Category «Legislation»

Federal Firearms Laws

CRS Report – Federal Firearms Law: Selected Developments in the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branches. November 3, 2021 [42 pages]: “Firearm regulation in the United States is an area of shared authority between the federal, state,and local governments. At the federal level, firearm commerce, possession, and transfers are governed largely by two statutory regimes: the …

Subjects: Congress, Courts, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

55 corporations paid no federal income tax in 2020

“Senators Warren, King, and Wyden Announce Updated Proposal To Prevent The Biggest And Most Profitable Corporations From Paying Nothing In Federal Taxes. The Corporate Profits Minimum Tax Would Raise Hundreds of Billions in Revenue While Creating a Fairer Tax System. Updated Proposal to be Included as a Pay-for in the Build Back Better Plan…” Legislative …

Subjects: Congress, Economy, Financial System, Government Documents, Legislation

Supreme Court set to hear arguments in two challenges to Texas law that bans most abortions

SCOTUS Blog – Supreme Court set to hear arguments in two challenges to Texas law that bans most abortions: “Two months ago, Texas put in place the most restrictive abortion law since the Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade in 1973. The law, which prohibits almost all abortions in the state, has dramatically reduced access …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Courts, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

The Supreme Court case that could gut America’s gun laws, explained

Vox: “For nearly all its history, the Supreme Court kept its distance from gun policy. Now it’s about to decide a case that could radically reduce the government’s power to regulate guns. The Second Amendment states explicitly that it exists to protect “a well regulated Militia,” and until fairly recently, the Court took these four …

Subjects: Congress, Courts, Government Documents, Health Care, Legal Research, Legislation

A whistleblower’s power: Key takeaways from the Facebook Papers

Follow-up to previous posting – Whistleblower: Facebook is misleading the public on progress against hate speech, violence, misinformation – See Also the Washington Post – “Interviews with dozens of current and former employees and a trove of internal documents show how the social media company inflamed real-world harms.A trove of internal Facebook documents reveals that the …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, E-Commerce, Economy, Internet, Legal Research, Legislation, Privacy, Social Media

Report – Plastics To Outpace Coal In Driving Climate Change

Beyond Plastics – Plastics are the New Coal: “Plastics are on track to contribute more climate change emissions than coal plants by 2030, a new report finds. As fossil fuel companies seek to recoup falling profits, they are increasing plastics production and cancelling out greenhouse gas reductions gained from the recent closures of 65 percent …

Subjects: Climate Change, Congress, Economy, Energy, Environmental Law, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

Controlled Digital Lending: Unlocking the Library’s Full Potential

Kyle K. Courtney / Library Futures: “We are very excited today to announce the release of the Library Futures Foundation’s (LFF) new policy document “Controlled Digital Lending: Unlocking the Library’s Full Potential.” As outlined, controlled digital lending maximizes a library’s ability to loan works, thereby making the entire loaning system more efficient and equitable.  Library …

Subjects: Congress, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legislation, Libraries

Understanding Federal Legislation: A Section-by-Section Guide to Key Legal Considerations

CRS Report – Understanding Federal Legislation: A Section-by-Section Guide to Key Legal Considerations, September 27, 2021 [91 pages]: “Federal bills are increasingly complex, making them difficult to understand for the average reader and the seasoned practitioner alike. What a congressional drafter understands to be the import of a given provision could later be discussed and …

Subjects: Courts, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation, Libraries

GPO and Law Library of Congress Make Volumes of Nation’s Most Treasured Publications Digitally Available

“The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO), in collaboration with the Law Library of Congress, has digitized and made available volumes of the United States Congressional Serial Set on GPO’s govinfo, the one-stop shop to information published by the Federal Government. The release comes as part of a large decade-long partnership to digitize more than 15,000 …

Subjects: Congress, Education, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation, Libraries

Harms of AI

NBER – Harms of AI, Daron Acemoglu, Working Paper 29247 DOI 10.3386/w29247 Issue Date September 2021. “This essay discusses several potential economic, political and social costs of the current path of AI technologies. I argue that if AI continues to be deployed along its current trajectory and remains unregulated, it may produce various social, economic …

Subjects: AI, E-Commerce, Economy, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legislation, Privacy

Republicans seek Pennsylvania voters’ personal information as they try to review the 2020 results

The New York Times: “Pennsylvania Republicans moved on Wednesday to seek personal information on every voter in the state as part of a brewing partisan review of the 2020 election results, rubber-stamping more than a dozen subpoenas for driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers. The expansive request for personal information, directed at Pennsylvania’s …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Records, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation, Privacy

Recent Steps Toward Improved Access to Federal Legislation

Information Today – Barbie E. Keiser – “During recent virtual meetings, representatives of several government entities showed how they had used the time during the pandemic to increase the public’s access to legislative information. The real takeaway from each online meeting is the degree to which these entities collaborate on projects. The Library of Congress …

Subjects: Congress, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation, Libraries