CA Proposition 8 struck down, $26 billion foreclosure settlement with banks, contraception mandate debate, and more.
- The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that California’s Proposition 8 banning gay marriage in the state violates the 14th Amendment.
- U.S. and state officials reached a $26 billion settlement with the nation’s biggest mortgage lenders over alleged foreclosure abuses. The money will be distributed to homeowners facing foreclosure.
- Controversy stirred over a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rule mandating employer coverage of contraceptives, prompting members of Congress from both parties to write to the administration asking for an expansion of the rule’s exemption for religious organizations. See related The Regulatory Review essay.
- Congress passed a $63 billion reauthorization act funding the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) through 2015, providing the first such long-term appropriations for the agency since the last funding bill expired in 2007.
- Pennsylvania lawmakers passed a bill allowing counties to levy fees on natural-gas wells and reducing the ability of local governments to exclude gas drilling from their towns. See related The Regulatory Review essay.
- Lawyers for the state of Arizona filed an opening brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in its appeal of a 9th Circuit ruling blocking enforcement of the state’s immigration enforcement law SB 1070.
- An Ohio company agreed to pay the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) $1.4 million in penalties after failing to report the manufacture of toxic chemicals at two of its plants in violation of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).
- By a vote of 417-2, the House of Representatives approved the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, a bill to prevent insider trading by lawmakers and other federal employees.
- U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and John McCain (R-AZ) introduced a bill to speed up the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval process for medical device manufacturers.
- The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved the construction of two nuclear reactors by Southern Co. in Georgia, the first to gain approval since 1978.
- An Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) report criticized the impact of a 1999 decision to place export controls on U.S. satellites makers, alleging that this resulted in reduced competitiveness of satellite exports and increased national security risk.
- European governments requested that Google delay forthcoming changes to its privacy policies as the French Data Protection Authority (CNIL) continued its investigation on behalf of the EU, while the advocacy group Electronic Privacy Information Center filed suit in federal court to block the changes. See related The Regulatory Review essays here and here.
- The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a rule to implement provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) relating to managed care organization (MCO) contract provisions and calculations of Medicaid reimbursements to pharmacies.
- The advocacy group OMB Watch reported on 25 agencies’ recent submission of plans in compliance with Executive Order 13563, which required agencies to review their existing regulations to ensure that they are still necessary and cost-justified.
- The FDA issued guidance to assist drug and device manufacturers conducting clinical trials in complying with revised requirements for obtaining informed consent from their study subjects.
- The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released a final rule to bring its Inspector General, who previously only reported to the SEC chair, under the purview of the full Commission.
