State and Local Government Law Commons^™

Slides: Best Management Practices For Oil And Gas Development And Comparative Water Quality Database Of Regulations Relating To Shale Oil And Gas, Matt Samelson, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment. Intermountain Oil And Gas Bmp Project

Fracking, Water Quality and Public Health: Examining Current Laws and Regulations (March 20)

Presenter: Matt Samelson, J.D., Attorney, Consultant for Intermountain Oil and Gas Best Management Practices (BMP) Project, Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy and the Environment, University of Colorado Law School

34 slides

Marriage Equality In State And Nation, Anthony Michael Kreis

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Taxing Judicial Restraint: How Washington's Supreme Court Misinterpreted Its Role And The Washington State Constitution, Nicholas Carlson

Seattle University Law Review

In the realm of constitutional interpretation, the judicial department reigns supreme. League of Education Voters v. State exemplifies the judiciary’s potential abuse of its interpretative role: The Washington Supreme Court misinterpreted its judicial function because it ignored the text of Washington State’s constitution and held a statute unconstitutional. The court, therefore, voided a statute because of judicial volition, not because Washington’s constitution demanded that outcome. This Note challenges the reasoning in League and makes a novel suggestion for Washington State constitutional analysis, an approach that may apply to other states. This Note details a new analytical framework for constitutional analysis …

Financial Security Scorecard: A State-By-State Analysis Of Economic Pressures Facing Future Retirees, Christian Weller, Nari Rhee, Carolyn Arcand

Public Policy and Public Affairs Faculty Publication Series

As Americans increasingly worry about their retirement prospects, states play an important and growing role in retirement security policy. States already manage long-term care programs for the elderly through Medicaid. Concerned about the impact of future elder poverty on state and local budgets and their local economies, a number of states are exploring the creation of low-cost and low-risk retirement savings plans for private sector workers who lack access to pensions or 401(k)s on the job. Some states have developed programs to help older workers find work.

This report presents the Financial Security Scorecard, designed to inform state-level stakeholders and …

Teacher Working Conditions With And Without Collective Bargaining, Clifford B. Donn, Rachel E. Donn, Lloyd Goldberg, Brenda J. Kirby

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Outside Influence, Anthony Johnstone

Faculty Law Review Articles

This article considers how much outside influence matters to the constitutional analysis of state politics. It defends the political community principle applied in Bluman v. Federal Election Comm’n as an exception to the otherwise universal speaker-neutrality rule of Citizens United v. Federal Election Comm’n. It draws parallels between efforts to police national and state boundaries in politics, and the competing rights claims of outsiders to cross those boundaries and participate fully in domestic politics. The article suggests that the structural constitutional principle of political community supports certain state regulations of outside influence across a range of political activities. Part I …

Resolving The Public Pension "Crisis", Jack M. Beermann

Faculty Scholarship

The high profile bankruptcy filing by the City of Detroit, Michigan, has brought to the fore the relationship between pension underfunding and the financial difficulties faced by an increasing number of municipalities and states in the United States. The problem is likely to continue to grow with more municipalities finding it necessary to explore the bankruptcy option or otherwise attempt to reduce pension and other obligations to employees and retirees. This essay is an effort to provoke discussion of the normative issues surrounding pension reform, mainly concerning how public employees and retirees should be treated in municipal bankruptcy. Should pension …

Litigation Investment And Legal Ethics: What Are The Real Issues?, Anthony J. Sebok

Articles

One of the foundational principles of legal ethics is that the lawyer owes an obligation of undivided loyalty to the client, and no other interests or relationships can be permitted to interfere with the lawyer's exercise of independent professional judgment on behalf of the client. The strongest objections to litigation investment by third parties is that it may compromise a lawyer's independence. This article examines this objection in the context of a recent report from the Ethics Committee of the Commercial and Federal Litigation Section of the New York State Bar Association and argues that it misses the real legal …

Appeal No. 0854: Big Sky Energy, Inc., V. Division Of Oil & Gas Resources Management, Ohio Oil & Gas Commission

Ohio Oil & Gas Commission Decisions

Chief's Orders 2013-39 & 2013-40 (the Powelson #1 & #2 Wells)

Appeal No. 0853: Big Sky Energy, Inc., V. Division Of Oil & Gas Resources Management, Ohio Oil & Gas Commission

Ohio Oil & Gas Commission Decisions

Chief's Orders 2013-39 & 2013-40 (the Powelson #1 & #2 Wells)

Appeal No. 0851: Big Sky Energy, Inc., V. Division Of Oil & Gas Resources Management And Lorrie & Lori Accettola V. Division Of Oil & Gas Resources Management, Ohio Oil & Gas Commission

Ohio Oil & Gas Commission Decisions

Chief's Orders 2013-37 & 2013-38 (Cutter Well #1 & Cutter Well #2)

Appeal No. 0852: Big Sky Energy, Inc., V. Division Of Oil & Gas Resources Management And Lorrie & Lori Accettola V. Division Of Oil & Gas Resources Management, Ohio Oil & Gas Commission

Ohio Oil & Gas Commission Decisions

Chief's Orders 2013-37 & 2013-38 (Cutter Well #1 & Cutter Well #2)

Streamlining Procedures For Judicial Review: Legislative Amendments To The Singapore Rules Of Court To Enhance Access To Justice, Denise Huiwen Wong

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Judicial review cannot serve as an effective check on administrative action unless aggrieved applicants have a real way to access the courts to obtain relief. In an admirable, albeit belated move, significant amendments were made to the Singapore Rules of Court to remove the procedural strictures inherited from the pre-1977 UK system. The amendments allow an applicant to seek a declaration in addition to the traditional prerogative orders and recover damages within the same proceedings if the applicant can prove that he/she would have had a valid claim in a private law action. This article examines the mischief that the …

Brief Amicus Curiae Of The Honorable Margaret W. Hassan Governor Of The State Of New Hampshire In Support Of The Plaintiffs/Cross-Appellants, Lucy C. Hodder, John M. Greabe

Law Faculty Scholarship

SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT

The Governor confines her argument in this amicus brief to whether the superior court correctly concluded that the education tax credit program enacted under RSA § 77-G violates Article 83 insofar as it permits organizations authorized to receive donations subsidized by the credit to use those donations to fund student scholarships to religious, non-public schools. In the Governor’s view, the superior court’s finding of unconstitutionality was correct.

In its text, structure, and history (including its interpretive history), the New Hampshire Constitution significantly differs from the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause with respect to the question whether revenue generated …

Retaining The Scarlet Letter: The Tension Between Branch Powers, Law, And Equity With Inherent Authority Expungement—State V. M.D.T., Robert C. Whipps

Journal of Law and Practice

No abstract provided.

The Greening Of Public Private Partnerships: What Design Professionals And Contractors Need To Know For Green Building's Next Legal Frontier, Tracy L. Steedman, Stephen Del Percio, Matthew L. Kimball

University of Baltimore Journal of Land and Development

America is at a pivotal moment in maintaining and modernizing its public infrastructure. Our nation's roads, bridges, water systems and energy networks have long been in poor repair. Much of the country's public infrastructure was put into place over fifty years ago, and many of these systems are simply overwhelmed or worn out. Infrastructure that is in poor condition or disrepair is mostly a hidden problem until it inconveniently stops working or worse, when ghastly consequences ensue from catastrophic failures.

Renewed Commitment: The Latest Chapter In Reforming Virginia's Mental Health System, The Honorable Jennifer L. Mcclellan

Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest

In the wake of the highly publicized Virginia Tech tragedy, the 2008 General Assembly Session adopted mental health reforms that focused on the provision of emergency services during the detention and commitment process, and an increase in funding to implement these reforms and strengthen emergency services. Despite the reforms, the issue of inadequate capacity to meet the increasing demand for mental health services remains in a number of key areas, including emergency services and a decline in in-patient psychiatric bed capacity while population growth continues.

Screening The Poor: The Legality Of Drug Testing For Welfare Benefits, Jacquelyn Bolen

Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest

On March 8, 2014, at the conclusion of the 2014 Virginia General Assembly regular session, Virginia joined at least 17 other states that, in this year alone, have introduced proposals to screen or test applicants for illegal substances prior to obtaining public assistance. Following the enactment of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, which permitted states to conduct drug testing as part of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, states began proposing drug screenings for applicants of public welfare benefits. Despite a 2003 Sixth Circuit decision holding that suspicionless drug testing is unconstitutional, in …

Rethinking The Right To Vote Under State Constitutions, Michael T. Morley

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

Rethinking Notice, Jack M. Beermann

Shorter Faculty Works

APA § 553 (b)(3) requires agencies engaged in informal rulemaking to provide notice of "either the terms or substance of the proposed rule or a description of the subjects and issues involved." In most cases, agencies publish the complete text of their proposed rules, together with a preamble describing the need for the rule and the major considerations of policy and law that are raised by the proposal. Comments often convince agencies to make changes to their proposed rules. This, of course, is the whole point of the process. Difficulties arise, however, when, in reaction to comments, agencies promulgate rules …

A Reasonable Expectation Of Privacy Online: "Do Not Track" Legislation, Alicia Shelton

University of Baltimore Law Forum

This year marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the World Wide Web (“Web”), and more than 81% of Americans are now using the internet on a regular basis. Yet, despite the fact that key pieces of personally identifying information—name, address, phone number, email address, and birthday—and sensitive personal data—political opinions, racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs, and health—can be learned through tracking an individual’s online activity, there continues to be a void of federal legislation protecting the privacy of internet users. In the absence of federal action, state legislatures are tasked with regulating electronic surveillance by both private companies and the …

State Constitutional Études: Variations On The Theme Of A Contemporary State Constitutional Problem, Justin R. Long

Law Faculty Research Publications

No abstract provided.

Recent Development: Springer V. Erie Ins. Exch.: An Insurer May Not Invoke A Business Pursuit Exclusion To Abandon Its Duty To Defend Without Considering The Continuity And Profit Motive Of Its Insured's Business, Lauren Ellison

University of Baltimore Law Forum

The Court of Appeals of Maryland held that for a third party complaint to trigger a “business pursuits” exclusion, the insurer must consider the insured’s business continuity and profit motive. Springer v. Erie Ins. Exch., 439 Md. 142, 146, 94 A.3d 75, 78 (2014). The court further held that the allegations made in the third party’s complaint were insufficient to trigger the “business pursuits” exclusion.

University Of Baltimore Law Forum Volume 45 No. 1 (Fall 2014) Front Matter

University of Baltimore Law Forum

No abstract provided.

Chapter 11: Expanding Gubernatorial Access To Closed Session Agency Meetings, Megan Deherrera

McGeorge Law Review

No abstract provided.

California’S Eavesdropping Law Endangers Victims Of Domestic Violence, 31 J. Marshall J. Info. Tech. & Privacy L. 57 (2014), John E.B. Myers

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

No abstract provided.

Tax Ferrets, Tax Consultants, Bounty Hunters, And Hired Guns: The Property Tax Netherworld Fueled By Contingency Fees And Champertous Agreements, J. Lyn Entrikin

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Contingency fee agreements between local tax assessors and contract auditors on the one hand, and property owners and private tax consultants on the other, create perverse financial incentives that undermine the integrity of state and local property tax administration. When local governments engage outside auditors to identify undervalued or escaped taxable property, the practice raises serious due process and ethical concerns. As a matter of policy, diverting a share of property tax revenue to private third parties in consideration for outsourced tax assessment services undermines public accountability and reduces net property tax revenue for local government services. And when states …

Response: Means, Ends, And Institutions, Charlton C. Copeland

Articles

No abstract provided.

Recent Development: Fuster V. State: An Indigent Petitioner Is Not Entitled To Counsel For A Post Conviction Petition As The Decision Is Within The Court's Discretion, Bradley T. Bald

University of Baltimore Law Forum

The Court of Appeals of Maryland held that Maryland Rule 4-707(b) does not entitle an indigent petitioner to counsel for purposes of a post conviction petition for DNA testing. Fuster v. State, 437 Md. 653, 657-58, 89 A.3d 1114, 1116 (2014). In addition, the court held that the circuit court did not abuse its discretion by failing to consider whether to appoint the petitioner counsel under under section 8-201 of the Maryland Criminal Procedure Code. Id. The court further held that the circuit court used the correct legal standard in ruling on the petition. Id. Finally, the court held that …

Recent Development: In Re Victoria C.: Children Are Third Parties For Purposes Of Child Visitation; Siblings Must Make A Prima Facie Case Of Parental Unfitness Or Exceptional Circumstances Before Applying The Best Interest Of Child Standard, Allyson Bloom

University of Baltimore Law Forum

The Court of Appeals of Maryland held that a child is considered a third party for purposes of sibling visitation rights. In re Victoria C., 437 Md. 567, 591, 88 A.3d 749, 764(2014). The court further held that the sibling seeking visitation with a minor sibling must first make a prima facie case showing parental unfitness or exceptional circumstances before the court can apply the best interest of the child standard.