Legal Alert: Real Estate And Land Use Insight – California Continues to Advance “Housing First” Legislation
November 2020 At the start of this legislative session, the California Legislature seemed primed to pass bills that would have significantly impacted housing production and regulation. However, due to the wide-ranging impacts of COVID-19, many were either dropped or tabled for next year. Still, the Legislature did end up passing several more modest amendments to existing housing law, and key bills are summarized below: AB 831 Senate Bill 35 of 2017 (SB 35) mandated a ministerial, CEQA-exempt approval process for qualifying housing and housing-rich, mixed-use projects. The goal of SB 35 was to streamline the approval process for developments [...]
California Consumer Privacy Law Update
November 2020 This election season brought a number of new propositions to California ballots. Included on the ballot was Proposition 24, the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (“CPRA”). It will strenghten California’s already robust consumer privacy protection law – the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) – but also adds burdensome regulations for businesses across the state. It’s imperative for California business owners to understand how both the CCPA and the new CPRA will affect their businesses. A brief summary of some of the many important requirements, follows. The California Consumer Privacy Act The CCPA was signed into law by [...]
Employment Law Update
October 2020 It’s the time of year that we try to update you on the new laws affecting employers in the State of California. The legislative session has completed and the Governor has now either signed or vetoed all the bills sent to his desk. Below is an attempted summary of key bills for employees to understand, but is certainly not an exhaustive list: Bills Effective Immediately Upon Signing: Supplemental Paid Sick Leave & Small Employer Family Leave Mediation. AB 1867 requires COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave for workers employed by private businesses of 500 or more employees nationally (and [...]
COVID-19 Update: Santa Barbara County Moves to Red Tier
Santa Barbara County moves into the red tier allowing more businesses to open and for some to include indoor operations, with modifications. The County of Santa Barbara’s Public Health Department announced that Santa Barbara now qualifies for red tier status after two consecutive weeks of meeting its rolling average. Gyms, movie theaters, personal care services like spas and nail salons, places of worship, and restaurants are among some of the businesses now allowed to operate indoor, with specific restrictions in place that may include a cap on capacity. In addition, all K-12 schools can return to in person instruction after [...]
Legal Alert: SEC Expands “Accredited Investor” Definition – Will Aid Small Businesses in Raising Capital
Change Will Open the Private Securities Markets to More Participants August 2020 The Securities and Exchange Commission adopted amendments to the SEC rules which expand the definition of who will qualify as an “accredited investor.” Historically, individuals have been required to meet minimum requirements for either income ($200,000) or net worth ($1,000,000) before they can participate in private investment markets. According to the SEC’s press release announcing the change, the updates are intended to more effectively identify institutional and individual investors that have the knowledge and expertise to participate in the private markets, even if they may not otherwise qualify [...]
What Happens in a Lawsuit? The Basic Steps of Civil Litigation
July 2020 When private parties are unable to resolve a business dispute, they can file a lawsuit to have the dispute resolved by the civil branch of either our state or federal court systems. The civil litigation process can be bewildering to non-lawyers, since it is full of terminology and processes that aren't used anywhere else, and which even vary between the state and federal courts. Most business activity these days brings with it the risk of needing to pursue or defend against a lawsuit. Before entering the civil litigation process, it is helpful to gain an understanding of [...]