Lawmakers and stakeholders within the business industry are at odds over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) rule to collect data on small business loan recipients. Proponents of the rule argue that it will allow for more equitable lending practices, while opponents argue that the rule constitutes a privacy breach and administrative burden. The CFPB’s 1071 rule specifically requires financial institutions to submit information about the race, ethnicity and gender of small business loan recipients. It also requires information on lending decisions and the price of credit. The bureau argued that greater data collection “will give investors and lenders more…

The House of Representatives passed legislation in September to try and stop states from banning or limiting the sale of gas-powered cars. The Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act (H.R. 1435) passed by a 222-190 vote, with Republicans largely in favor, and is a reaction to California’s 2022 mandate that all new cars sold in the state after 2035 must be zero-emission vehicles, though the bill did not mention California or its mandate specifically. The state’s air resources board acknowledged that the move is “aggressive” and described its timeline to eliminate new gas-powered car sales by 2035 as “ambitious but…