Blog By: Lauren K. Repa
Kentucky is known worldwide for its horse races, and betting on horse races is integral to Kentucky's culture and economy. In this blog, 2L Staffer Lauren K. Repa argues that the passing of House Bill 551 this past September, legalizing all sports betting, might put horse racing at risk, with betters flocking to other forms of gambling. However, not all is lost; Repa asserts AI apps such as EquinEdge might be the program Kentuckians need to keep horse racing alive with the passing of the new legislation.
Blog By: Antonio C. Ellzey
In this blog, 3L Antonio C. Ellzey points out that California Governor Newsom recently vetoed a pending California state law that aimed to address the dangers of gas appliances. Specifically, the new law would have required manufacturers to place warning labels on gas stoves to inform consumers of their health effects. Some say the new law would help build awareness around a hidden danger while others say the new would restrict Californians’ freedom. Ellzey believes the pending law would positively impact Californians because they can make better-informed decisions around their health and safety, which would ultimately help save lives.
Blog By: Stevi Whitman
In this blog, 3L staffer Stevi Whitman argues for the use of certification marks to promote authenticity within the whiskey industry by introducing the Estate Whiskey Alliance® (EWA). The EWA is a member led association spearheaded by UK Innovate at the University of Kentucky, the James B. Beam Institute, Marker’s Mark Distillery, and other founding members, tasked with ensuring quality standards of whiskey production, promoting the benefits of local sourcing, and advancing sustainability efforts throughout the whiskey industry through the use of certification marks.
Blog By: Phillip Burress
Kentucky is home to 100 distilleries in 42 counties and produces 95% of the world's bourbon. In this Blog, 3L Phillip Burress discusses the threat posed by "Whiskey Fungus" on Kentucky property owners and the legal challenges facing Kentucky distillers.
Blog By: Ashton Edwards
In this Blog, 3L Staffer Ashton Edwards argues that instead of staying silent on the issue, Congress should respond to the interstate commerce concerns that reside in the Prop 12, a proposition that was made law by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2023. Edwards discusses that so far, Congress has yet to address the arguments and concerns of Farmers, the Court, or citizens, even though this law arguably has a substantial impact on interstate commerce.
Contrary to recent social media panic, the Electronic Logging Device (ELD) mandate will not significantly impact horse owners. Only drivers that are already required to log their driving records under hours-of-service (HOS) and records of duty status (RODS) requirements will be impacted by the ELD mandate.
It is not often that a criminal appeal can change the face of American environmental law and change the jurisdiction of major environmental legislation. This is why anyone concerned with ecological diversity or clean water ought to be watching closely for the Supreme Court’s upcoming decision in United States v. Hughes. In particular, it may greatly decrease the regulatory scope of the Clean Water Act, which controls the discharge of pollutants into the “navigable waters” of the United States.
When religion and law are in conflict, what which takes precedent? This question has plagued nations since the dawn of democracy, but not necessarily the dawn of time, as Dan Murphy explained in his recent article on the topic. Murphy noted that unlike ancient monarchies or dictatorships, most modern democracies vow to separate church and state. This separation of religion and democracy has fostered disagreement and tension between people’s beliefs across a wide variety of topicsissues. One such of those topics issue is animal sacrifice.
Beyond the ongoing moral debate surrounding medical marijuana, Kentucky now faces a major financial crisis that is affecting the state’s pension system. Keeping the state's financial struggles in mind, it is time for Kentucky representatives to put aside their party preference and deliberate about the benefits legalizing medical marijuana will have on the economy.
Due to the catastrophic failures of all natural gas transportation methods, such as spillages and harmful chemicals escaping barrels, people are wary of new pipelines. Accordingly, there has been a recent, and large, controversy regarding the installation of the new pipeline, Atlantic Sunrise. Atlantic Sunrise runs through ten counties of Pennsylvania and will hopefully provide natural gas to southern states such as Alabama. The near $3 billion pipeline is threatened by activists who are protesting every step of construction, but the DC Circuit Court has refused to block the pipeline by dissolving an administrative stay on construction of the pipeline.
Biotechnology in the agriculture industry has been around for decades and has been regulated by the federal government since 1986. Agricultural biotechnology is a variety of tools utilized by farmers to manage and optimize production. With decades old biotechnology regulations and new approaches in gene editing (e.g., CRISPR) taking over the scientific community by storm and proving to be a powerful tool for the agriculture industry, the agencies have made multiple attempts to modernize the regulations of biotechnology within the past decade.
Secretary of Energy, Rick Perry, recently released a proposal that would guarantee profits to coal fired power plants that maintain 90 days of fuel on site as protection against the electricity grid failing. Secretary Perry’s suggestion that coal reserves are necessary to protect the electricity grid from failing is unsubstantiated given a recent report by the Rhodium Group which found that over the past five years only .00007% of major power disruptions nation-wide were due to fuel supply problems.
In 2016, after years of discussion and debate, the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Grain Inspection, Packers & Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) issued a final rule that would “make it easier for small contract farmers…to sue meat-packing or processing companies that engage in anticompetitive practices." In October 2017, however, the USDA withdrew the rule.
