Category: Corporate & Business law
Minnesota Updates Its Cannabis Law
September 3, 2025 | Scott M. Hagel
Minnesota recently updated its cannabis law, adding a number of changes regarding business licensing, the lower-potency hemp edible (LPHE) industry, and medical cannabis. The changes were introduced in Senate File (SF) 2370, which was approved by Governor Tim Walz and became effective May 24, 2025. Many of the changes were recommended by the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), which was established in 2023. Below, we’ll summarize the key changes in the new law. Cannabis Business Licensing Changes The cannabis market has gotten off to a slow start in Minnesota since adult-use cannabis was legalized in 2023. Many of the changes in the new law aim to help cannabis businesses launch. Testing facility licenses: Testing facilities are necessary to ensure cannabis products’ safety before selling them to consumers. The new law allows OCM to issue a cannabis testing facility license to an applicant while their laboratory accreditation is pending. This will allow testing facilities to open more quickly, ensuring there are enough facilities to meet the demand of retailers. Local registration: Similarly, local governments can now issue retail registrations to applicants with preliminary approval, streamlining the launch process for cannabis businesses. Application process: The cannabis business application process has also been simplified, including the removal of duplicative application requirements and officer signatures. Social equity…
Read MoreCorporate Transparency Act – LIMITED Enforcement?
March 14, 2025 | Barna, Guzy & Steffen, Ltd.
If you have been following the “life” of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), an anti-money laundering law passed by Congress under the first Trump administration, you’ll have noticed the court challenges and on again, off again status. Those court challenges are likely moot at this point, as the Treasury Department announced on Sunday, March 2 that it will not enforce penalties or fines related to the CTA against US Citizens or domestic reporting companies. The CTA is a federal law that went into effect on January 1, 2024. The initial reporting deadline was December 31, 2024, with approximately 6.5 million filings made by that date. Estimates of the number of companies that should be filing exceed 30 million. Large companies and those in already regulated industries are exempt from filing. The actual filing is fairly simple, and the information is not public. Reporting has not been viewed as burdensome, although some companies have objected to being required to disclose ownership. At this time, FinCEN is still accepting filings, but we anticipate that few domestic companies will now elect to make the required filings. However, if your company has any foreign owners or is not a domestic (US) created entity, penalties and fines will still apply if the filing is not made. Further action…
Read MoreCorporate Transparency Act Beneficial Ownership Reporting: Compliance is Compulsory
November 25, 2024 | Carole Clark Isakson
Update December 19th, 2024 On December 3, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction in Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc., et al. v. Garland, enjoining the federal government from enforcing the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) and its reporting deadlines. On December 13, 2024, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed an Emergency Motion for Stay Pending Appeal in the Fifth Circuit requesting an expedited briefing schedule and a ruling “as soon as possible, but in any event no later than December 27, 2024, to ensure that regulated entities can be made aware of their obligation to comply before January 1, 2025.” Reporting companies should continue monitoring developments in the coming days in case the January 1, 2025 deadline for filing is reinstated. Ready. Congress passed the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) in 2020 as part of its initiative to crack down on illicit activities, such as money laundering, commonly associated with shell companies. Under the CTA, many entities formed or registered to do business in the United States will be required to report various information concerning their beneficial owners and decision-makers. The idea behind the law is to unmask the natural persons behind a given entity. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), under the direction of the United…
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