On July 6, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is publishing a proposed rulemaking to adopt the oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emission standards approved by the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for aircraft gas turbine engines. Comments will be accepted for 60 days after the date that the proposal is published […]

On July 6, the vice-president and general manager of the Pelican Refinery in Lake Charles, Louisiana, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana to federal negligent endangerment charges under the Clean Air Act. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office press release, the defendant, who oversaw operations at the Lake […]

The Penn Program on Regulation has just launched a new blog, RegBlog. Housed at Penn Law and staffed by law and graduate students from multiple schools at Penn, RegBlog provides regulatory news, analysis, and opinion. Contributors include staff members, scholars, practitioners, and others interested in regulatory developments. Anyone interested in contacting RegBlog should email the […]

On April 28, acccording to a notice by the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS), ACUS will hold a regulatory Workshop entitled, “Going Global – The Case for U.S. Regulatory Leadership on Trade and Enforcement.” The Workshop will take place at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 1615 I Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. from 8:30 […]

The Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) has published its scheduled Committee public meetings in April. Upcoming public meetings include: – Committee on Administration and Management: Government Contractor EthicsMonday, April 18, 2011, from 2p.m. to 5 p.m. – Committee on Rulemaking: E-rulemaking—Legal IssuesWednesday, April 20, 2011, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. – Committee […]

On March 8, the European Court of Justice issued an opinion that a proposal to create a European Patents Court was not compatible with the provisions of the European Union Treaty and the Functioning of the European Union (FEU) Treaty. In 2007, the European Commission had made various proposals to enhance the patent system in […]

On March 21, the National Journal published a column on lobbying reform by Eliza Newlin Carney that included a discussion of the ABA Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice Section’s Federal Lobbying Laws Task Force report and recommendations. This post was originally published on the legacy ABA Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice Notice and […]

On March 8, the Federal Trade Commission issued the Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book for 2010. The Data Book, which includes data for consumer complaints that the FTC received in 2010, notes that for the 11th year in a row, identity theft was the leading category of consumer complaints received (250,854, constituting 19 percent of […]

On March 7, the Federal Trade Commission issued a report titled, “The Evolving IP Marketplace: Aligning Patent Notice and Remedies with Competition.” The report examines technology markets and patent markets and offers a competition perspective on patent notice and patent remedies (including how patent notice and remedies affect innovation and competition). This post was originally […]

On February 28, Sutherland Asbill & Brennan issued a press release announcing the results of their latest survey of Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) sanctions against broker-dealers and associated persons. In brief, the survey found that in 2010: – FINRA’s disciplinary actions increased from 1,158 to 1,310 — an increase of more than 13 percent […]

On March 1, in a unanimous (8-0) decision in FCC v. AT&T, the U.S. Supreme Court held that corporations do not have “personal privacy” for the purposes of Exemption 7(C) of the Freeedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. §552(b)(7)(C). Exemption 7(C) creates an exemption from the general disclosure obligations of FOIA for law enforcement […]

On February 28, President Obama issued a memorandum to federal executive departments and agencies, directing them (as summarized in a White House press release) “to work with State, Tribal, and local governments to reduce unnecessary regulatory and administrative burdens in order to focus resources on achieving better outcomes at lower cost.” According to the release, […]

On February 28, the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Courts, Commercial and Administrative Law held a hearing on “The APA at 65 – Is Reform Needed to Create Jobs, Promote Economic Growth and Reduce Costs?” Witnesses at the hearing included Susan Dudley, Research Professor of Public Policy and Public Administration at George Washington University, Jeffrey […]

On February 28, the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) blog, Administrative Fix, posted that on March 16, from 9:00 to noon ET, the ACUS Committee on Administration and Management will “consider a draft recommendation concerning the ethics rules applicable to government contractors and their employees.” Additional information about the project is available on […]

On February 25, the Canadian Competition Bureau issued an announcement that it plans to “undertake moderate revisions to the Merger Enforcement Guidelines (MEGs).” The anouncement made clear that the Competition Bureau plans to address only “certain discrete areas where the MEGs do not fully reflect current Bureau practice and current economic and legal thinking.” Specific […]