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As we previously discussed, on December 5, 2024, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), representing the Department of the Treasury, submitted a notice of appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, challenging a memorandum opinion and order issued by Judge Mazzant of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

On December 11, 2024, in a 9-8 ruling along party lines, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (the “Fifth Circuit”) struck down the Nasdaq board diversity rules issued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in August 2021 (the “Rules”), holding that the SEC exceeded its authority in issuing the Rules.

As we previously discussed, on December 3, 2024, Judge Amos Mazzant of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a memorandum opinion and order granting a nationwide preliminary injunction against the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”), blocking implementation of the CTA in its entirety.

On December 4, 2024, the Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) and the Internal Revenue Service (the “Service”) issued final regulations [TD 10015] (the “Final Regulations”) for the energy credit available under section 48 (the “ITC”) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”).

On November 14, 2024, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the SEC’s ability to intervene in shareholder proposals under Rule 14a-8 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Rule 14a-8 Proposals”).

On November 5, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California denied a motion for summary judgment that sought to declare SB 253 and SB 261 (the “California Climate Laws”) invalid on their face under the First Amendment for compelling political speech.

On September 18, 2024, the Department of Treasury (the “Treasury”) and the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) (1) issued proposed regulations (the “Proposed Regulations”) providing guidance to taxpayers on the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit available under section 30C of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (“30C Credit”) and (2) released Notice 2024-64 (the “Notice”)¹ to correct certain technical issues related to mapping tools used to identify eligible census tracts for the 30C Credit.²

On August 30, 2024, the Department of Treasury (the “Treasury”) and the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) issued proposed regulations (the “Proposed Regulations”) providing additional guidance to taxpayers on the “Low-Income Communities Bonus” (“LICB”) available under section 48E(h) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.

The domestic content bonus is one of the Inflation Reduction Act’s most powerful tax incentives, but so far is proving to be one of the most difficult to earn.

On June 18, 2024, the Department of the Treasury (the “Treasury”) and the Internal Revenue Service (the “Service”) issued (T.D. 9998) (the “Final Regulations”) regarding compliance with the prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements (the “PWA Requirements”) impacting many of the clean energy tax credits introduced or expanded by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “IRA”).

In a potentially significant development that may impact the economics of aviation, the California Air Resources Board (“CARB”) is proposing a policy, as we previewed in January 2024, to update the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (“LCFS”) program, whereby CARB would eliminate the existing exemption for intrastate fossil jet fuel from LCFS regulations beginning in 2028.

In a significant legal maneuver with potentially far-reaching implications, California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed an amended complaint on June 10, 2024, to California’s high-profile lawsuit targeting five of the world’s largest oil companies: BP, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Phillips 66, Shell, as well as the American Petroleum Institute (“API”).