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Credit Reports
Before you’re granted a loan or a credit facility, banks often look at your credit history to assess whether to accept or deny your request. What is a credit report and who handles the information on it? The Credit Bureaus The agency that manages info about your credit history is called a credit bureau. They’re tasked to collect and store information on your loans, credit applications, debts, and repayment records. They get their data from credit companies, banks, and public records. In Singapore, there are only two recognized credit bureaus allowed to obtain data from banks and financial institutions: the Credit Bureau Singapore (CBS) and the DP Credit Bureau. Licensed…
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Monday Morning Regulatory Review – 5/22/17: De-Regulating Model Aircraft
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, last Friday in Taylor v. Huerta, partially vacated the Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Registration and Marking Requirements for Small Unmanned Aircraft interim final rule (IFR). The panel concluded that Congress explicitly barred the FAA from promulgating “any rule or regulation regarding a model aircraft.” The opinion, statute, and regulation all require further explication, for all is not quite what it seems, and potentially dangerously so. Congress’s statutory provision – the Special Rule for Model Aircraft – specifies that the FAA “may not promulgate any rule or regulation regarding a model aircraft.” Within that bar, Congress defines “model” aircraft as…
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Monday Morning Regulatory Review – 2/22/16: Drone Litigation; COOL Removal & Passenger Screening
A holiday-shortened week in regulatory practice found new challenges to drone regulations highlighting some of the peculiarities of regulations attempting to catch up with reality. The demise of authority for country of origin labeling regulations caused its originating agency to submit a new rule for interagency and executive review. Completing review of passenger screening rules may, on the other hand, end litigation. Drone Litigation: Several parties commenced litigation challenging the Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Registration and Marking Requirements for Small Unmanned Aircraft (sAUS or drone) rule over the past few weeks. TechFreedom v. FAA, D.C. Cir. No. 16-1062, for example, suggests in its petition for review (PFR) that the…
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Monday Morning Regulatory Review – 11/23/15: Immigration Executive Action Petition; Electric MATS Appropriate and Necessary Finding; Pollutant Good Neighbors; Airport Passenger Screening; & Unified Agenda Expectations
The Administration, unsurprisingly but nonetheless most significantly, petitioned the United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS) to review the continuing preliminary injunction against part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) not-a-regulation immigration executive action. On the other hand, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) responded to a not-yet remand and a remand of different rules. DHS took a further step in trying to resolve the regulatory problem of advanced imaging technology in airport screening. Finally, all of this has or may appear in the “book of expectations” in the latest Unified Agenda. Immigration Executive Action Petition: The Department of Justice (DOJ) petitioned SCOTUS last Friday to review the United States Court of Appeals for the…
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Monday Morning Regulatory Review – 8/24/15: Conflict Minerals Demise; Home Health Care Reversal & Ministerial Removal
Three completely different and unrelated regulatory events in the past week deserve attention. A confluence of coincidences last Tuesday illustrated the First Amendment to the United States Constitution limits on symbolic rather than functional regulation. At the same time, changed facts and a changed industry justify a change in regulation. Finally, some rules are purely ministerial, but provide an important lesson nonetheless. Conflict Minerals Demise: First, a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reaffirmed its prior decision vacating the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Conflict Minerals final rule violated the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Second, Governmental Accountability Office (GAO) reported on…
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SCOTUS Holds Obama Made Unconstitutional NLRB Recess Appointments – Regulations and Adjudications at Risk
The United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS), in NLRB v. Noel Canning, today affirmed the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia decision that President Obama (POTUS) unconstitutionally appointed members of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) as “recess appointments” when the Senate was not in recess. SCOTUS unanimously affirmed on narrower grounds than the D.C. Circuit decision, and requires POTUS to respect the Senate’s prerogative to hold pro forma sessions every three days – a longer recess is required. Much of the impact of this decision may have already been mitigated, but the potential damage to a substantial regulatory program remains – and will likely be the subject…
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D.C. Circuit Vacates Dodd-Frank Conflict Minerals Provision & SEC Rule as Violating First Amendment Free Speech
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia today, in National Association of Manufacturers v. SEC, affirmed a district court judgment that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) did not violate procedural requirements or misconstrue the statute in promulgating the Conflict Minerals Rule, but vacated the specific underlying statutory provision and the rule because the requirements compelled speech in violation of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Compelling reporting, disclosure, and publication to the extent that entails “compelled speech” pose a distinct constitutional limitation on both statutes and rulemaking under statutes. Agencies must consider carefully this developing caselaw in formulating any reporting requirement that will be publicly…
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Monday Morning Regulatory Review – 12/30/13: Obamacare Fractal Geography; Volcker Rule Stay & Reconsideration; OSHA Interpretations & Ripeness; and Rearview Mirrors & Cameras
The final week of 2013 does not go gently into that good night, with four unrelated but significant issues. Obamacare further disintegrated as a nationwide legal program with further administrative exceptions and delays and piecemeal judicial bars to enforcement that have worn out their welcome. The Volcker Rule still awaits publication in the Federal Register, but a petition for review and emergency stay request may have resulted in reconsideration. An Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) interpretive rule can remain in effect even though the rule is contrary to the underlying statute. And finally, a long awaited costly Department of Transportation (DOT) vehicle safety rule emerges on a new docket. Obamacare…
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Economically significant a threshold shapshot of ombs-regulatory docket
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11th Circuit Holds Labor Department Has No Authority to Issue H-2B Rules
Today the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the decision of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida enjoining the Department of Labor (DOL) from enforcing its non-immigrant non-agricultural unskilled labor visa program (H-2B) in Bayou Lawn and Landscape Services v. Solis. The court found that the district court did not abuse its discretion in entering the preliminary injunction and affirmed de novo the district court’s interpretation of the law. This case is mostly over – the preliminary injunction remains in effect through determination of the case, but the district court and the court of appeals have already determined the ultimate issue of…