The Pennsylvania General Assembly has concluded the legislative session. COVID-19 significantly changed the format and content of the legislative session. The operating rules were amended to permit remote voting, and the legislative focus centered on the impact of COVID-19 on schools, communities, businesses and the Pennsylvania budget for the FY 2020-2021. Below is a snapshot of some of the key areas addressed during this session ...
With the New Year, California rings in a lot of legislative changes, including a new standard for evaluating independent contractor classifications. Here is what you need to know: Independent Contractors Effective Jan. 1, 2020, Assembly Bill 5 (AB-5) became law in California by adding section 2750.3 to the Labor Code. AB-5 is the legislative response to the California Supreme Court decision in Dynamex v ...
In a slightly surprising, but nevertheless welcome, South African 2020 Budget Speech today, the Honourable Minister of Finance announced that there would be no significant tax increases to the major taxes for the forthcoming tax year. Widely anticipated increases to value-added tax (“VAT”), income tax, capital gains tax and estate duty did not materialise ...
Key Points In addition to five key victories for housing advocates discussed in an earlier alert, the California Senate passed many additional housing bills not included in their “Building Opportunities for All” Housing Package. Bills from the Housing Package that would have approved an affordable housing bond (SB 5), residential housing on certain commercial sites (SB 6), and local housing data reporting requirements (SB 477) all failed to win approval ...
Housing Highlights Throughout California, most single-family zoned parcels may now be split into two lots, with up to four primary residences. Density bonus applications may no longer be rejected if a proposed waiver of development standards will cause specific adverse impacts on the physical environment. Developers’ ability to lock in development standards under SB 330 and the Housing Accountability Act has been extended from 2025 to 2030 ...
After what can only be described as a difficult year (an annus horribilis!) for employers and employees alike, we turn our attention to 2021 and look at some of the more significant legislative changes coming into force this year. Furlough continues The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has been extended until 30 April 2021 ...
If anyone had told you that 2020 would be a year in which you are virtually guaranteed a lie-flat bed in economy class, businesses instructed employees not to come into the office, and budget supermarket Sheng Siong’s shares outperformed bank blue chip DBS’s, you would have sent the chap to have his head checked.But as the new coronavirus spread worldwide, the ensuing Covid-19 pandemic forced billions into lockdown ...
Yukuo Takenaka, President and CEO of Takenaka Partners LLC, was featured in an in-depth profile of the life of Paul Yonamine, CEO of Central Pacific Bank and Hawaii Business Magazine’s CEO of the Year for 2022. In his profile, Mr. Yonamine describes Mr. Takenaka, “as a charismatic business developer who remains his mentor today”. Mr ...
If 2020 marked the beginning of the pandemic, 2021 was the year it became fully imbedded in our personal and working lives. What does 2022 have in store? For the pandemic, only time will tell, but when it comes to employment law things are a little clearer. Employment Bill Perhaps unsurprisingly, the long-awaited Employment Bill did not progress in 2021 ...
After the growth and successes of the tech industry in 2021, James Klein, head of the technology sector at Shoosmiths shares his thoughts on emerging trends and a few areas where we may see developments in 2022. Data Data continues to be a key strategic asset, whether it is in connection with data storage, transfer, protection, processing, security, or capacity issues. Predictive analysis of data is likely to be more pertinent than ever this year ...
The living sector will continue to provide opportunities and challenges for investors, developers and residents, alike. The government is set to turn the page on pandemic restrictions, with most set to stop in England on 26 January. Time will tell if this will be the year when we can get back to a more normal way of life, but one thing we can be sure of is that the living sector will continue to provide opportunities and challenges for investors, developers and residents, alike ...
As the pandemic persists and the disruption of the previous two years continues to impact projects, the construction industry faces a continued period of uncertainty in 2022. Further disruption The pandemic and issues around the availability of materials may continue to disrupt projects into 2022 leading to higher costs and further delays ...
If 2020 marked the beginning of the pandemic, 2021 was the year it became fully imbedded in our personal and working lives. What does 2022 have in store? For the pandemic, only time will tell, but when it comes to employment law things are a little clearer. Employment Bill Perhaps unsurprisingly, the long-awaited Employment Bill did not progress in 2021 ...
By all accounts, in common with 2021, broad uncertainty will remain a key theme for the UK economy in 2022. Statistics from 2021 are an unhelpful indicator for 2022. But all signs currently point to a slowing of the UK economy in 2022 following an undeniable 2021 bounce-back as people matched unexpected savings with spending on goods, services and holidays ...
As we go into 2022, the future direction of the planning system in England remains uncertain. Planning Bill The planning white paper proposals for a hybrid mix of discretionary decision making and codified zonal planning have proved particularly controversial with concerns about what could be seen as a ‘top down’ approach contributing to the outcome of the Chesham and Amersham by election ...
Keeping up to date with the shifting property landscape is never easy. So, what do property professionals need to keep in mind for 2022? Developers Building Safety Bill Residential developers will need to pay close attention to the progress of the Building Safety Bill through parliament ...
The persisting spectre of the pandemic continues to create uncertainty in the market. Over the last 18 months, insolvency figures remained consistently low due to the government support which has been in place. With the prospect of that support coming to an end there is likely to be a reckoning, but when that will begin is unclear. Overall, this next year is likely to be one of resolving loose ends and tidying up before the economy can take off afresh ...
After the highlights of the Environment Act 2021 and COP26 in 2021, what does this year hold for environmental law and policy? Here are our top five predictions. 1. The Office for Environmental Protection gets down to work The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) is a new independent body, established by the Environment Act 2021 (EA 2021), tasked with holding public bodies to account for the environment ...
A look at trends and influences which we expect to impact mid-market banking and finance in 2022. Last year’s article heavily featured COVID-19, its impact, and expected patterns of recovery. While the pandemic continues to have a huge impact on our lives, most stakeholders have learnt to live with this uncertainty and businesses have adapted accordingly ...
The 2022 tax assessment of real and personal property have been determined by the local Assessor and a Notice of Assessment was issued and mailed to property owners. Property owners should make sure to check the mail for a copy of the Notice in order to determine whether an appeal of their taxable value should be filed ...
