United States: Government Policy & Public Finance

Delaware continues to issue verified report notices that can require companies to certify their unclaimed property reporting and provide supporting information within specified deadlines.

Global public debt has surged to unprecedented levels, forcing governments worldwide to confront difficult choices between rising spending commitments and limited revenue. As interest costs consume growing shares of national budgets and populations age, the political consensus needed to stabilize debt burdens remains elusive.

The CHIPS and Science Act's Section 48D offers a 35% tax credit for semiconductor manufacturing investments, but construction must begin by December 31, 2026. Taxpayers can establish construction through physical work or the 5% safe harbor method, with final regulations clarifying that qualifying property on contiguous land may be included if integral to operations.

As Congress enters its October recess and shifts into campaign mode, a growing fight over executive spending authority is complicating year-end funding negotiations. The Trump Administration's repeated testing of congressional control over federal funding has prompted bipartisan pushback from appropriators, raising the prospect of new guardrails in future appropriations bills to protect grant-making processes and prevent pocket rescissions.

Federal and state campaign finance regulators continue to scrutinize disclosure requirements and recurring donation practices, while courts weigh the constitutional boundaries of transparency laws. Recent developments include FEC inquiries into software-driven reporting errors, a Ninth Circuit ruling upholding Arizona's donor disclosure law, and California's new quarterly reporting framework for behested payments.

New York City's Department of City Planning has released the list of 12 community districts eligible for the Affordable Housing Fast Track, a streamlined 90-day land use review process replacing the standard seven-month ULURP timeline. These designated districts, spanning Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island, were selected based on historically low affordable housing production and will qualify for expedited review beginning January 1, 2027.

On September 25, 2026, EPA published a final rule that codifies its existing interpretations regarding when and whether “applicable requirements” established in other Clean Air Act (CAA) programs may be reviewed, modified, and/or implemented through the Title V operating permit program. 91 Fed. Reg. 61026 (Sept. 25, 2026). In particular, the final rule clarifies (1) the limited situations in which requirements under the New Source Review (NSR) preconstruction permitting program would be reviewed using the EPA’s Title V oversight authorities, and (2) the EPA’s “well-established” position that the CAA’s General Duty Clause is not an “applicable requirement” implemented through the Title V program.

Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger's Executive Order 22 introduces a comprehensive Data Center Accountability Framework that fundamentally reshapes how data centers will be developed, permitted, and operated in the Commonwealth. The sweeping initiative addresses transparency, environmental protection, energy costs, grid reliability, and community engagement while establishing an AI Task Force and designating the Office of the Chief Energy Officer to coordinate implementation. With immediate changes to non

Generative AI is already being used in professional practice to draft documents, summarize records, generate designs, analyze images, and answer questions. Across many professions, licensing guidance remains limited or has not yet explained how existing professional duties may apply to those uses.