FIRE

The online cryptocurrency exchange company Coinbase lost a legal battle against Internal Revenue Service (IRS) efforts to gain access to users’ private data and metadata.

Wisconsin now has a “Homeowners’ Bill of Rights” intended to prevent local governments from limiting property owners’ use of their lands.

The U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee approved a bill to prevent government agencies from using regulatory actions to force out business owners working in disfavored industries such as adult entertainment and firearm sales.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury called for public comments on potential revisions to the Volcker Rule, a provision of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank).

A Milwaukee County, Wisconsin ordinance requiring software developers to pay permit fees and security costs to allow people to play cell phone games in government parks is on hold after a federal judge blocked its enforcement.

Time ran out for a proposed bill to require Oregon local governments to complete neighborhood zoning reviews in a timely manner. The Oregon House of Representatives Subcommittee on Natural Resources held up the bill until the legislature adjourned.

In a setback for the renewable-energy industry, Iowa ennacted a law barring the use of eminent domain for high-voltage transmission lines carrying wind energy across the state into Illinois.

Three members of Congress officially called on Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner John Koskinen to answer questions about the agency’s probe of Coinbase.

The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a bill that would ease federal restrictions on banks, reduce the cost of regulatory compliance, and relax some federal government controls over banks and financial services.

The Columbiana, Ohio City Council rescheduled a public hearing on a proposed ordinance “allowing” residents to maintain residential gardens on their property.

The government of Puerto Rico, a territory of the United States in the Caribbean Sea, began negotiating with bondholders in federal court to discharge approximately $123 billion in public debt and unfunded pension liabilities.

Review of Money: Free and Unfree, by George Selgin (Cato Institute), 2017, 382 pages, ISBN-13: 978-1944424299; $16.96 on Amazon.com.

A provision of he “Financial CHOICE Act,” to overhaul rules for key financial regulators would preclude all but the largest investors from offering shareholder resolutions designed to direct corporate policy.

Following the implementation of a ban on tobacco and e-cigarette use in Novato, California in January, lawmakers in neighboring cities are considering similar bans on tobacco and e-cigarette use in public and private spaces.

Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh announced the creation of 10 new “food truck zones” where such operations will be allowed.

Democratic Party members of the U.S. House of Representatives are urging committee chairmen to stall the progress of House Resolution 10, the Financial CHOICE Act, after the House Financial Services Committee voted in April to allow the bill to proceed.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer says President Donald Trump supports “a 21st century Glass-Steagall,” referring to proposals to restore financial regulations prohibiting banks from engaging in commercial and investment banking.

Will Greece avoid financial disaster one more time by somehow pulling one more rabbit out of a hat? It seems unlikely, but we shall know fairly soon.

Lawyers for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed an amicus brief opposing a decision by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), switching sides in a lawsuit over the constitutionality of the structure of the independent government agency.

The Indiana Senate approved a bill blocking local governments in the state from preventing homeowners from using Airbnb and other peer-to-peer economy companies.

A study by SmarterSafer.org recommends reforming the National Flood Insurance Program to reduce future risks associated with the flooding of property and minimize flood damage when it occurs.

The Florida Legislature is considering a bill that would prevent local governments from enacting regulations effectively banning homeowners from using Airbnb and other peer-to-peer economy companies.

North Carolina lawmakers are considering a bill to ask voters to approve new restrictions on local and state governments’ power to seize and resell people’s private property to private developers.

An online cryptocurrency exchange company is vowing to fight a federal agency’s efforts to compel the release of millions of consumers’ private data and metadata.