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Category Archives: Legislation

DOJ Puts NC on notice – HB2 violates Title IX

Via Charlotte Observer: “U.S. Justice Department officials rebuked North Carolina’s House Bill 2 on Wednesday, telling Gov. Pat McCrory that the law violates the U.S. Civil Rights Act and Title IX – a finding that could jeopardize billions in federal education funding. The department gave state officials until Monday to address the situation “by confirming… Continue Reading

Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2015 presented to President Obama

Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2015 – “This bill amends the federal criminal code to create a private civil cause of action for trade secret misappropriation. Specifically, the bill authorizes a trade secret owner to file a civil action in a U.S. district court seeking relief for trade secret misappropriation related to a product or… Continue Reading

2017–2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Program

Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management: 2017–2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Program – “The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is responsible for administering the leasing program for oil and gas resources on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and developing a five-year schedule of lease sales designed to… Continue Reading

EFF – House Advances Email Privacy Act, Setting the Stage for Vital Privacy Reform

Sophia Cope – EFF: “The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Email Privacy Act (H.R. 699) today, which would require the government to get a probable cause warrant from a judge before obtaining private communications and documents stored online with companies such as Google, Facebook, and Dropbox. The bill provides a long-overdue update to the… Continue Reading

Public Advocate Appointed by FISA Court Declares PRISM Surveillance Unconstitutional

TechDirt: “On [April 19, 2016], the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released some redacted versions of three previously secret FISA Court rulings. There are a few interesting things in them, but one notable point, found in a ruling from last November regarding the NSA’s 702 PRISM program, is that the FISC took advantage… Continue Reading

Data Act: Progress Made but Significant Challenges Must Be Addressed

Data Act: Progress Made but Significant Challenges Must Be Addressed to Ensure Full and Effective Implementation, GAO-16-556T: Published: Apr 19, 2016. Publicly Released: Apr 19, 2016. “The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) have taken some significant steps toward implementing the key provisions of the Digital Accountability and… Continue Reading

Earth Day – April 22 – Earth Day Network

“Earth Day Network’s mission is to broaden and diversify the environmental movement worldwide and to mobilize it as the most effective vehicle to build a healthy, sustainable environment, address climate change, and protect the Earth for future generations. Growing out of the first Earth Day, Earth Day Network is the world’s largest recruiter to the… Continue Reading

Electionline – election reform news and information

“electionline.org is the nation’s only nonpartisan, non-advocacy clearinghouse for election reform news and information. It was founded in 2001 by Doug Chapin and supported by a grant to the University of Richmond from The Pew Charitable Trusts. In 2007 the electionline team formally joined The Pew Charitable Trusts as part of Pew’s transition from private… Continue Reading

9/11 Families, the 28 Pages, and economic threats if Congress passes bill on monetary damages

When I returned home the evening of the 9/11 attack from my office in Washington, DC I joined colleagues throughout the legal community who stayed up for days sharing every bit of information we could obtain about the status of those who worked in the Twin Towers, Pentagon and in the plane that crashed in… Continue Reading

Surveillance of Foreigners Outside the United States Under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act

Via FAS – Surveillance of Foreigners Outside the United States Under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), Edward C. Liu, Legislative Attorney. April 13, 2016. “After the attacks of September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush authorized the National Security Agency to conduct a Terrorist Surveillance Program (TSP) to “intercept international communications… Continue Reading

Microsoft sues DOJ – demands right to disclose when law enforcement seeks customer data

Microsoft v. The United States Department of Justice, USDC Western District of Washington at Seattle – April 14, 2016: “Microsoft brings this case because its customers have a right to know when the government obtains a warrant to read their emails, and because Microsoft has a right to tell them. Yet the Electronic Communications Privacy… Continue Reading

A Peek behind the Curtain of Bank Supervision

Liberty Street Economics Blog: “Since the financial crisis, bank regulatory and supervisory policies have changed dramatically both in the United States (Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act) and abroad (Third Basel Accord). While these shifts have occasioned much debate, the discussion surrounding supervision remains limited because most supervisory activity— both the amount of… Continue Reading