Business Commons^™

A Bona Fide Dispute: Can Bankrupt Debtors Sell Assets Free And Clear Of Federal Civil Forfeiture Claims?, Joseph Peter Gomez

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

Auctions are wheeling-dealing extravaganzas in which frenzies of bidders fight over shiny objects. What would happen if the government busted down the doors of the auction house, took the shiny objects, and sold them online? An asset sale through section 363(b) of the Bankruptcy Code provides a court-supervised opportunity to maximize economic value for the bankruptcy estate. To sell estate assets, the debtor must either (1) pay off each creditor holding an interest in the assets or (2) strip the creditor’s interest and attach it to the proceeds of the sale. When the government asserts a civil forfeiture claim against …

Blacking Out Congressional Insider Trading: Overlaying A Corporate Mechanism Upon Members Of Congress And Their Staff To Curtail Illegal Profiting, Nicholas Gervasi

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

Congressional insider trading involves members of Congress or their staff trading on material, nonpublic information attained while executing their official responsibilities. This type of private profit-making, while in a government role, casts doubt on the efficacy and impartiality of lawmakers to regulate companies they hold shares of. Egregious acts of illegal profiting from insider trading based on information entrusted to the government escape prosecution and liability due to fundamental gaps in the common law and the Congress specific statutes lack enforcement. Recent calls on Congress by the public and multiple bipartisan proposed bills in both chambers have begun to address …

Ideological Boundaries Of Status Advantages: Legislative Effectiveness In The House Of Representatives In The United States Congress, Francois Collet, Gianluca Carnabuci, Gokhan Ertug, Tengjian Zou

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Prior research assumes that high-status actors have greater organizational influence than lower-status ones, that is, it is easier for the former to get their ideas and initiatives adopted by the organization than it is for the latter. Drawing from the literature on ideology, we posit that the status-influence link is contingent on actors’ ideological position. Specifically, status confers organizational influence to the degree that the focal actor is ideologically mainstream. The more an actor’s ideology deviates from the mainstream the less will her status translate into increased organizational influence. We find support for this hypothesis using data on the work …

The Status Of Women In Utah Politics: A 2021 Update, Hannah Payne, Marin Christensen, Susan R. Madsen

Marketing and Strategy Faculty Publications

The Utah Women & Leadership Project (UWLP) began reporting on the status of women in Utah politics in 2014, with updates in 2017 and now 2021. The first series of reports in 2014 were initially prompted by the Center for American Progress report titled “The State of Women in America: A 50-State Analysis of How Women Are Faring Across the Nation” that ranked Utah last in terms of women being in positions of decision making and leadership. Soon after, a series of other national reports also ranked Utah poorly, and most used the following four criteria: 1) gender wage gap, …

A False Sense Of Security: How Congress And The Sec Are Dropping The Ball On Cryptocurrency, Tessa E. Shurr

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Today, companies use blockchain technology and digital assets for a variety of purposes. This Comment analyzes the digital token. If the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) views a digital token as a security, then the issuer of the digital token must comply with the registration and extensive disclosure requirements of federal securities laws.

To determine whether a digital asset is a security, the SEC relies on the test that the Supreme Court established in SEC v. W.J. Howey Co. Rather than enforcing a statute or agency rule, the SEC enforces securities laws by applying the Howey test on a fact-intensive …

Politically Connected Governments, Christine Cuny, Jungbae Kim, Mihir N. Mehta

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

This paper examines the consequences of powerful political connections for local governments. We find that governments located within the constituencies of, and thus connected to, powerful congressional members reduce their stewardship over public resources. Using plausibly exogenous declines in the power of congressional representation, we show that the effect is causal. To better understand why connected local governments can reduce stewardship, we study electoral characteristics. Our findings suggest that the increased resources that come with powerful congressional representation allow local‐government officials to reduce stewardship without material adverse effects on their reelection prospects. In sum, we provide evidence of a cost …

The Status Of Women In Utah Politics: Congress, Statewide Executive Offices, And The State Legislature, Susan R. Madsen, D. Candice Pierucci

Marketing and Strategy Faculty Publications

A host of national reports and media (e.g., Chu & Posner, 2013) in the past decade have ranked Utah last or near last in terms of women being in positions of decision making and leadership, and women in Utah politics is foundational to this issue. Raising awareness of the reasons why this is the case is critical to social change efforts focused on improving the representation of women in political roles within the state. Women serving in public office within the state of Utah have positive implications for women’s health. Research shows that when more women are involved in decision-making …

Shareholders United?, Andrew K. Jennings

Faculty Articles

Securities regulation has a way of crossing into other lanes. What public companies do is substantive regulation. How they govern themselves while doing it-or more importantly, how they disclose it-is securities regulation. So it is no surprise that the perennial concern over regulating money in politics should also become a question of federal securities regulation. The Shareholders United Act (the "Act")-passed by the House of Representatives as part of House Bill 1, an early, major piece of legislation in the 116th Congress-does just that. The Act would require that before engaging in political spending, public companies poll shareholders on how …

Insider Trading And The Stock Act Amendment, Josh Wilson

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

On April 2, 2012, Congress passed the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act. The purpose of this legislation was to enhance transparency among the financial investments of Congress members, congressional staffers, and other government employees. One year later, an amendment was passed which no longer required staffers or government employees to publish their holdings online citing “national security”. Treating this event as a natural experiment, I examine whether insider trading occurred in the days leading up to and through the signing of the law by President Obama. In general, I find that portfolios of the 50 most commonly held …

Strategic Diversity In Union Political Action: Implications For The 1992 House Elections, Richard W. Hurd, Jeffrey E. Sohl

Richard W Hurd

[Excerpt] The purpose of this paper is to explore labor's strategic options in the 1992 elections. We will focus on House races because the diversity in political strategies among unions is most apparent there. However, our conclusions will have broader implications for union activity in elections at all levels of government. In evaluating the situation we will consider the impact of redistricting on labor's alternatives. We should note that recent developments have made many union political operatives more optimistic. The upset victory by populist Democrat Harris Wofford in the special Senate election in Pennsylvania, the eventual compromises on civil rights …

The Report Of The Commission On Immigration Reform (I.E. The Jordan Commission): A Beacon For Real Immigration Reform, Vernon Briggs

Vernon M Briggs Jr

[Excerpt] The immigration policy of the United States is steeped in legal complexities and is considered to be so politically combustible that most politicians are loathe to address the issue unless circumstances absolutely require them to act. In those instances when extant policies have become so incongruent with prevailing national interests that public pressure can no longer be ignored, the reform process has usually been preceded by the formation by Congress of a national commission or congressional panel to study the needs and to frame the appropriate policy responses before the professional politicians will touch the subject. Indeed, one would …

The Report Of The Commission On Immigration Reform (I.E. The Jordan Commission): A Beacon For Real Immigration Reform, Vernon Briggs

Vernon M Briggs Jr

[Excerpt] The immigration policy of the United States is steeped in legal complexities and is considered to be so politically combustible that most politicians are loathe to address the issue unless circumstances absolutely require them to act. In those instances when extant policies have become so incongruent with prevailing national interests that public pressure can no longer be ignored, the reform process has usually been preceded by the formation by Congress of a national commission or congressional panel to study the needs and to frame the appropriate policy responses before the professional politicians will touch the subject. Indeed, one would …

The Unjustified Subsidy: Sovereign Wealth Funds The Foreign Sovereign Tax Exemption, Jennifer Bird-Pollan

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

The taxation of Sovereign Wealth Funds in the United States is outmoded and due for reconsideration. Offering a tax exemption to the billion dollar investment funds owned by foreign governments is both unfair and ineffective. Founded in the principles of sovereign immunity, the foreign sovereign tax exemption, codified in I.R.C. § 892, fails to satisfy the Congressional goals that motivated its creation. This Article explains the current taxation of foreign sovereigns and, by extension, Sovereign Wealth Funds. It then illustrates that the current exemption is simultaneously too broad, providing a tax exemption for activities that are clearly nongovernmental activities, and …

Federal Earmarks In The State Of Georgia, Jeffrey Lazarus

Georgia Journal of Public Policy

Earmarks have been controversial ever since becoming a prominent part of the congressional spending process. Critics charge that earmarks fund projects with little or no economic value (for instance Ted Stevens’ “Bridge to Nowhere,”) but instead allow Congress members to direct government spending to campaign contributors (the charge leading to a federal investigation of the now-defunct lobbying firm PMA Group). On the other side of the controversy, congressional earmarks do fund a number of community improvements which are very valuable, at least locally. In Georgia, the fiscal 2010 appropriations bills included earmarks which allocated $450,000 to update College Park’s emergency …

The Nba And The Single Entity Defense: A Better Case?, Michael A. Mccann

Law Faculty Scholarship

This Article will explore the relationship between the National Basketball Association, its independently-owned teams, and associated corporate entities, including the Women’s NBA, NBA Properties, NBA Developmental League, NBA China, and single entity analysis under section 1 of the Sherman Act. Section 1 chiefly aims to prevent competitors from combining their economic power in ways that unduly impair competition or harm consumers, be it in terms of raised prices, diminished quality, or limited choices. Single entities are exempt from section 1 because they are considered “one,” rather than competitors, and thus their collaboration does not implicate anticompetitive concerns.

In American Needle …

American Needle V. Nfl: An Opportunity To Reshape Sports Law, Michael Mccann

Law Faculty Scholarship

This Feature will explore American Needle, Inc. v. NFL and its potential impact on professional sports in the United States. In August 2008, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that the National Football League (NFL) and its teams operate as a “single entity” for purposes of apparel sales. Because a single entity cannot conspire with itself, it cannot violate Section 1 of the Sherman Act, which prohibits concerted action that unreasonably restrains trade. The U.S. Supreme Court recently granted a writ of certiorari and will review American Needle in its 2009-2010 Term. As this Feature …

Academic Discourse And Proprietary Rights: Putting Patents In Their Proper Place, Margo A. Bagley

Faculty Articles

This Article provides a fresh perspective on the Bayh-Dole debate by focusing on the impact of patent novelty rules on academic discourse. The Article proposes that to begin to reverse an observed deterioration in disclosure norms, flexibilities must be built into the patent system so that patents can be facilitators of the academic knowledge dissemination enterprise. In particular, the Article advocates creation of an opt-in extended grace period that would provide more time for academic researchers to publish and present early-stage research before having to file a patent application. Such an extension, coupled with early application publication, would both address …

Agenda Setting, Issue Priorities, And Organizational Maintenance: The U.S. Supreme Court, 1955 To 1994, Jeff L. Yates, Andrew B. Whitford, William Gillespie

Jeff L Yates

In this study, we examine agenda setting by the U.S. Supreme Court, and ask the question of why the Court allocates more or less of its valuable agenda space to one policy issue over others. Our study environment is the policy issue composition of the Court's docket: the Court's attention to criminal justice policy issues relative to other issues. We model the Court's allocation of this agenda space as a function of internal organizational demands and external political signals. We find that this agenda responds to the issue priorities of the other branches of the federal government and the public. …

Proposed Legislation On Short Term Time Off In The 108th Congress, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Charts and Summaries of State, U.S., and Foreign Laws and Regulations

No abstract provided.

Legislation Proposed In The 108th Congress Relating To The Family And Medical Leave Act, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Charts and Summaries of State, U.S., and Foreign Laws and Regulations

No abstract provided.

Market Solutions To Public Recreation Finance: Creating User-Supported Parks, Donald R. Leal

Outdoor Recreation: Promise and Peril in the New West (Summer Conference, June 8-10)

11 pages.

Contains 1 page of references.

Market Solutions To Public Recreation Finance: The Texas State Parks Example, Donald R. Leal

Outdoor Recreation: Promise and Peril in the New West (Summer Conference, June 8-10)

11 pages.

Contains 1 page of references.

Agenda: Outdoor Recreation: Promise And Peril In The New West, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center, Colorado. Bureau Of Land Management

Outdoor Recreation: Promise and Peril in the New West (Summer Conference, June 8-10)

Co-sponsored by the Natural Resources Law Center and the Colorado Bureau of Land Management.

The conference will explore several components of the “promise and peril” of the ongoing outdoor recreation explosion. The conference will begin on the morning of June 8 with a series of introductory presentations designed to place the outdoor recreation movement in a useful historical and socioeconomic context. This material will be followed in the afternoon session by a discussion of environmental impacts of outdoor recreation, recognizing that the diversity and magnitude of impacts is as broad as the industry itself. This discussion will be followed on …

Federal Lands Leasing Policy In The Second Reagan Administration, Robert F. Burford

Public Lands Mineral Leasing: Issues and Directions (Summer Conference, June 10-11)

11 pages.

Federal/State Relations In Theory And Practice: A Sovereignty Mismatch, Charles T. Dumars

Western Water Law in Transition (Summer Conference, June 3-5)

12 pages.

Contains footnotes.

The Endangered Species Act And Western Water Projects, Lawrence J. Macdonnell

Western Water Law in Transition (Summer Conference, June 3-5)

20 pages.

Contains references.

Financing Water Projects: Where Do We Go From Here?, Henry P. Caulfield, Jr.

Western Water Law in Transition (Summer Conference, June 3-5)

16 pages.

Written And Oral Testimony Before United States Senate Committee On Veterans Affairs, C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

These documents contain Pollard's written and oral testimony before the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs concerning OMB Circular A-76. In them, he urges Congress to adopt an alternative (i.e. ServiceMaster) to the in-house cleaning programs utilized by VA hospitals.