Search Results for: lobbyist

For better or worse, the paradigmatic television show of the coronavirus pandemic is Netflix’s documentary miniseries Tiger King, an excruciatingly intimate reflection on a feud between two tiger-fanciers. On the one side is Carole Baskin, the rather sanctimonious leader of a big cat sanctuary in Florida. And on the other is Joe Exotic, the “colorful” [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on Wednesday affirmed the denial of a Republican challenge to Michigan’s new independent commission that will re-draw legislative district boundaries. In an effort to combat gerrymandering, voters created the commission via ballot initiative in November 2018 with an amendment to the state’s constitution. The commission will [...]

It’s a truism that when lobbyists push a bill supposedly intended to help the disadvantaged, the real beneficiary is someone else. After all, lobbyists don’t work for free, and the disadvantaged can’t afford to hire them. The Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act is no exception. At least, in theory, the CASE Act is [...]

The governor of Oregon signed an expansive executive order to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the state Tuesday, just days after a Republican walkout in the state senate scuttled legislative efforts to achieve the same ends. Republicans in the state senate and house staged walkouts to prevent a quorum, forcing the Oregon legislature to [...]

The US Senate unanimously approved a bill Thursday to crackdown on robocalls, sending it to President Donald Trump for executive approval. The Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act (TRACED) is designed improve enforcement of the Communications Act of 1934. The act both imposes strict penalties for individuals who directly violate it and ensures [...]

A group of Republican redistricting organizations sued the Michigan Secretary of State Tuesday to block the implementation of a new nonpartisan commission to redraw voting districts in Michigan in advance of the 2020 election. The case was brought on behalf of 15 residents of Michigan who are barred from serving on the commission under the [...]

The EPA announced on Wednesday that it had finalized a new rule to replace stringent emissions limits imposed under the Obama administration on coal-burning power plants. The new regulation, dubbed the Affordable Clean Energy rule (ACE) by EPA chairman Andrew Wheeler, aims to relax pollution standards from the stringent limits established under the Clean Power [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld Kentucky’s campaign finance restrictions in a unanimous opinion on Thursday. The complaint was originally brought by John Schickel, the incumbent state senator for the 11th Senatorial District in Kentucky, and David Watson, an unsuccessful candidate for the 6th House District in 2016. The plaintiffs challenged [...]

Last month, tenants at a rent-stabilized apartment building called Atlantic Plaza Towers in Brooklyn filed a formal protest against their landlord’s plan to replace key fobs with facial recognition technology. The landlord claimed the new system would enhance security. The tenants, primarily women of color, countered that access to their homes should not hinge on [...]

The Inspector General of the General Services Administration (GSA) released a report Wednesday finding that the GSA chose to ignore the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution in its 2017 review of Trump International Hotel’s lease. The report does not specifically address potential Emoluments Clause issues, but instead focuses on the decision making process of the [...]