Inflation Reduction Act
BOEM Releases Proposed Rule on Supplemental Financial Assurance for OCS Lease and Grant Obligations
On June 29, 2023, the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) published a proposed rule that, if adopted, would substantially revise the financial assurance requirements applicable to offshore oil and gas operations. [1] The proposed rule is...
Texas UIC Class VI Update: Proposed Amendments to 16 TAC Ch. 5
In Volume 48, Number 26 of the Texas Register , the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) published proposed amendments to 16 Texas Administrative Code Chapter 5 (relating to Carbon Dioxide and related storage activities). These proposed rules are essential to...
Supreme Court “Clarifies” Employer Duty to Make Religious Accommodations
On June 29, 2023, in Groff v. DeJoy , the US Supreme Court unanimously adopted a new interpretation of the standard for when an employee’s religious accommodation poses an “undue hardship” for an employer under Title VII of the Civil...
An Evil Bear May Provide High Court TM Ruling Clarification
The US Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Jack Daniel's v. VIP Products leaves unanswered questions about the intersection of the First Amendment and trademark rights, which may be answered by the reconsideration of a dismissed case involving Disney and Lotso the bear from "Toy Story 3."
There Ought to Be a Law Before Enforcing Unwritten Crypto Rules
Bracewell’s Keith Blackman assesses government agencies’ gradual regulation by enforcement approach to penalizing cryptocurrency failures, and how the future of this regulation might look.
FTC Proposes Sweeping Changes to US Merger Filing Requirements
On June 27, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in concurrence with the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice (DOJ), announced a proposal to drastically overhaul the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) premerger notification process. The proposed rulemaking is yet another...
DSAs: Calculating Security and the Role of Expert Determination
Decommissioning. A word familiar to all of those who are involved in oil and gas exploration and production around the globe. It is defined in the Cambridge English Dictionary as “ taking a factory or other industrial building out of...
Treasury Department and IRS Issue Additional Guidance on the New Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit Program
The low-income communities bonus credit (the LIC Bonus), which was introduced by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the IRA), provides an enhanced tax credit for certain wind and solar facilities located in designated low-income communities. On February 13, 2023...
Supreme Court Reaffirms Registering To Do Business May Subject You to Lawsuits
Last week the US Supreme Court reaffirmed the constitutionality of state laws requiring businesses to consent to lawsuits in the state after registering with state authorities to conduct business there. In Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co ., [1] the...
Bracewell Legal Bites: What Should We Infer From the US Governments Aggressive Actions in the Crypto Industry?
The US government has taken aggressive action against cryptocurrency companies. What should the crypto industry and other stakeholders infer from those actions? Bracewell partner Seth DuCharme, who served in the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York...
Endangered Species Act Developments: Court Finds Species Do Not Get The “Benefit Of The Doubt” & Agencies Propose Compensatory Mitigation Under ESA Section 7
Two recent developments may have meaningful impacts on the implementation of Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). First, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion in Maine Lobstermen’s Association v. National Marine Fisheries Service and held...
Treasury Department and IRS Release Long-Awaited Guidance on Credit Transfers
On June 14, 2023, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released long-awaited guidance (the Credit Transfer Guidance) regarding the transfer of energy transition tax credits under Section 6418, [1] which was enacted under the Inflation Reduction Act...
Updated Texas Property Tax Incentives Program Adds New Wrinkles
Bracewell’s Bucky Brannen reviews differences between Texas’ new property tax incentives program and the previous version of the program, identifying potential obstacles and considerations for applicants.
Now There Are 10: The Texas Data Privacy and Security Act
Texas has joined the nine [1] other states that have comprehensive data privacy laws after Governor Greg Abbott signed the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act (the “TDPSA”). Subject to exemptions, [2] the TDPSA applies to any entity (labeled controller...
Treasury Department and IRS Release Additional Guidance for the Advanced Energy Project Credit Allocation Program
On May 31, 2023, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Notice 2023-44 (the Notice). The Notice provides additional guidance for the new program under Section 48C(e) created by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the IRA)...