“Electrification” has become a ubiquitous term these days, although depending on who you ask, it might have different meanings. However defined, a critical component of electrification as a policy choice to reduce reliance on fossil fuels is the need to fully evaluate both its practicality and the transparency of its cost impacts, particularly as that relates to lower income and middle class families, as well as small business ...
Part of the fall-out of the COVID-19 pandemic is the condition labelled ‘long-covid’. This is still a relatively new condition that remains under study, but symptoms include extreme tiredness, shortness of breath, loss of smell and muscle aches. Some people experience further complications and suffer memory problems known as ‘brain fog,’ difficulty sleeping, dizziness, depression and anxiety ...
Ohio legislators are once again attempting to transform the state’s medical marijuana control program after a similar effort stalled out last year. Proponents of the proposed legislation, Senate Bill 9, seek to expand medical marijuana access to Ohioans and revamp the structure of the current program. The proposal would establish the Division of Marijuana Control (“DMC”) under the Department of Commerce ...
With the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) set to end on May 11, 2023, federal agencies have published FAQs explaining how the end of the PHE will affect previously extended deadlines relating to COBRA, HIPAA special enrollment, and claims and appeals under group health plans. This article provides (i) a recap of the deadlines, (ii) rules of thumb for determining the deadlines, and (iii) tables more specifically addressing some of the most common deadlines that arise ...
Not long ago, the idea of having a national transport strategy about data would have seemed outlandish. From around five years ago, we’ve had predictions of a lifestyle revolution based on the value of data. Now, that revolution has gone mainstream, and with it, the world of planes, trains and automobiles ...
Shoosmiths’ Public Inquiries team is delighted to present a series of podcasts in respect of reflections and experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hosted by Hayley Saunders and Alex Friston, we are delighted to be joined by a variety of speakers, each bringing something different to the table in relation to impacts, views and then thoughts towards the Public Inquiry, which is set to commence its first public hearings on 13 June ...
April 17, 2023 By: Meghna Parikh ALERT: Recent guidance from the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) clarifies a procedural issue for premarket submissions related to cybersecurity of medical devices and emphasizes the importance of collaboration between the FDA and medical device manufacturers. Providers using medical devices in their practice should pay attention to these rulings because they impacts the providers’ ability to educate and engage their patients ...
On March 31, 2023, Governor Andy Beshear signed Senate Bill 47 making medical marijuana use and sale legal in Kentucky, effective January 1, 2025. [i] Kentucky now joins at least 37 other states that have legalized medical marijuana. The newest piece of legislation comes on the heels of Governor Beshear signing two executive orders related to cannabis in November of 2022 ...
On March 22, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) updated its guidance and survey process for home dialysis services in nursing homes.[1] The updated guidance is based on comments, questions, and feedback received from state survey agencies, the dialysis community and other stakeholders since CMS initially issued guidance in 2018 ...
Back in March 2022, a furore erupted over the mass redundancies by P&O Ferries of its workers and their replacement with an international crew on much lower wages. Amidst all the calls for changes to prevent ‘fire and rehire’ tactics, the only relevant change to employment legislation to have made it onto the statute book so far is The Seafarers' Wages Act 2023 (SWA 2023), which came into force on 23 March 2023 ...
Shoosmiths’ Public Inquiries team is delighted to present a series of podcasts in respect of reflections and experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hosted by Hayley Saunders and Alex Friston, we are delighted to be joined by a variety of speakers, each bringing something different to the table in relation to impacts, views and then thoughts towards the Public Inquiry, which is set to commence its first public hearings on 13 June ...
Derby has today (21 March 2023) been named as the national headquarters of Great British Railways (GBR) – a key moment in the government’s plan to reform the rail network. Commenting on the announcement, Michelle Craven-Faulkner, partner and rail lead at Shoosmiths, said: “The long-awaited headquarters of Great British Railways has finally been announced ...
The Department of Health and Human Resources (“DHHR”) was West Virginia’s largest executive agency until the Legislature passed House Bill 2006 earlier this month. For several years now, West Virginia lawmakers have been looking into how to handle the enormous agency, improve its function and oversight, and improve the management of the wide range of health and social programs administered by the DHHR. With an annual budget topping $7 ...
On March 8, 2023, the Oregon Senate passed Senate Bill 592, which, if passed by the House and signed by the governor, would significantly increase the penalty amounts that the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division (Oregon OSHA) could impose on an employer for workplace safety violations. In addition, SB 592 would require Oregon OSHA to conduct comprehensive inspections of a workplace under specific circumstances, greatly expanding the number of inspections that an employer could face ...
Prepare for another big shift in health care operations. On January 30, 2023, President Joe Biden announced he would not extend the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) beyond its current expiration date of May 11. The PHE was declared by former President Donald Trump in March of 2020 as COVID-19 began to spread around the nation. The waivers and other regulatory changes instituted in its wake have impacted nearly every facet of health care services ...
Background The ‘ball’ in this case started ‘rolling’ when Rothschild presented his MetaBirkins collection at Art Basel Miami in December 2021 and began selling it through NFT platforms like OpenSea. The collection consisted of 100 NFTs with digital images of Hermès Birkin bags in various designs. The starting price for one copy was 0.1 ETH (about $450 at the time). The artist was said to have soon sold more than $1 million worth of digital handbags ...
The Republic of the Union of Myanmar intends to promote foreign investments in the electric vehicle sector in Myanmar by means of a mix of legal and policy initiatives aimed at incentivizing such investments. For the purpose of this article we have considered the year 2022 as the most critical year for legal regulations on electric vehicles (“EVs“) and have pivoted our discussion on legal developments prior to, during and after 2022” ...
Chapter 8: Technical Barriers to Trade This chapter provides rules to facilitate trade by eliminating unnecessary technical barriers, improving transparency, and promoting greater regulatory cooperation. It applies to the elaboration, approval and application of technical regulations, standards, conformity assessment procedures and trade authorization for pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and medical devices ...
Recent months have seen sustained industrial action in the rail sector. On 20 February 2023, the government launched a 12-week consultation on setting minimum service levels for passenger rail. Unlike in many European countries, there are currently no limits in the UK on the number of employees who are able to take part in strike action together ...
Dear Readers, ALRUD Regulatory practice has prepared a new version of our regulatory Guides. This Guide is devoted to an overview of key changes and trends that took place in 2022. The review was published with the participation of ALRUD experts - Maxim Alekseev, Senior Partner and Head of ALRUD Regulatory practice,Dina Kravchenko, Senior Associate, andBoris Pribylov, Senior Associate. Follow the link below to learn more ...
Nearly 106,000 Americans are currently on waiting lists for donor organs and 17 die each day while waiting. The holy grail for rising to meet this demand and end this suffering will be the ability to “print” the organs, muscles, and tissues from individually grown cells, lowering the need for human donors and the complicated and sometimes unbearable stress that goes along with donor wait lines ...
On February 20 of this year, the Public Health Institute (hereinafter "ISP"), approved through Exempt Resolution No. 401/23 the technical guide for the sanitary registration of allergens with the purpose of establishing the guidelines and requirements for the sanitary registration of these products (the "Guide") ...
On February 20 of this year, the Public Health Institute (hereinafter "ISP"), approved through Exempt Resolution No. 405/23 the technical guide on homeopathic products with the purpose of providing the guidelines and requirements for the request of the sanitary registration of these pharmaceutical products in order to provide complete and updated information that supports the quality, safety and efficacy of these products (the "Guide") ...
There are so many things to celebrate following the news announcement earlier this week that GWR had purchased Vivarail’s assets following it having sadly entered into administration at the end of last year. Naturally the saving of a number of jobs is great to hear but in addition the protection of the highly innovative technology which will ultimately help to support the introduction of battery powered trains onto our network has to be a good thing ...
On December 29, 2022, the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (“MoCRA”) was signed into law.[1] MoCRA is the first federal cosmetics law since 1938 and will impose a number of new requirements on cosmetic products and the facilities where they are manufactured. Specifically, MoCRA requires the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to implement enhanced oversight and regulation of cosmetic manufacturing facilities and products by December 29, 2023 ...
