Oregon – Composting Rules

Oregon’s composting regulations aim to facilitate composting while preventing public nuisance issues and any adverse environmental consequences. Oregon revised its composting regulations in 2009, as a means to both facilitate greater amounts of composting, as well as ensure new and existing facilities performed at the same same level of quality standards.… Read More

Reining in Pharmacy Middlemen

PBMs use several tactics to undermine competition and monopolize the prescription market. In some cases, they impose mandatory mail-order clauses on health plans and their customers, compelling people to obtain certain prescriptions through the mail rather than from a local pharmacy. PBMs commonly offer independent pharmacies take-it-or-leave it contracts that force them to either accept reimbursement rates that leave them losing money on some prescriptions or be left out of an insurer’s network altogether.… Read More

Adaptive Reuse of Commercial Buildings

Neighborhoods with a variety of buildings of different ages, and especially those with historic buildings, can offer a built environment that’s well-suited to independent businesses. The challenge is that, in many cases, historic commercial buildings have become vacant and fallen into disrepair—and may be difficult for startups or independent entrepreneurs to retrofit, bring up to code, and re-occupy. A tool known as adaptive reuse can provide modest incentivizes and reduce these barriers to retrofitting historic buildings, ultimately facilitating the growth of local businesses.… Read More

Set-Asides for Local Businesses

In many cities, retail space in new development is increasingly designed for chains. A tool known as set-asides offers cities an effective way to check this tendency, and at the same time, advance other city goals, like walkability and retail diversity. Set-asides require developers to reserve, or “set aside,” commercial space that meets certain characteristics in new developments. Cities can require developers to dedicate a portion of ground-floor retail to spaces that are small, to spaces that are commercial condominiums, or to businesses that are locally owned.… Read More

Washington, D.C. Home Composting Bill Unanimously Passes City Council

Date: 2 May 2018 | posted in: Composting, waste - composting, Waste to Wealth | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

On May 1, 2018, Bill B22-0501 – Home Composting Incentives Amendment Act of 2018 unanimously passed the D.C. City Council. ILSR has supported and worked on this bill since it was first introduced by City Councilmember Mary Cheh. Home composting is an important part of any community’s strategy to recycle food scraps and yard trimmings. By cutting waste set out at the curb for municipal collection, home composting will save the City avoided costs in hauling and disposal site tipping fees. At the same, residents will enrich the soil in their own yards.… Read More

Formula Business Restriction — Mendocino County, CA

Mendocino County, Calif., passed a formula business ordinance in November 2016, following community outcry over a proposed Dollar General. The outcry led to an interim moratorium on new permits for formula businesses while the county studied the issue, and ultimately, a formula business ordinance. As an ordinance at the county level, it’s particularly effective, as it covers unincorporated areas that are outside the boundaries of city and municipal zoning.… Read More

Internet Sales Tax Fairness

Even as online sales have grown into a multi-trillion-dollar force in the U.S. economy, states have been limited in their authority to require e-commerce companies to collect state and local sales taxes. As a result, cities, states, and local businesses, along with the citizens and customers who rely on them, have all been hit with negative impacts: The policy has placed local businesses at an unfair disadvantage, and has undermined state and local tax revenues. Now, the fight to require online retailers to collect sales taxes just as brick-and-mortar retailers do is intensifying. It’s currently being waged on three fronts: At the U.S. Supreme Court, at the state level, and in Congress.… Read More

Internet Sales Tax Fairness — Notification — Colorado

In February 2010, Colorado passed a law that requires remote retailers that do not collect state sales taxes to: a) notify Colorado customers that they owe the tax on their purchases, b) send an annual report to customers detailing all of their purchases in the preceding year and the amount of sales tax owed, and c) also provide this information annually to the Colorado Department of Revenue. The law applies to retailers with more than $100,000 in annual sales, including Amazon.com and Overstock.com. A federal appeals court upheld Colorado’s law in February 2016.… Read More

Internet Sales Tax Fairness — Marketplace Nexus — Minnesota

In May 2017, as part of a general revenue law, Minnesota passed a first-in-the-nation law that requires platform, or “marketplace,” retailers to collect sales tax on sales made on the platform by third-party sellers. The requirement will take effect the sooner of July 1, 2019, or when the U.S. Supreme Court modifies its ruling in Quill Corp. v. North Dakota.… Read More

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