The 10 Latest Election Law Articles

Connecticut Joins Growing Number of States Regulating Workplace AI and Mandating Notice for Certain AI Uses as Well as Imposing New Disclosure Requirements for Certain Reductions in Force

Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 11:36:59 -0500

On Friday, May 27, 2026, Governor Ned Lamont signed into law broad legislation addressing the use of AI in Connecticut. The new AI law has significant implications for employers in the Nutmeg State who use any type of “automated employment-related decision technology” and those contemplating mass layoffs or plant closings. AI Use in Employment-Related Decision-Making Triggers Mandatory Notice Requirement The AI law defines “automated employment-related decision technology” as “any technology that processes personal data and uses computation to generate any output . . . including, but not limited to, any prediction, recommendation, classification, ranking, score or other information that is a substantial factor used to make or materially influence an employment related decision . . . ” It further defines an “employment-related decision” as any decision based on an individual’s personal data regarding hiring, promotion, discipline, termination, training, or a material change in… Read the complete article here... ©2026 Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. All rights reserved.

Senate Bill 5 and the New Compliance Frontier for AI in Connecticut

Robinson & Cole LLP — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 15:41:10 -0500

On May 27, 2026, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed Senate Bill 5 (“the Bill”) into law, creating a broad framework for artificial intelligence oversight in the state. The Bill reaches beyond any single category of AI use and touches consumer disclosures, employment tools, AI companions, synthetic media, workforce issues, state agency AI use, and privacy-related governance. The law is relevant not only to technology companies, but also to employers and businesses in Connecticut that use AI-enabled tools in their ordinary operations. The Bill defines “artificial intelligence” as “any machine-based system that, for any explicit or implicit objective, infers from the inputs such system receives how to generate outputs, including, but not limited to, content, decisions, predictions or recommendations, that can influence physical or virtual environments.” That broad definition may capture a wide range of tools businesses already use, including systems for hiring, customer engagement,… Read the complete article here... Copyright © 2026 Robinson & Cole LLP. All rights reserved.

McDermott+ Check-Up – June 5, 2026

McDermott Will & Schulte LLP — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 14:35:53 -0500

This Week's Dose Senate advances reconciliation 2.0 bill. The Senate passed the reconciliation 2.0 package, which funds ICE and CBP and includes no healthcare provisions, advancing the bill to the House. Senate HELP Committee discusses gender-affirming care for minors. Restricting or banning gender-affirming care for minors has been a priority for Republicans, notably Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chair Cassidy (R-LA). House Oversight fraud task force examines Ohio Medicaid HCBS program. The hearing follows the task force’s investigation into the program’s home- and community-based services (HCBS) waiver, announced in May 2026. House Judiciary Committee debates drug patents. Members largely agreed on the value of drug patents in incentivizing pharmaceutical innovation and research. House Appropriations Labor-HHS Subcommittee advances FY 2027 bill. The bill would reduce US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) funding by 4%, compared to fiscal… Read the complete article here... © 2026 McDermott Will & Schulte LLP

Minnesota’s Retirement Program Launches With Impending Registration Deadlines

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 14:06:21 -0500

Minnesota’s Secure Choice Retirement Program has started registering employers, with the first of a phased schedule of registration deadlines set for June 30, 2026. Quick Hits Employers have begun enrollment in Minnesota’s Secure Choice Retirement Program according to a phased schedule with the first deadline on June 30, 2026. All Minnesota employers with five or more employees that do not offer a retirement plan will be required to facilitate this state program for employees via payroll contributions. Employees are automatically enrolled in the 5 percent contribution unless they affirmatively opt out. Minnesota employers that already have a retirement plan must file for an exemption. On May 19, 2023, Governor Tim Walz signed a law establishing the Minnesota Secure Choice Retirement Program. Employers doing business in Minnesota with five or more employees are required to register for the program, or file for an exemption if they already offer a retirement benefit to employees.… Read the complete article here... © 2026, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C., All Rights Reserved.

House Passes 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act With Changes to Institutional Investor Restrictions

Greenberg Traurig, LLP — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 11:30:47 -0500

In 2026, the Trump administration and Congress have emphasized expanding access to homeownership for individuals and families, with a particular focus on limiting the role of large institutional investors in the single-family housing market, as discussed in our January and March 2026 GT Alerts. As part of that initiative, the Senate passed a version of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (the “Act”) in March. On May 20, 2026, the House of Representatives passed its own version of the Act through H. Res. 1299, which retains the institutional investor prohibition in the Senate bill but departs from it in several other respects. This GT Alert details the key provisions of the House-passed version, with a particular focus on how it compares to the Senate bill. What Changes Did the House Make? The House version of the Act removed the seven-year resale requirement for certain excepted purchases. Under the Senate version, large institutional investors would be required to sell certain… Read the complete article here... ©2026 Greenberg Traurig, LLP. All rights reserved.

North Carolina Legislature Removes Problematic Electronic Wills Language from HB 377

Live Coalition — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 04:27:46 -0500

In 2025, the North Carolina General Assembly introduced House Bill 377 at the request of the North Carolina Bar Association to authorize electronic wills. While the bill, at face value, represented a meaningful step toward modernizing estate planning law, its approach raised significant concerns among stakeholders in the digital estate planning industry. As introduced, HB 377 authorized electronic wills but departed significantly from the framework adopted by the 17 states and the District of Columbia that currently recognize them. The bill required electronic wills to be signed by the testator and attested by at least two competent witnesses, mirroring North Carolina’s traditional will-execution formalities. However, unlike electronic will statutes enacted in many other jurisdictions, HB 377 did not authorize remote online notarization (RON) for witness participation. As a result, witnesses still would have been required to execute the will using traditional “wet ink” procedures… Read the complete article here... © 2026 Live Coalition. All Rights Reserved

CA, MD, VA Force Lenders' Hand on Divorce-Triggered Mortgage Assumptions

Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 17:41:32 -0500

A coast-to-coast trend is taking shape: three states have now stripped conventional mortgage lenders of discretion to deny assumptions when divorcing co-borrowers want to keep the family home at the existing rate and remaining term. Maryland led the way. HB 1018, effective October 1, 2025, requires certain mortgage loans to include a provision permitting a borrower, following a divorce decree awarding them the property, to assume the loan and purchase the co-borrower's interest in the property, provided the mortgage holder determines the borrower qualifies for the assumption. The assumption requirement applies to any "conventional home mortgage loan" that is not already required by Maryland or federal law or regulation to be assumable in connection with divorce. The statute also applies retroactively to conventional home mortgages entered into prior to the effective date. Virginia followed. Under HB 304, effective July 1, 2026, conventional home mortgage loans must include the same… Read the complete article here... Copyright © 2026 Sheppard

Bipartisan Senate Bill Would Authorize EPA’s Safer Choice Program

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 17:17:09 -0500

On June 2, 2026, Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Jon Husted (R-OH) introduced the Safer Choice Program Authorization Act (SCPAA) (S. 4664) to authorize formally and strengthen the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Safer Choice Program. Coons’ June 3, 2026, press release states that the SCPAA would codify EPA’s Safer Choice and Design for the Environment (DfE) Programs, “which have helped drive innovation in safer chemistry for decades while providing consumers and institutional purchasers with a trusted federal label for safer products.” The Safer Choice and DfE Programs have never been formally authorized by Congress, and the SCPAA would provide statutory certainty for the programs and the stakeholders that depend on them. According to the bill summary, the SCPAA includes provisions that would: Section 4. Establishment of the Safer Choice Program Direct EPA to establish and carry out a voluntary Safer Choice Program; Provide that the Program identifies and promotes… Read the complete article here... ©2026 Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.

A Party of No-Shows? Implementation of the Pay Transparency Directive – A View Across Europe [Video]

Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 16:20:38 -0500

We know that with only a few days to go until the Pay Transparency Directive comes into force in Continental Europe, many companies are wondering what is going to happen, bearing in mind that only two EU member states have published final legislation implementing the full provisions of the Directive. Members of our Labour & Employment European team have, therefore, put together a short video providing details on the very latest position on local implementation in key EU jurisdictions, what it is likely to mean if a country has not yet implemented the Directive into its national law and the steps that affected companies should be taking now, bearing in mind the uncertain landscape. Further contributions to this article by Elsa Mora. © Copyright 2026 Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP

I Feel Like I’m Taking Crazy Pills: Gov. Spanberger Vetoes Adult-Use Sales Law

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 15:17:33 -0500

It’s déjà vu all over again. In a move that surprised many — and disappointed more — Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger has vetoed legislation that would have finally established a regulated adult-use marijuana retail market in the Commonwealth. The veto is notable not just for what it means for Virginia consumers and operators, but for who is delivering it: a Democrat who pledged on the campaign trail to sign exactly this kind of bill. But maybe it shouldn’t have been a surprise after all. Virginia has occupied a uniquely awkward position in the national cannabis landscape for years. In 2021, then-Gov. Ralph Northam (yeah, that guy) signed legislation making Virginia the first Southern state to legalize adult-use possession — but with a catch. A reenactment clause required future legislative approval before retail sales could begin. Republicans then took control of the House of Delegates and blocked every attempt to create a retail market, and Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed the bills that… Read the complete article here... © 2026 Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP