We have previously reported on the proliferation of tobacco product flavor bans imposed by localities and subsequent legal challenges throughout the U.S. See Oregon Court Upholds Local Tobacco Product Flavor Ban; Troutman Pepper Tobacco Team Featured in Vapor Voice Post on Ninth Circuit’s Holding that L.A. County’s Flavor Ban Is Not Preempted; Philadelphia

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) recently upheld, in a unanimous decision, the town of Brookline’s ordinance banning the sale of tobacco and e-cigarette products to anyone born after Jan. 1, 2000 (the Tobacco Sales Ban). Brookline is the first U.S. locality to impose a tobacco sales ban based on a specific date.Continue Reading Massachusetts High Court Upholds Local Tobacco Sales Ban

This article was originally published in American City & County on March 1, 2024.

For years, private companies have struggled to protect the data of consumers against security incidents and cyber-attacks by malicious threat actors. More recently, there has been a growing surge of data breaches impacting the public sector, and local governments face unique challenges in responding to such incidents.Continue Reading Unique Aspects of Data Incident Response in Local Government

In a recent press release, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued its second e-cigarette report, analyzing domestic sales and marketing trends for the years 2019 and 2020. While FTC has issued a similar report for cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products since 1967 and 1987, respectively, it only recently decided to analyze this type

The right to repair movement continues to gain traction internationally as local, state, federal, and supernational bodies further move to support broader consumer access to repairs with both carrot and stick. In Europe, the Data Act proposed by the European Commission on February 23 specifically characterizes the access to user-generated data required for repair or

The federal government’s recent argument that neither federal law nor the U.S. Constitution preempted a municipal ordinance in South Portland, ME demonstrates the sometimes-complex relationship between federal, state, and local laws.

Overview. The Portland Pipe Line Company had plans to reverse the oil flow in a pipeline from Canada to South Portland and construct 70-foot-tall