 2006. Currently, Australia, Canada, the European Union and its 27 […]