On June 20, 2025, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed Texas Senate Bill 17 (SB 17) into law, reshaping the landscape for global investment in Texas real estate. When the new statute takes effect on September 1, 2025, it will impose expansive state-level restrictions on property ownership through sweeping prohibitions aimed…
On June 27, 2025, the Texas Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Cactus Water Services, LLC v. COG Operating, LLC, No. 23-0676, resolving a high-stakes dispute over the ownership of produced water—a vexing byproduct of oil and gas production that is increasingly being viewed as a resource rather than…
On June 9, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed granting the State of Texas primary enforcement authority—commonly referred to as “primacy”—over the permitting and regulation of Class VI underground injection control (UIC) wells under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). This would authorize the Texas Railroad Commission (RRC)…
In a closely watched opinion issued on May 16, 2025, the Texas Supreme Court in Myers-Woodward, LLC v. Undergrounds Services Markham, LLC, — S.W.3d —, No. 22-0878, 2025 WL 1415892 (Tex. May 16, 2025) resolved a long-uncertain issue of subsurface property rights in the context of salt dome mining. The…
Even as the Trump administration moves to block state and local climate liability efforts, states and municipalities continue to advance lawsuits seeking to hold fossil fuel companies liable for harms associated with climate change. Most recently, the State of Hawaii initiated a climate deception lawsuit, and the City of Charleston,…
In a potential blow to the fledging EV transition, reports have noted that the Trump transition team is planning to terminate the $7,500 consumer EV credit, an action publicly supported by Elon Musk. The future of the EV market, however, also depends on the fate of the Clean Air Act…
In response to the June 2021 Champlain Towers collapse in Florida, New Jersey supplemented its State Uniform Construction Code Act by enacting legislation (effective January 8, 2024) to strengthen laws related to the structural integrity of certain residential structures in the State. The legislation applies to condominiums and cooperatives (but…
This is a brief survey of many of the environmental and regulatory laws passed by the Texas Legislature and signed by the Governor in the 88th Regular Session of the Legislature, which ended in May 2023, although a special session has been called to address lingering matters. Altogether, more than…
Starting January 1, 2023, real estate developers in Oregon and California will no longer be required to build off-street parking facilities for certain projects located near public transit. Both states enacted new rules during the course of 2022 which are effective as of the beginning of 2023, and which seek…