IMLA

Telecom Webinar
2026-01-13 13:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York)
Robocall Me Maybe? The Remix: How to Comply with Federal Law when your City Makes Automated Calls and Texts
As cities seek to streamline processes and efficiently utilize funds in continually decreasing budgets, automated phone calls and text messages (“robocalls” and “robotexts”) may appear to be a cost‐effective option to communicate with citizens. This presentation discusses the applicable federal laws and regulations that govern automated calls, including the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) Broadnet Order on Reconsideration in 2020, the FCC’s rule updates in 2023, and recent court cases. Additionally, this presentation describes practical considerations and best practices for cities to ensure compliance with federal law when contacting citizens by automated calls and texts, including those related to telephone town halls, municipal court cases, and water utility service.
Speaker: David Johnson

ADA Website Compliance Webinar – Free Live For IMLA Members
2026-01-15 13:00 - 14:00
New Federal Rule for Digital Accessibility
CLE available to Kitchen Sink Subscribers and in some cases to others but fees may apply.
Learn more about the fast-approaching, digital compliance requirement for all government entities and special districts. How will this impact your cities websites, online documents, and mobile applications? Unwrap the minimum accessibility standard, what it means to cities, common pitfalls, and helpful resources for accomplishing compliance.
Speaker: Zack Looney, Megan Griffith & Kara Coustry

Jail Administration Webinar
2026-01-22 13:00 - 14:30
Inmate Litigation – Techniques for Using the Prison Litigation Reform Act
In this presentation, we will cover the background of the PLRA, and explore multiple ways that the PLRA can be used to successfully defend inmate litigation. We will look at procedural hurdles, limitations on recovery, and the critical importance of having a well-crafted inmate grievance process.
Speaker: Elmer Dickens

Environmental Law/Compliance Webinar
2026-01-27 13:00 - 14:00
Navigating NEPA and ESA Compliance in a Changing Landscape
This panel of environmental law experts will unpack recent and proposed changes to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA). With a new focus on streamlining and flexibility, Federal reforms are reshaping timelines, processes, and standards. Municipal agencies face new challenges and opportunities in land use planning, infrastructure development, water supply planning, and conservation.
Speaker: Gary M. Gold & Joseph Manalili

Election Law Webinar
2026-01-29 13:00 - 14:00
Election Law 2026: Legal Challenges and Readiness for the Midterms
The 2026 mid-term elections are fast approaching amidst a continually changing environment of Presidential Executive Orders, litigation affecting voting rights and procedures, and concerns regarding the security of the nation’s election infrastructure. While elections are generally the purview of states and localities, we will discuss federal-level legal issues that may affect how elections are conducted nationwide, as well as legal and administrative strategies to prepare for challenges to election administration and the integrity of election results. We will also cover legal issues related to redistricting, voter rolls, and cybersecurity.
Speaker: Mike Haas

Environmental Law/PFAS Webinar – Free Live For IMLA Members
2026-02-03 13:00 - 14:00
Product Liability Law: Legal Strategies to Help Close Funding Gaps for PFAS and Perchlorate Contamination
CLE available to Kitchen Sink Subscribers and in some cases to others but fees may apply.
This webinar will provide an overview of how legal action against polluting chemical manufacturers is providing significant funding for municipalities nationwide. Ken Sansone will first provide a brief update on state and federal standards for contaminants in drinking water, wastewater, and biosolids, including the impact of recent changes to federal PFAS policy, with a focus on the anticipated challenges and costs for local governments. The webinar will also address recent federal regulatory updates for perchlorate, another water contaminant. Then, Ken will discuss how municipalities affected by contamination have used product liability law to pursue legal action against the manufacturers responsible for pollution, referencing case studies from cities that recovered funds in 2025 through the PFAS drinking water settlements. Ken will explain the full legal process used in these cases, from initial detection of contaminants to the receipt of compensation. Attendees will gain a greater understanding of how legal strategies may help local governments close funding gaps.
Speaker: Ken Sansone

ESA Law Webinar
2026-02-05 13:00 - 14:30
Emotional Support Animal and Compliance Webinar
Municipalities are facing more emotional support animal requests than ever, whether in a Public Housing Agency, Section 8 and other voucher housing, animal welfare reports, or removal/ euthanasia of dangerous animals.
An estimated 60-90% of Emotional Support Animal and Psychiatric Service Dog letters for housing accommodation under Section 504 and the Fair Housing Act are invalid or fraudulent. HUD’s 2013 Assistance Animal guidelines provided a map for international website owners and unethical medical practitioners to create “internet letter mills” that immediately send Emotional Support Animal Letters after a credit card entry, sometimes after a perfunctory phone or video call. There is no medical examination with personal knowledge nor ongoing medical therapy requiring an assistance animal. To combat pervasive fraud, HUD issued 2020 guidelines and asked the FTC to investigate this internet disability fraud, but the FTC declined to do so. The result was more proliferation of fraudulent ESA disability letters.
After the Supreme Court case of Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (2024), courts began to interpret FHA statutes and codes instead of precedents based on HUD guidelines or other disability laws. In September 2025, HUD withdrew its guidelines. (Note: HUD still has not updated its website to reflect the current state of the law.)
The risks of accommodating a fraudulent request may be just as high as denying a valid request. Requests must be considered on a case-by-case basis, and use of a third-party internet verification service may violate the Fair Housing Act. Thus, municipalities should remain the primary arbiters of ESA letter validity and attorneys should update their animal policies and training.
Federal assistance animal accommodation is a creation of law that stems from ethical medical clinicians who examine humans and treat with therapy using an animal. A request also requires an examination of the animal by a person competent to document that a specific animal alleviates a substantially limited major life activity (caring for one’s self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, working, etc.).
Speakers: Teresa Martinez, Zenithson Ng & William D. Goren

Airport Law Webinar – Free Live For IMLA Members
2026-02-10 13:00 - 14:00
Airport Law for Municipal Governments
CLE available to Kitchen Sink Subscribers and in some cases to others but fees may apply.
This CLE webinar provides municipal attorneys with a practical overview of airport law issues facing local governments that own or operate public-use airports. The program will cover core federal and state regulatory frameworks, including FAA grant assurances, compliance and enforcement trends, land-use compatibility, and risk-management considerations for both large and small airports. The webinar will also introduce the Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP), highlighting how municipal lawyers can leverage ACRP reports and research to inform policy decisions, support airport operations, and address emerging legal and operational challenges. This session emphasizes real-world applications and best practices for major airports and local county airports.
Speaker: Timothy Ravich & Jordan Christensen

Land Use/Zoning Webinar
2026-02-11 13:00 - 14:00
Pickleball Courts and Zoning
Too often cities are becoming embroiled in raucous public meetings, adverse publicity, and lawsuits due to conflict between pickleball players and residential neighbors. We will review the rapid growth and genuine benefits of pickleball as a recreation for your city. We give a brief introduction to acoustic sciences and why this noise is different from tennis and genuinely annoying to the neighbors. The shortfalls in the typical noise enforcement ordinances are explained, as well as why pickleball noise is so difficult to quantify with a decibel meter. We will review litigation examples around the county as municipalities defend themselves from poor planning choices. We discuss the range of costly and difficult after-the-fact mitigation solutions such as noise barrier walls, limiting hours of play, and attempts to mandate quiet equipment. We review some of the zoning, planning, and permitting ordinances adopted in recent years and since the previous webinar on this subject, as cities learn to avoid a problem that is so difficult to correct once the mistake has been made.
Speakers: Charles Leahy & Kathleen Romito

Federal Funding Webinar
2026-02-18 13:00 - 14:00
Federal Funding: Navigating a Changing Landscape, Winter Update
Local governments across the United States are working to understand the implications of recent Executive Orders and other federal agency actions related to federal funding. This panel will summarize ongoing litigation, federal agency directives, and best practices for localities navigating this changing landscape.
Speaker: Michael Gaffney & Ana Schwab

Wellness/Ethics Webinar
2026-03-03 13:00 - 14:30
The Care & Upkeep of the Government Lawyer: Wellness at Work
Join Zee Bishop, senior counsel for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, as she shares wisdom from her time running her office’s wellness program to help listeners create a better balance between their careers and their own well-being. Zee will also cover where ethics and wellness overlap and address model rules 1.1, 1.3, 1.4, 1.15, 5.1, 5.3, and conflict rules in this presentation.
Speaker: Zee Bishop

First Amendment Webinar
2026-03-11 13:00 - 14:00
Audit or Ambush? Legal Strategies for Navigating First Amendment Audits
Audit or Ambush? Legal Strategies for Navigating First Amendment Audits examines the growing trend of individuals who record government facilities and public officials under the guise of “First Amendment audits” and the legal, operational, and reputational risks these encounters present for municipalities. Designed for municipal attorneys and government counsel, this webinar provides a practical legal framework for assessing First Amendment protections, time-place-and-manner restrictions, and common constitutional pitfalls that lead to litigation. Participants will gain actionable strategies for advising municipal clients, coordinating with law enforcement and frontline staff, and reducing exposure while preserving constitutional rights in an era of constant recording and online scrutiny.
Speaker: Eric Daigle

Land Use Webinar
2026-03-12 13:00 - 14:00
Zoning Regulation of Group Homes and Residential Recovery Facilities: Lawful Techniques and Litigation Risks
Local governments increasingly face complex zoning questions involving group homes, residential recovery facilities, and other non-traditional residential uses. These matters sit at the intersection of local land-use authority, federal and state fair housing laws, disability rights protections, and evolving enforcement priorities, making them among the most legally sensitive zoning issues municipalities face.
This webinar examines lawful zoning techniques available to local governments when regulating group homes and residential recovery facilities, with a focus on how to structure zoning codes and enforcement practices that withstand legal scrutiny. The session will address the Fair Housing Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and related state law requirements.
Speakers: Mary (Molly) Costello & Leonard Reuter

Animal Law/Land Use Webinar
2026-05-19 13:00 - 14:00
Pet-Inclusive Ordinances & Policies That Keep pets With Their People and Save Tax Dollars
Housing is one of the main reasons why pets are relinquished to animal shelters. Pet restrictions, pet-related fees, and skyrocketing pet rent can also contribute to the unhoused, since most American view pets as family members and refuse to give them up. Housing pets in municipal animal shelters is extremely costly and sometimes tragic. Learn how cities and states are enacting ordinances, laws, and policies to increase pet-inclusive housing that also has financial benefit can prove lucrative for housing providers.
Speaker: Ledy VanKavage & Ross Barker

Public Comment Webinar
2026-08-04 13:00 - 14:00
Public Comment: The Good, The Bad, And The Legal
As Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) from the show Parks and Rec humorously stated: “What I hear when I’m being yelled at [during a public meeting] is people caring loudly at me.” This presentation will explore the benefits of public comment, some of the issues commonly associated with public comment, and what you can do to address those issues.
The webinar will provide local government attorneys with practical guidance on managing public comment in a manner that complies with the First Amendment, open meetings laws, and due process requirements. Topics will include permissible time, place, and manner restrictions, viewpoint neutrality, handling disruptive or abusive speakers, and best practices for advising elected officials and staff in real time.
Speaker: Todd Sheeran & Neal Falgoust
