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California: Energy

The Energy Commission proposed amendments to regulations governing appliance efficiency regulations. The proposed amendments would revise data submittal requirements and processes; eliminate redundancy in the marking requirement for commercial and industrial fans and blowers; streamline the Commission's product compliance review, enforcement, and administrative proceedings; and make administrative and non-substantive changes for improved clarity and consistency. A hearing will be held January 9, 2024. Comments are due January 8, 2024.

California: Water

The Department of Water Resources proposed amendments to the Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance. The amendments would incorporate two new statutory provisions requiring a plant legend with photographs for inspection and references to water-conserving irrigation equipment standards. A hearing will be held January 9, 2024. Comments are due January 16, 2024.

California: Water

The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment proposed a new health-protective concentration (HPC) for noncancer effects of hexavalent chromium in drinking water. The draft technical support document proposed an HPC of 5 parts per billion. A workshop/webinar will be held January 8, 2024. Comments are due the same date.

California: Governance

The Pollution Control Financing Authority proposed amendments to regulations governing the administration of the California Capital Access Loan Program for the Collateral Support Program. The amendments would accelerate the State Small Business Credit Initiative funding to participating financial lenders by revising and updating definitions, amend program eligibility, and provide additional incentives to encourage increased enrollment of loans into the Collateral Support Program. Comments are due January 9, 2024.

Arizona: Land Use

The State Land Department proposed amendments to regulations governing the leasing and sale of natural resources. The amendments would update and clarify language regarding land sales, right-of-way provisions, and bond sales, among other things, and improve transaction time frames for customers. Comments are due December 29, 2023. See https://apps.azsos.gov/public_services/register/2023/46/contents.pdf (pp. 3569-84).

Can We Talk Climate? The SEC Disclosure Rule and Compelled Commercial Speech

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Climate Disclosure Rule has provoked heated controversy on many fronts. Several commenters have argued that the First Amendment precludes the SEC from demanding climate-related disclosures. This Article grapples with the unsettled state of “compelled commercial speech” doctrine, arguing that the rule’s constitutionality should be scrutinized using the prevailing rational basis test, and that even under the intermediate scrutiny test, the rule should be upheld.

Agrivoltaics as a Lifeline for Rural Farmers and California's Renewable Energy Goals

Agrivoltaics, the concept of using solar energy systems to enhance agricultural production and generate renewable energy on the same plot of land, offers a lifeline to beleaguered farmers and  communities facing water shortages, cost increases, and marginal agricultural profitability. This concept seeks to aid California in its ambitious renewables portfolio standard, and could reduce the impacts of climate change and the toll agricultural operations take on the San Joaquin Valley’s groundwater resources.

Enhanced U.S.-Canadian Collaboration on Marine Migratory Species

U.S.-Canadian management of marine migratory species is a particularly rich place to understand the complex relationship between migratory science, conservation, and law. The two nations share a large border, have a long-lasting historic friendship, and already collaborate extensively. However, the relationship is not without contention. The substantial economic interests in the oceans and differences in governance structure have not infrequently frustrated efforts at cooperative management.

Climate Change Disinformation Liability Under the Federal Trade Commission Act

Oil companies and their agents have been actively involved in creating and propagating climate change disinformation for the past half-century. In response to this deception, more than two dozen American states and cities have sued these companies under traditional tort-based causes of action like public nuisance, fraud, negligence, and failure to warn, alleging that the companies fueled uncertainty about climate science and undercut public support for necessary climate action.