Portions reprinted with permission from the Minnesota Bankers Association On July 31, a federal court in Texas issued an injunction preventing the CFPB from enforcing its 1071 rule until the U.S. Supreme Court decides on the constitutionality of the CFPB’s funding structure in a separate case. That ruling is expected in the summer of 2024....

Previous readers of Gislason & Hunter’s Financial Newsletter may recall discussion of a recent case decided by the Minnesota Court of Appeals regarding considerations to make in determining whether a grain bin is a fixture (and thus part of the real estate that can be pledged through a mortgage) or is personal property (and thus...

The Minnesota Legislature recently passed a law rendering all covenants not to compete in employment agreements signed on or after July 1, 2023. The new law makes any covenant not to compete contained in an employment (or independent contractor) agreement/contract void and unenforceable if the agreement/contract was executed on or after July 1, 2023. This...

On May 30th, 2023, Governor Tim Walz signed into law a bill legalizing the recreational use of marijuana in the State of Minnesota. The bill is likely to create a new sector in Minnesota’s retail business landscape; however, financial institutions’ opportunities to work with those new businesses may not be as open and carefree as...

The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) publishes an agenda of its planned rulemaking activities twice a year – typically in the Spring and Fall. These agendas provide a brief look at the focuses and priorities of the CFPB for the coming year. The CFPB published its Spring 2023 rulemaking agenda, indicating that it anticipates...

The drum beat toward renewable energy continues. Recently, Minnesota enacted new legislation requiring that 100% of the State’s energy be produced from carbon-free sources by 2040. This is not a distant, far-off goal. Though some new technologies might fill the gap, the obvious sources to meet this goal are wind and solar, which are expected...

During the first two years of the Biden administration, when Democrats held majorities in both houses of Congresses, much of the activity in Washington focused on traditional lawmaking. But with the new Republican majority in the House of Representatives in January 2023, a flurry of new rulemaking activity signals a focus on regulatory action by...