Legislation + Regulation

  The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA’s) latest Airport Infrastructure Grant awards add $1.351 billion in near-term airport investment, creating a broad project pipeline that includes runway, taxiway, terminal and roadway work—areas where lighting and electrical systems are integral to safe, efficient operations. In August, the FAA announced $870 million for 339 airport projects in 44 [...]

  Illinois Governor JB Pritzker officially signed the Dark Sky Act legislation (Senate Bill 3037) on August 7, 2026, with the law scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027. Key Provisions of the Law Sponsored by State Senator Laura Ellman (D-Naperville), the Dark Sky Act expands upon previous environmental legislation to mitigate statewide light pollution: Statewide Expansion: The [...]

  The Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) $5.3 billion investment package incorporates lighting upgrades across its select passenger rail projects through on-board fleet modernizations, passenger station overhauls, and enhanced grade-crossing safety infrastructure. Administered under the National Railroad Partnership Program (NRPP), this funding covers 41 projects in 23 states. The critical allocations involving lighting enhancements include: Modernizing On-Board Fleet Systems ($2.05 [...]

  The Massachusetts legislature is considering a consequential public-outdoor-lighting proposal, similar to some other recent state laws. Massachusetts House Bill H.3494 and its Senate successor, S.3145, would tie state and municipal funding for new permanent outdoor lighting to tighter controls on spectral content, uplight, illuminance and system design, reshaping the specification conversation for roadway, parking, [...]

  July 24th, the American Lighting Association (ALA) published a Tariff Alert summarizing the latest Section 301 Tariffs put in place by the Trump Administration. The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has finalized a new tariff framework under Section 301 targeting 60 trading partners over forced labor enforcement. These new duties take effect immediately and [...]

  The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Sunshine Protection Act, last week, but the change is not law yet. The bill still needs Senate approval and a presidential signature before daylight saving time could become permanent. For the lighting industry, the bigger story is less about the clock change itself than about how a [...]

  The Trump Administration announced its decision not to renew USMCA in its current form. The move could potentially reshape sourcing, pricing, and supply-chain planning across North America. For lighting manufacturers, distributors, and specifiers, the key issue is not an immediate break in trade, but a decade-long review process that keeps the pact in force [...]

  Last week, the American Lighting Association (ALA) published a great update on extended producer responsibility (EPR) state laws: Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Laws: State-by-State Update Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws continue to expand across the United States, requiring producers to finance and support the collection, recycling and end-of-life management of packaging and certain products. [...]

  The U.S. legal marijuana industry posted its first national revenue decline in 2025, even though more states legalized cannabis, however federal rescheduling could help reverse the trend. The market still remained large, with 2025 sales at $29.1 billion and employment at 412,500 workers as of early 2026. Vangst and Whitney Economics found that the [...]