December CLE webinar "2017 Legislative Preview: An Early Look at Opportunities and Risks"

Lex isNexis webinar : E mp lo yment C la ims and the Ar t o f M ediat ion | Octo ber 25 , 2016 | 2

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Lex isNexis webinar : 2017 Legis lat ive Preview: An Ear ly Look a t Opportun i t i es and Risks | December 15, 2016 | 3

Rich EhisenManaging EditorState Net Capitol Journal

• Ehisen is managing editor and publisher of the State Net Capitol Journal, a weekly online newsletter that covers state-level public policy issues in all 50 states. As part of LexisNexis, we pride ourselves on identifying and analyzing emerging trends in statehouses across the nation (and in Congress) and then presenting that information in an informative, fast-paced and non-partisan manner that gives our readers true insight into issues that will impact their lives and businesses.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS


Anna DavisDirector of Government RelationsNational Governors Association

• Anna Davis is the director of Government Relations for the National Governors Association. She previously served as chief of staff and attorney advisor to U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner Maureen K. Ohlhausen. Before that, she held several senior roles at the FTC. Other positions include director for government relations at the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and director for government relations at the U.S. Treasury Department. Davis also worked for former House Minority Leader Robert Michel.

• Davis received her J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center and Bachelor of Arts from Scripps College in Claremont, California.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS


Vanessa Nelson MeihausResearch DirectorNavigant

• Vanessa Nelson Meihaus leads of a team of information professionals with an array of experience, expertise, and talents at Navigant. Her team delivers intelligence at all stages of business development including opportunity identification, potential client research, current client monitoring, and pitch preparation. They provide research to support thought leadership and client engagements, partnering with practice leadership and marketing. While her team supports consulting professionals across Navigant’s practice areas , Vanessa’s focus is legal research, specializing in legislative and statutory research, as well as litigation, information security, and expert due diligence research. Prior to rejoining Navigant, she was a Research & Knowledge Manager at Skadden.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS


Neil SitronCounselCrowell & Moring

• Neil Sitron joined Crowell & Moring in 2005 and is a counsel in the firm's Corporate Group. His practice includes international and domestic joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, corporate compliance and governance, securities transactions, and securities reporting and compliance. His experience covers a range of corporate and securities counseling and transactions, and includes consortium transactions, formation of joint ventures and teaming agreements, mergers, asset and stock acquisitions and dispositions, private equity and venture capital investments, corporate governance guidance, development of corporate compliance programs and guidance on the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, U.S. securities registrations, securities law periodic reporting, proxy solicitations and stock exchange requirements.

• Neil received a B.A., with honors and with highest distinction, from The University of Michigan, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He earned his J.D. from Harvard Law School. While in law school, Neil was a member of the Harvard Journal of Law and Technology, and he served as a mediator with the Harvard Mediation Program.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS


Drue PearceSenior Policy AdvisorCrowell & Moring

• Ms. Pearce provides strategic legislative and regulatory advice to a wide variety of natural resources, manufacturing, and energy clients. She has more than 30 years’ experience in government affairs, public relations, natural resources and energy policy and regulation, having served in the Alaska State Legislature, the private sector, and in the Immediate Office of the Secretary at the Department of the Interior and at the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects. In 2014, she was elected as an associate fellow of the Nautical Institute for her role in the development of Alaska Arctic maritime safety policy. In 2006, she was nominated by President George W. Bush, confirmed by Congress and sworn in by the vice president as the first Federal Coordinator in the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects, an independent federal agency created by Congress in 2004. Pearce has private sector experience in banking, education, farming, as a small business owner and as a resources consultant to a Fortune 500 Alaska Native Corporation.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS


Volume Variety Velocity

Brace Yourself

for the next

Legislative Rollercoaster

! ! !


The legislative process is seasonal with over 79% of bills introduced in the first 3 months of the year. In 2015 Daily averages in January exceed 2,100 matters.


Technology• Tech-related jobs

- Legislation we are seeing that impacts employment- Legislation that impacts energy and natural resources

• Sharing economy- Allows individuals or small businesses to enter markets and access broad groups of

potential buyers. These sellers often able to use assets they already own – such as their personal automobiles or a room in their homes – which can make the cost of entry much lower than it has been for traditional suppliers

- State regulators have expressed concerns that sharing economy platforms enable new entrants to evade regulations designed to protect consumers and promote public safety.

- However, aspects of sharing economy business models, including new technologies and trust mechanisms, may reduce the need for regulation. Regulation should address particular problems, but avoid actions that hinder competition and are unnecessary or broader than necessary to achieve legitimate consumer protection and other public policy goals.

TECHNOLOGY

LexisNexis webinar : 2017 L egis lat i ve Preview: An Ear ly L ook at Opportun i t ies and Risks | December 15 , 2016 | 11

Autonomous Vehicles• As technology for autonomous vehicles develops, it is necessary for state and

municipal governments to address the potential impacts of these vehicles on the road. Since 2012, at least 34 states and D.C. have considered legislation in this area.

• Moreover, in 2016, the federal government via the National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued guidance and policy for the safe development of highly autonomous vehicles.

• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION POLICY AND GUIDANCE

• September 2016 Federal Automated Vehicles Policy: - Guidance is broken down in four parts: (1) vehicle performance guidelines, (2) model state

policy, (3) NHTSA’s current regulatory tools, and (4) new regulatory actions that NHTSA believes could be helpful in ensuring the safe deployment of automated vehicles.

- Guidance is clear that states retain their traditional responsibilities for vehicle licensing and registration, traffic laws and enforcement, and motor vehicle insurance and liability regimes.

- Guidance also includes a set of 15 best practices for automated vehicle manufacturers regarding the safe pre-deployment design and development and testing of automated vehicles prior to commercial sale or use on public roads.

TECHNOLOGY


Autonomous Vehicles• January 2016 Department of Transportation Policy:

- Updated the 2013 NHTSA preliminary policy on autonomous vehicles and is designed to facilitate and encourage the development and deployment of technologies with potential to save lives.

TECHNOLOGY


Autonomous Vehicles: New State Legislation/Policy• Michigan:

- In December 2016, Michigan passed a package of four bills allowing self-driving vehicles to operate on Michigan’s roadways including automated platoons of trucks to travel together at fixed speeds and networks of self-driving cars that can pick up passengers on demand.

- Importantly, the new law repeals the state’s express ban on automated driving, generally.

• California: - On September 20, 2016, the California Department of Motor Vehicles issued

revised draft regulations that may open the doors to the deployment of driverless vehicles on public roads. This new draft was issued right after a new law (signed on September 29, 2016) was passed allowing the testing of a fully autonomous, driverless vehicle by the Contra Costa Transportation authority.

• - The new draft regulations set forth what is required for a manufacturer to obtain

an autonomous vehicle permit and seek to regulate whether a car can be advertised as autonomous or self-driving.

TECHNOLOGY


Autonomous Vehicles: New State Legislation/PolicyOther states appear poised to move forward with autonomous vehicle legislation:• Pennsylvania: a new state task force including General Motors, Uber and AAA as

well as state and federal officials has been meeting to devise guidelines for testing autonomous vehicles on Pennsylvania roads. Bills have been introduced in the state legislature.

• Massachusetts: Governor Charlie Barker issued an executive order clarifying terms under which autonomous vehicles may be tested on Massachusetts roads, including a requirement that all cars carry a person who can “take immediate control of the vehicle if necessary.”

Other states have faced challenges with autonomous vehicles.• For example, Missouri Governor Nixon vetoed legislation in 2016 that was approved

overwhelmingly by both chambers of legislature that would have allowed the testing of driver assistive truck platooning in the state by eliminating a provision prohibiting trucks from following within 300 feet of another vehicle.

TECHNOLOGY


Autonomous Vehicles: Challenges AheadAs states dip their toes in the waters of autonomous vehicle legislation, there is the ever-present risk of creating a patchwork of laws by trial-and-error.• This is neither in the interest of the industry nor the government.

• DOT policy is intended to ensure that federal policy applies during autonomous driving while leaving state laws to apply during non-autonomous driving.

The uncertainty of the development and launch path of autonomous vehicles presents risks to regulators and legislators in moving too slowly, too quickly or in the wrong direction.• While following federal guidelines will give some cover, it is unlikely that state

regulators and legislators will want to be too far in front of the industry or their peers, which presents a risk of legislation lagging too far behind the industry.

• Will regulation and legislation move quickly enough to address the industry’s projected progression to level 4 (high automation) or level 5 (full automation)?

Regulation and legislation will have to take into account issues of cybersecurity and the interaction of autonomous vehicles in the “Internet of Things”.

TECHNOLOGY


Employee Benefits• Pension reform

- Trending: The move away from hedge funds

• Healthcare outlook- Paul Ryan’s A Better Way offers insights into policies that a Republican Congress could

advance, including purchasing insurance across state lines; medical liability reform; business and individual pools; and option to block grant Medicaid programs.

- Congress recently passed the 21st Century Cures Act, which reforms the Food and Drug Administration’s procedures in processes for drug distribution and approval

• ACA future and transition- Repeal and replace likely, but then what? - Rep. McCarthy sent a letter to governors/state insurance officers soliciting input - The NGA serving as a nonpartisan resource to provide states with accurate information of

the various proposals and their state impact.

• Life sciences and pharmaceuticals- Sky rocketing prices have put pharma companies under increased Congressional scrutiny - Governors’ interest in pharmaceutical prices because Medicaid provides pharmaceutical

coverage and spikes in impact state budgets.

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS


Employment• Gender wage equity

- CA, MA have enacted major gender equity pay laws. - More states expected to explore this in 2017.

• Minimum wage- Currently, 29 states and D.C. have minimum wages above the federal minimum

wage of $7.25 per hour.- In 2016, four states passed initiatives to raise their minimum wages above the

federal minimum, and 12 others have already passed laws that will raise the minimum wage incrementally

- Trump has said he’d leave it to the states, but also said he supports $10/hr min

EMPLOYMENT


Employment

• Sick leave- US one of the only five countries without a national policy on paid sick days.- 5 states and DC have enacted laws that require paid sick leave

o California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Oregon, Vermont- There is a trend for cities to pass laws providing for paid sick days, but a counter

trend is growing with a dozen states passing preemption laws that ban all cities and counties from enacting paid sick days bills.

- Executive Order 13706 that requires all federal contractors to grant at least seven days of paid sick leave to their employees effective January 1, 2017. CRA likely.

EMPLOYMENT


Healthcare Outlook

• ACA Reform- Delays in changes?- Alternative payment models and value-based push- Consumer financial responsibility - Medicaid block grants to states

• Life Sciences/Pharma- Repeal of ACA medical device excise tax- FDA backlog – 21st Century Cures Act and Trump’s promise to speed up approval

HEALTHCARE


Drug Laws• Legalization of cannabis

• 44 states and DC have some form of legal marijuana laws on the books• 28 states allow medical marijuana; 8 mixed medical/recreational; 16 low THC• Remains a Schedule I drug under federal classification and illegal under federal

law• Jeff Sessions (AG nominee) opposes legalization; may increase federal

enforcement

• Opioid abuse- 46 governors signed a compact to fight opioid addiction- Congress passed the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) in July- 21st Century Cures Act provides $1 billion for states to combat Opioid abuse- Just-passed CR appropriates $500 million from Cures Act

DRUG LAWS


Drug Laws• The Cannabis Market

- Nationally• Where are we today? • What’s the outlook?• Federal law• Banking regulations

- California Focus• First state to legalize medical marijuana • Now the latest – and biggest – to legalize cannabis for recreational use• Will more follow?

- The Alaska Experience

DRUG LAWS


Politics

• Voter identification laws and regulations 34 states have laws requesting or requiring voters to show some form of identification

at the polls. North Carolina's law has been struck down, and the U.S. Supreme Court will not hear

the case before the election this year, and therefore its law is not included. 18 states (including North Carolina) use other methods to verify the identity of voters,

such as a signature, checked against information on file.

• Citizen initiatives

POLITICS


Civil Rights

• Discrimination issues- Religious freedom restoration acts (RFRA): legalize discrimination or protect

religion?- While there are no federal laws prohibiting housing or employment discrimination

based on sexual orientation of gender identity, 22 states have laws on the books.

• LGBTQ rightso Transgender bathroom laws have been among the most famous LGBTQ issues in recent

years Former NC Governor Pat McCrory faced much criticism for signing a bill that

prohibits transgender people from using a bathroom that does not match their gender at birth.

o 23 states filed suit against the Obama Administration’s use of Title IX to direct schools to allow transgender students to use the bathroom gender they identify with.

CIVIL RIGHTS


Immigration Reform

• PEOTUS Trump agenda – 3 prongs in campaign platform- Build a wall across the U.S.-Mexico border—Mexico pays- Increase enforcement of immigration laws—deport 11 million illegal immigrants- Focus on American workers—reform H-1B visa; US citizens hired first; eliminate J1

visa- Other: no birthright citizenship; no federal grants to sanctuary cities

• Focus on California- Lawmakers have introduced laws to impede possible mass deportation efforts, or

efforts to block access to borderland, etc.

IMMIGRATION REFORM

Question and Answer SessionThank You!

December CLE webinar "2017 Legislative Preview: An Early Look at Opportunities and Risks"

Law

Transcript of December CLE webinar "2017 Legislative Preview: An Early Look at Opportunities and Risks"