Latest ruling halts Corporate Transparency Act – again

Farmers no longer facing January deadline to file with feds

Farmers don’t have to worry about a January deadline to file beneficial ownership information with the federal government. In a last-minute reprieve for more than 230,000 farming operations, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled reporting requirements of the Corporate Transparency Act are now delayed indefinitely until legal challenges to the law can be heard.

The appellate court’s decision to delay enforcement reverses it’s Dec. 23 decision allowing the law to go into effect. That ruling overturned a Texas federal judge’s Dec. 3 decision halting the law.

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall called the legal back and forth “court ordered whiplash.” Still, he says the Farm Bureau appreciates the court’s recognition that a last-minute reinstatement of the reporting requirements caused an unwelcome scramble for farmers and other small businesses.

“The latest court decision to postpone the filing requirement is the right thing to do, but the legal back and forth created a stressful holiday season for many farm families,” Duvall says. “Lack of guidance and poor public outreach from the government have left many farmers in the dark about whether they’re expected to file.”

If the law had gone into effect, impacted farmers could have faced felony charges, more than $10,000 in fines and even prison time. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association was among the farm groups lobbying for the delay. NCBA sent a Christmas Eve letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urging her to halt Corporate Transparency Act enforcement.

While happy with the appellate court reprieve, NCBA executive director of government affairs Kent Bacus notes his organization still wants Congress to enact legislation shielding cattle farmers and ranchers from what he considers to be a “burdensome mandate.”

“These court rulings have gone back and forth and continue to add to confusion,” Bacus says. “NCBA urges all cattle producers to consult with their attorney and/or tax professional for the latest information.”

Changes to Texas hunting, fishing regulations

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) announced several changes to hunting and fishing regulations for the 2024-2025 season.

“The big thing for hunters to know during the 2024-2025 season is we did change some regulations,” Shaun Oldenburger, TPWD Small Game Program director, said. “There was a big change for turkey hunters, not so much in the fall, but for the spring where a majority of the harvest will have mandatory reporting now.”

Each change in regulation is recommended by TPWD after the agency analyzes populations and other factors that may impact wildlife.

“Texas Parks and Wildlife Department looks at annual changes to regulations. Sometimes, we are mandated to by federal regulations,” Oldenburger said. “We follow harvest strategies and a lot of times there are regulations both liberalizations on some seasons and then also restrictions on other species on annual basis. And dates do change sometimes with some species.”

Chronic wasting disease

• Learn more information on current zone boundaries, requirements and dates and hours of operation of check stations.

Carcass disposal

• New regulations are in place for statewide carcass disposal of deer.

Doe days

• “Doe days” expanded in 43 counties in the Post Oak Savannah and Pineywoods ecoregions. Find a county.

Youth-only seasons

• Fall youth-only seasons expanded to include Friday for white-tailed deer, squirrels and wild turkeys.

Wild turkey

• Mandatory harvest reporting within 24 hours of harvest is now required for all wild turkeys harvested in all counties during all seasons.
• Updates were made to wild turkey season closures, bag limits and season dates in specific counties. Find a county.

Light geese

• Changes to light geese regulations include removal of the Light Goose Conservation Order.
• During the regular light goose season, there is a daily bag limit of five in the aggregate and possession limit of three times the daily bag.

Federal Duck Stamp

• Digital federal duck stamps are now available.
• Starting during the 2024-25 hunting season, federal duck stamps either printed on physical licenses or validated on digital licenses meet the requirements for the entire waterfowl hunting season. Physical federal duck stamps will be sent to the purchaser’s designated mailing address after March 10, 2025.

Spotted Seatrout

• The daily bag limit is three, with a minimum length of 15″ and a maximum length of 20″ for spotted seatrout.
• During a license year, one spotted seatrout over 28″ may be retained when affixed with a properly completed Spotted Seatrout Tag and an additional spotted seatrout over 28″ with a Bonus Spotted Seatrout Tag.

“It is important that outdoorsmen know the regulations for simple things,” Oldenburger said. “We see some big tickets from our hunters in Texas not having the right licenses and hunter safety. Get your licenses and make sure you have the correct licenses and double check regulations. Spend five or 10 minutes on our website before you go to the field to make sure you’re ready and you’re legal.”

For more information on season dates and regulations, visit tpwd.texas.gov.