Lloyd Gosselink News
Municipal Corner
The Attorney General clarifies ambiguities concerning General and Special Law Districts’ Board of Directors. Tex. Att’y Gen. Op. KP-0468 (2024). The Ector County Utility District (the “District”) requested an opinion from the Texas Attorney General (the “AG”) to… Read More
“Ask Sarah” Column
Dear Sarah, I recently read that the DEA is considering reclassifying marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III substance. I know Texas’s Compassionate Use Act permits use of low-THC medical marijuana for certain medical conditions. What… Read More
In the Courts
Water Cases San Jacinto River Auth. v. City of Conroe, 688 S.W.3d 124 (Tex. 2024). A river authority (the “Authority”) entered into a groundwater reduction plan (“GRP”), which set goals for reducing the use of groundwater in… Read More
Agency Highlights
United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Biden Administration Finalizes First National PFAS Standards for Drinking Water. On April 10, 2024, EPA finalized the first ever national limits on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) in drinking water, which requires… Read More
The Lone Star Current – April 2024 Edition
Click to get access to the newsletter cover to cover. Read More
The U.S. Supreme Court Speaks: Blocking Users from Commenting on Public Official’s Social Media Account Violates The First Amendment… Maybe
by José de la Fuente Does a public official’s act of blocking certain individuals/members of the public from commenting on an official’s social media account violate the First Amendment rights of that member of the public? The United… Read More
Texas Supreme Court Set to Determine Whether Public Utility Commission of Texas Violated Texas Law
by Rick Arnett On January 30, 2024, the Supreme Court of Texas (“SCOTX”) heard oral argument from the Public Utility Commission of Texas (the “Commission”), Calpine Corp. (“Calpine”), and Luminant Energy Co. (“Luminant”) in Luminant Energy Co. LLC… Read More
DOL Issues Final Independent Contractor Rule
by Michelle White With an effective date of March 11, 2024, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued its long-awaited final rule addressing independent contractor classification under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). See Employee or Independent Contractor Classification… Read More
New Courts Coming This Fall
by Gabrielle Smith The 88th Legislative Session saw the creation of two new court systems in the state of Texas—business courts (See HB 19) and a Fifteenth Court of Appeals (See SB 1045). Both of these new courts… Read More
Texas Broadband Update: The Broadband, Equity Access, and Deployment Program
by Jack Klug The Broadband, Equity Access, and Development (“BEAD”) Program was created as part of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and is a $42.5 billion federal grant program which aims to expand high-speed Internet access… Read More