Environment: Alert - November 6, 2009
Although California continues to lead the nation on developing regulations to address greenhouse gas emissions, especially with respect to land use planning decisions, two recent regulatory developments involving the Regional Targets Advisory Committee (RTAC) and California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) demonstrate the challenges of providing clear advice on how, as a practical matter, this should be done. This alert examines the RTAC and CNRA matters in detail, and explains how they are likely to further influence the manner in which climate change considerations are taken into account as part of the land use planning and environmental review process.
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Religious Institutions: Update - November 5, 2009
This update examines the prohibition of religious institutions from engaging in activities that result in inurement of a church's or faith-based organization's income or assets to insiders. A case review includes discussion of an Arkansas case in which an issuance of tax-exempt bonds to a university associated with the Churches of Christ were found not to violate the state constitution, and a Wisconsin Supreme Court case in which it was held that both federal and state free exercise clauses prohibit employment discrimination claims against employees whose positions are "important and closely linked to the religious mission of a religious organization."
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