On August 5, 2020, the Seminole County Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously voted to table the public hearing on the Mobility Fee Ordinance to its next regularly-scheduled meeting. If adopted, the new mobility fee...more
8/6/2020
/ Construction Project ,
Florida ,
Impact Fees ,
Infrastructure ,
Land Use Restrictions ,
Local Ordinance ,
Public Hearing ,
Real Estate Development ,
Rural Development ,
State and Local Government ,
Urban Planning & Development
On July 28, 2020, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved an ordinance aimed at “preventing further damage to the local economy.” The ordinance amended the county’s impact fee code and will allow...more
On July 1, 2020, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation issued Amended Emergency Order 2020-09 to provide additional detail about when, and under what circumstances, vendors may sell alcoholic...more
7/4/2020
/ Alcohol Beverage Control ,
Amended Rules ,
Bars ,
Business & Professions Code ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Orders ,
Florida ,
Public Safety ,
Resorts & Restaurants ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Social Distancing ,
Vendors ,
Wine & Alcohol
Governor Ron DeSantis has extended Executive Order 20-69, which permits local governments to conduct meetings remotely by utilizing “communications media technology, such as telephonic and video conferencing.”...more
On June 26, 2020, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation issued Emergency Order 2020-09, which orders “vendors who derive more than 50% of gross revenue” from on-premises alcohol sales to suspend the...more
6/29/2020
/ Business Closures ,
Business Interruption ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Direct to Consumer Sales ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Florida ,
Public Health ,
State and Local Government ,
Virus Testing ,
Wine & Alcohol
In 2018, when the Farm Bill was signed into law, hemp cultivators and extract producers were hopeful that the federal pressure on their industry might begin to ease. The 2018 Farm Bill removed hemp from the Controlled...more
6/25/2020
/ Agribusiness ,
Dietary Supplements ,
Farm Bill ,
Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) ,
Hemp ,
Medical Foods ,
Plant Based Products ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
Seminole County has commissioned a study to replace the county's road impact fee with a mobility fee. If adopted, the new mobility fee program would result in a substantial increase in impact fees for most developments....more
As of June 8, Orange County has officially opened (and partially closed) its application portals for the Orange CARES initiative. The program will allow approximately 6,500 qualifying small businesses access to a grant of...more
The government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in federal assistance to numerous industries and individual taxpayers, but notably has left the state legalized marijuana industry out in the cold....more
5/31/2020
/ Agribusiness ,
Assignment of Benefits (AOB) ,
Bankruptcy Plans ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Chapter 7 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Financial Distress ,
Hemp Related Businesses ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Receivership
On May 22, 2020, the State of Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) approved Orange County’s plan to safely reopen vacation rental operations within the County....more
On Wednesday, April 29, 2020, Governor Ron DeSantis held a press conference to announce the first step of his multi-step plan for reopening the State of Florida in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing statewide...more
On April 24, President Trump signed into law the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act (the “Act”). The Act allocates an additional $484 billion to replenish the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) and...more
As noted in our prior publication, on April 16, 2020, the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) announced that it would no longer be accepting new applications for the Emergency Injury Disaster Loan Program (“EIDLP”) or the...more
4/22/2020
/ Agribusiness ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dispensaries ,
Federal Loans ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Hemp Related Businesses ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Relief Measures ,
SBA ,
SBA Lending Programs ,
Small Business
On April 1, 2020, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issued Executive Order 20-91. The State’s order, which will become effective on Friday, April 3 at 12:01 a.m. and will expire on April 30, sets statewide standards for the...more
4/2/2020
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, Governor DeSantis has issued Executive Order No. 20-51 declaring a state of emergency for all 67 counties in the state of Florida....more
On Wednesday afternoon, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that President Trump has granted Florida’s request for a FEMA disaster declaration....more
On March 25, 2020, Osceola County followed Orange County’s lead and issued its own shelter-in-place order. The list of businesses deemed “essential” from Osceola’s order is the same as Orange County’s, except that Osceola...more
On March 26, 2020, the City of Orlando announced that the next City Council meeting, which will take place on Monday, March 30th at 2 PM, will be “conducted virtually via an online platform.” This decision is part of the...more
UPDATE: On March 26, 2020, Orange County issued Emergency Executive Order No. 2020-05, an amendment to the order. ...more
On March 24, 2020, Mayor Jerry Demings signed Orange County, Florida Emergency Executive Order 2020-04. The order, which will become effective on Thursday, March 26 at 11 p.m. and will expire on April 9, sets new standards...more
On Monday, March 23, 2020, in a letter to President Donald Trump, Governor Ron DeSantis requested the President declare a Major Disaster in Florida and requested additional support and resources from the Federal Emergency...more
Following the lead of Governor DeSantis, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer has retracted the City of Orlando’s prohibition on the sale of all alcohol for on premises consumption as it relates to restaurants....more
Effective immediately, Governor Ron DeSantis has issued Executive Order No. 20-68, which impacts operations across the state of Florida for at least the next thirty days as follows...more
In response to Hurricane Dorian, Governor Ron DeSantis has issued Executive Order No. 19-190 (reaffirming and amending Executive Order No. 19-189) declaring a state of emergency for all 67 counties in the state of Florida....more
1/24/2020
/ Building Codes ,
Building Permits ,
Construction Permits ,
Construction Project ,
Executive Orders ,
Florida ,
Hurricane Season ,
Municipalities ,
Real Estate Development ,
Severe Weather ,
State and Local Government ,
Time Extensions ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Zoning Laws
Despite the trend of state legalization of cannabis and overwhelming market attention paid to cannabis companies, owners of cannabis businesses still cannot obtain federal trademark protection for their cannabis related...more
1/8/2020
/ Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Goods or Services ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Foods ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Plant Based Products ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Retail Market ,
Retailers ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks