The Securities Edge provides an overview of how securities law impacts middle market companies. Topics include IPOs, private placements and disclosure issues for public companies.

The declaration of a state of emergency by the governor extends permits and other approval dates for 60 days while the declaration is in effect, plus an additional six months.

A developer or landowner who is eligible for this extension must notify the authorizing agency in writing by December 31, 2012 of the intent to use the extension.

On June 29, the Southern District Court of Appeals found that the Firearm Owners’ Privacy Act, signed into Florida law in June of 2011, improperly restricts commercial free speech.

ICE advises that it has streamlined its certification process for employer participation in its IMAGE program (ICE Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers).

Employers should be aware of the following significant requirements now that the Affordable Care Act has been decided upon by the U.S. Supreme Court.

This opinion will now force states, including the state of Florida, to make a determination whether to accept the Medicaid expansion or decline the same. If the Affordable Care Act remains the law of the land, the Florida legislature will likely debate the issue.

On June 15 2012, the Obama Administration announced that it will exercise prosecutorial discretion through the deferral of removal proceedings or the granting of relief from removal from the U.S. for certain young people who were brought to the U.S. as children, who do not present a risk to national security or public safety, and who meet several key criteria.

On June 14, the First District Court of Appeal issued an opinion on the subject of the “third party” and “innocent purchaser” defenses, two of the statutory defenses that provide relief from responsibility for cleanup of contaminated property.