Government Regulation and Public Sector Law

On March 9, 2026, the Colorado Supreme Court reversed the Title Board’s approval of Proposed Initiative 2025–2026 #158, a ballot initiative that sought to amend the Colorado Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (“TABOR”) to require voter approval for any “fee” expected to create more than $100 million in revenue in its first five fiscal years and defined “fee” as “a voluntarily incurred governmental charge in exchange for a specific benefit conferred on the payer.”

A three-judge panel of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has lifted a preliminary injunction that blocked President Donald Trump’s executive orders terminating federal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.

Utah's App Store Accountability Act has been amended through H.B. 498, expanding its scope to include pre-installed applications and introducing new compliance requirements for both app-store providers and developers. The amendments establish a dual-layer framework with refined definitions, enhanced age-verification obligations, and a developer-specific safe harbor provision, while shifting enforcement exclusively to a private right of action with potential damages of up to $1,000 per violation.

Our Legislative & Public Policy team is pleased to provide the April 2026 edition of Capital Snapshot, which includes a monthly summary of the issues, events, and timelines driving federal policy and political decisions.

For the second time in three years, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) is poised to expire. Section 702 authorizes U.S.

On April 22, 2026, the Supreme Court of the United States issued Hencely v. Fluor Corporation,[1] a 6-3 decision rejecting the Fourth Circuit’s holding that defense contractors enjoy per seimmunity...

The Food and Agriculture Organization's Development Law Service is hosting a webinar to explore the emerging legal concept of Rights of Nature and its intersection with critical areas including water resources, Indigenous Peoples' rights, biodiversity, and sustainable food systems. Legal experts will provide analytical insights through case studies and examine how this evolving framework connects to FAO's mandate for environmental protection and land tenure.

A controversial legislative effort to grant coral reefs and watersheds “legal personhood” in Hawaii has been voted down by the state legislature.

In late 2025, the EU postponed the application of the EU Regulation on Deforestation-Free Products (EUDR) for the second time.

The era of ‘globalization without guardrails’ is rapidly giving way to a world defined by fragmentation, competition, and self-reliance. As the certainty of the rules-based order recedes, governments are looking to assert sovereignty over “critical” domains, from natural resources to supply chains, technology, and infrastructure.

On May 1, the EU-Mercosur trade agreement, more than 25 years in the making, will take effect on a provisional basis.

Recent gains in Chinese economic influence across Africa highlight gaps in current US Africa strategy, indicating that the current level of engagement may be insufficient to fully counter Beijing’s presence.