State and Local Government Law Commons^™

Federalism And The Rise Of Renewable Energy: Preserving State And Local Voices In The Green Energy Revolution, Daniel Lyons

Daniel Lyons

The rise of renewable energy has disrupted the traditional regulatory structure governing electricity. Unlike traditional fossil fuel power plants, wind and solar facilities are geographically constrained: they exist where the wind blows and the sun shines. Large-scale renewable energy is more likely to flow interstate, from resource-rich prairie and Southwestern states to energy-hungry population centers elsewhere. The difficulties of coordinating interstate electricity policies have led some to call for greater preemption of the states’ traditional duties as chief regulators of the electricity industry. But while preemption would eliminate some state-level roadblocks to interstate cooperation, it would sacrifice many of the …

Setting A New Standard For Public Education: Revision 6 Increases The Duty Of The State To Make ‘Adequate Provision’ For Florida Schools, Jon L. Mills, Timothy Mclendon

Jon L. Mills

Among the nine revisions proposed to Florida voters by the Constitution Revision Commission in 1998, Revision 6 fundamentally enhanced Florida's responsibility for public education. Revision 6 amended Article IX, Section 1, of the Florida Constitution, which sets forth the State's duty to provide for public education. Entitled “PUBLIC EDUCATION OF CHILDREN,” Revision 6 makes a declaration of the relative importance of education to the people of Florida, and describes as “paramount” the duty of the state to adequately provide for education. Revision 6 goes on to detail and raise the constitutional standard for what constitutes “adequate provision” for public education, …

How Should The Law Treat Roommate Relationships? A Tale Of Two Cases, Tim Iglesias

Tim Iglesias

The law of roommates is an important but underdeveloped area of landlord-tenant law. Two recent cases, Fair Hous. Council v. Roommate.com, 666 F.3d 1216 (9th Cir. 2012) and Mercury Cas. Co. v. Chu, 229 CA4th 1432 (2014), offer contrasting approaches. This article explores the issues, reviews the cases and favors the Mercury court's approach.

The Promises And Pitfalls Of Micro-Housing, Tim Iglesias

Tim Iglesias

This is a primer on the new and growing phenomenon of micro-housing. It defines micro-housing, discusses policy arguments and outlines regulatory issues.

Playing God: The Legality Of Plans Denying Scarce Resources To People With Disabilities In Public Health Emergencies, Wendy F. Hensel, Leslie E. Wolf

Leslie E. Wolf

Public health emergencies can arise in a number of different ways. They can follow a natural disaster, such as Hurricane Katrina, the 2004 tsunami, and the recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile. They may be man-made, such as the September 11 attacks and the anthrax scare. They may also be infectious. While no pandemic flu has yet reached the severity of the 1918 flu, there have been several scares, including avian flu and most recently H1N1. Few questions are more ethically or legally loaded than determining who will receive scarce medical resources in the event of a widespread public health …

Proposals For Revising Georgia's Probate Code, Mary F. Radford

Mary F. Radford

No abstract provided.

The Legal Status Of Women In Alabama, Ii: A Crazy Quilt Restitched, Marjorie F. Knowles

Marjorie F. Knowles

No abstract provided.

Schlemmer V. Fireman's Fund Insurance Co.: A Case For Rethinking Arkansas' Choice-Of-Law Rule For Interstate Torts, L. Lynn Hogue

L. Lynn Hogue

No abstract provided.

Playing God: The Legality Of Plans Denying Scarce Resources To People With Disabilities In Public Health Emergencies, Wendy F. Hensel, Leslie E. Wolf

Wendy F. Hensel

Public health emergencies can arise in a number of different ways. They can follow a natural disaster, such as Hurricane Katrina, the 2004 tsunami, and the recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile. They may be man-made, such as the September 11 attacks and the anthrax scare. They may also be infectious. While no pandemic flu has yet reached the severity of the 1918 flu, there have been several scares, including avian flu and most recently H1N1. Few questions are more ethically or legally loaded than determining who will receive scarce medical resources in the event of a widespread public health …

Review Of The Singapore Companies Act: Consultation On Draft Legislative Changes To Companies Act, Wai Yee Wan

Wai Yee WAN

In October 2013, MOF and ACRA sought further public consultation (“Second Consultation”) on the second part of the Draft Companies (Amendment) Bill 2013 that covers legislative amendments relating to foreign companies and other aspects of the Companies Act, including those relating to enhancing the powers of the Registrar of Companies to strike off companies and to share buyback limits. This note discusses some of the more controversial, as well as the significant, changes that are proposed in the Second Consultation.

Singapore's New Discretionary Death Penalty For Drug Couriers: Public Prosecutor V Chum Tat Suan, Siyuan Chen

Siyuan CHEN

The article offers information on the history, evolution and significance of the new discretionary death penalty legislation for drug couriers in Singapore under the application of the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA). It discusses the judicial decision of the Singaporean High Court in the case of Public Prosecutor v. Chum Tat Suan in which the Court convicted the accused with chareges of importing of more than 94.96g of diamorphine into Singapore that was punishable under section 33 of the MDA.

Sewer Syndicalism: Worker Self-Management In Public Services, Eric M. Fink

Eric M Fink

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, municipal governments in various US cities assumed responsibility for utilities and other services that previously had been privately operated. In the late twentieth century, prompted by fiscal crisis and encouraged by neo-liberal ideology, governments embraced the concept of “privatization,” shifting management and control over public services to private entities.

Despite disagreements over the merits of privatization, both proponents and opponents accept the premise of a fundamental distinction between the “public” and “private” sectors, and between “state” and “market” institutions. A more skeptical view questions the analytical soundness and practical significance of these …

Preventative Legislation Ensures Intended Parents Of Gestational Surrogacy Benefits Under The California Family Rights Act, Jennifer Jackson

Jennifer Jackson

We live in a rapidly evolving technological age, which now allows parents to enter surrogacy contracts. In such a world, the law often lags in catching up to technology and the ramifications that may ensue. This paper focuses on the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) and the consequences it has on surrogacy agreements and the rights intended parents. While the CFRA includes broad language as to the definition of a “child,” case law shows that surrogate born children may be unintentionally excluded. As a result, this paper analyzes the arguments both for and against revision to the CFRA and concludes …

Peering Into The Comcast-Netflix Deal, Daniel A. Lyons

Daniel Lyons

No abstract provided.

Amended Brief Of Professor Nancy Gertner And Professor Kent Greenfield As Amici Curiae In Support Of Plaintiff, Louisiana Municipal Police Employees' Retirement System V. The Hershey Company, C.A. No. 7996-Ml, Nancy Gertner, Kent Greenfield

Kent Greenfield

Amicus brief filed by Nancy Gertner and Kent Greenfield in the case of Louisiana Municipal Police Employees' Retirement System v. The Hershey Company, C.A. No. 7996-ML.

Book Review: Policing And The Poetics Of Everyday Life., Rodger E. Broome Phd

Rodger E. Broome

Policing and the poetics of everyday life. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2008. 256 pp. ISBN 978-0-252-03371-1 (cloth). $42.00. Policing and the Poetics of Everyday Life is a hermeneutical-aesthetic analysis within a human scientific approach of modern policing in the United States. It is an important study of police-citizen encounters informed by hermeneutic aesthetic thought and the author’s professional experience as a veteran with a Seattle area police department in Washington, USA.

A Fact Book On Proposition 2 1/2, Padraig O'Malley

Padraig O'Malley

In this age of inflation many tax reduction plans have been proposed throughout the nation. This November Massachusetts voters will vote on Proposition 2 1/2 - a tax reduction proposal sponsored by a coalition of citizens. This booklet describes the costs and benefits of Proposition 2 1/2 in an objective way, so that you can make an informed decision when you cast your vote. The University of Massachusetts' Center for Studies in Policy and the Public Interest and the Massachusetts Cooperative Extension Service believe that when you have access to unbiased information you will make better decisions and participate more …

The Massachusetts Fiscal System: Structure And Performance, Padraig O'Malley, Raymond G. Torto

Padraig O'Malley

On November 4, 1980 the citizens of Massachusetts, by a vote of 59% to 41%, resoundingly endorsed a tax reduction plan known as Proposition 2 1/2. All communities in the Commonwealth were faced with an immediate reduction in their local revenues due to the immediate cut in the excise tax that Proposition 2 1/2 called for, and up to 130 communities will have to implement a 15% reduction in their tax levies for FY 1982. Already there are protestations from many local officials that they cannot make the required tax cuts without severely reducing the level of local services. The …

Sharing Public Safety Helicopters, Henry H. Perritt Jr.

Henry H. Perritt, Jr.

No abstract provided.

California Egg Toss - The High Costs Of Avoiding Unenforceable Surrogacy Contracts, Jennifer Jackson

Jennifer Jackson

In an emotionally charged decision regarding surrogacy contracts, it is important to recognize the ramifications, costs, and policy. There are advantages to both “gestational carrier surrogacy” contracts and “traditional surrogacy” contracts. However, this paper focuses on the differences between these contracts using case law. Specifically, this paper will focus on the implications of California case law regarding surrogacy contracts. Cases such as Johnson v. Calvert and In Re Marriage of Moschetta provide a clear distinction between these contracts. This distinction will show that while gestational carrier surrogacy contracts are more expensive, public policy and court opinions will provide certainty and …

Grounding Drones: Big Brother’S Tool Box Needs Regulation Not Elimination, Melanie M. Reid

Melanie M. Reid

One of the most significant contemporary issues in privacy law relates to law enforcement’s new domestic surveillance tool: unmanned aerial vehicles, also known as, drones. Law enforcement’s use of aerial surveillance as an investigatory tool is currently under attack. In the past, if law enforcement chose to follow a suspect throughout the day, either on the ground or in the air, they need not worry about seeking a warrant or determining whether probable cause or reasonable suspicion exists to justify their surveillance. Aerial surveillance of criminal suspects has been considered outside the protections of Fourth Amendment law. In the 1980’s, …

No Surfing Allowed: A Review And Analysis Of Legislation Prohibiting Employers From Demanding Access To Employees’ And Job Applicants’ Social Media Accounts, Robert Sprague

Robert Sprague

This article examines recent state legislation prohibiting employers from requesting username and password information from employees and job applicants in order to access restricted portions of those employees’ and job applicants’ personal social media accounts. This article raises the issue of whether this legislation is even needed, from both practical and legal perspectives, focusing on: (a) how prevalent the practice is of requesting employees’ and job applicants’ social media access information; (b) whether alternative laws already exist which prohibit employers from requesting employees’ and job applicants’ social media access information; and (c) whether any benefits can be derived from this …

Amicus Brief On Behalf Of The Leo T. Mccarthy Center For Public Service And The Common Good And 44 Housing Scholars To California Supreme Court In California Building Industry Association V. City Of San Jose (S212072), Tim Iglesias, David Rusk, Jan Breidenbach, Nico Calavita, Steven Menendian, John A. Powell, Ofurhe Arnica Igbinedion, Samir Gambhir, Eli Moore

john a. powell

The briefs of other parties in the litigation emphasized inclusionary zoning’s goal of increasing the supply of affordable housing. This brief focuses on inclusionary zoning’s goal of promoting social inclusion and integration by locating affordable housing in the right location. The brief explains how economic and racial segregation deny equality of opportunity to low and moderate income families because segregation limits their potential for economic and social mobility by restricting access to the primary means of mobility, e.g. employment and education. Drawing from a wide array of empirical and other studies the brief demonstrates how inclusionary zoning is an effective …

Defining “Family” For Zoning: Contemporary Policy Challenges, Legal Limits And Options, Tim Iglesias

Tim Iglesias

Single family zones are ubiquitous, diversely-defined and both popular and controversial. Much of the controversy stems from who is excluded from living in these zones by the definition of “family.” After reviewing single family zones, policy rationales for them, and the basic types of definitions of family, this article surveys contemporary policy challenges and legal limits to definitions of “family.” Recognizing localities’ diverse contexts, the article articulates how localities can reassess their definitions and identifies relevant considerations.

Fairness, Equity, And A Level Playing Field: Development Goals For The Resilient City, Christopher K. Odinet

Christopher K. Odinet

In the wake of the Great Recession and in the midst of a political climate that endorses the devolution of governmental power to more localized levels there has been a resurgence in recent years of the idea of the city as the center of American life. Competition between cities in capturing economic development projects has become palpable. Success can lead to job creation and growth, private investment, and, importantly, increased tax revenues. Cities often compete with one another by each offering their own package of public incentives. In the waning hours of negotiations hundreds of millions of public dollars can …

State Constitutions And The Basic Structure Doctrine, Manoj Mate

Manoj S. Mate