Category Archives: legislation and legislatures

“A Congress for the Many, or the Few?”

September 9, 2012, 9:21 amlegislation and legislaturesRick Hasen

Fred Bernstein has written this NYT oped, which begins: “OUT of work and stuck with an expensive mortgage, my friend was on the verge of losing her house. Attempts to get the bank to modify her loan led to… Continue reading

“End of the Dialogue? Political Polarization, the Supreme Court, and Congress”

September 5, 2012, 11:56 amlegislation and legislatures, political parties, political polarization, statutory interpretation, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

I have just posted a revised and updated version of this article (forthcoming Southern California Law Review) on SSRN. (The article was recently the subject of this Adam Liptak “Sidebar” column in the NY Times.) Here is the revised abstract:… Continue reading

“Lobbyists and Friends in Exile (Wink, Wink)”

September 3, 2012, 8:39 pmcampaign finance, legislation and legislatures, lobbyingRick Hasen

NYT reports.

Whelan Critique of Posner on Scalia on Textualism

September 3, 2012, 7:36 pmlegislation and legislatures, statutory interpretation, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Parts One, Two and Three.

Judge Posner Tour De Force Takes Down Justice Scalia’s Textualism

August 29, 2012, 12:53 pmlegislation and legislatures, statutory interpretationRick Hasen

If you read one response to Justice Scalia’s new book (with Bryan Garner), read this devastating review in The New Republic. Aside from the merits of the review, it seems to escalate an increasing public tension between Judge Posner and… Continue reading

‘Congressional Staff and the Revolving Door: The Impact of Regulatory Change’

August 29, 2012, 8:43 amlegislation and legislatures, lobbyingRick Hasen

Lee Drutman and Bruce Cain have posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract: We ask whether the 2007 Honest Leadership and Open Government Act lobbying regulations had the desired impact. We also develop and test a theory of… Continue reading

“‘Pop-up lobbying’ a new trend in convention influence peddling”

August 28, 2012, 8:17 amlegislation and legislatures, lobbyingRick Hasen

Isikoff: “The political conventions have always been open season for big money influence peddling. But this year, ever-creative Washington lobbyists have devised a nifty new technique to bypass pesky ethics rules that were supposed to bar them from throwing… Continue reading

Verified Voting Hires Lobbying Powerhouse Patton Boggs to Lobby on Voting Technology Integrity Issues

August 23, 2012, 12:25 pmlegislation and legislatures, lobbying, voting technologyRick Hasen

Interesting.

“In Congress’s Paralysis, a Mightier Supreme Court”

August 20, 2012, 4:13 pmlegislation and legislatures, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Adam Liptak’s new “Sidebar” column in the New York Times discusses a new paper of mine, End of the Dialogue? Political Polarization, the Supreme Court, and Congress. From the column: This sort of back and forth works only if Congress… Continue reading

“House Rules on Employment Negotiations and Recusal: the Case of Representative Cardoza”

August 16, 2012, 3:51 pmconflict of interest laws, legislation and legislatures, lobbyingRick Hasen

Michael Stern blogs.

“Rep. Dennis Cardoza was negotiating new job for weeks”

August 16, 2012, 11:53 amconflict of interest laws, legislation and legislatures, lobbyingRick Hasen

Politico: “Rep. Dennis Cardoza entered into serious negotiations for his new job with a California law firm two weeks before his sudden resignation from Congress, POLITICO has learned. Cardoza, who Tuesday said he was quitting Congress, filed paperwork with… Continue reading

“Telemarketers Get Higher Approval Rating Than U.S. Congress”

August 16, 2012, 6:40 amlegislation and legislatures, political polarizationRick Hasen

Bloomberg: “Stockbrokers receive higher public- approval marks than the U.S. Congress. So do telemarketers, health maintenance organizations and banks. Approval of Congress’s performance fell to 10 percent in August, tying a record low set in February, according to… Continue reading

“This Congress could be least productive since 1947”

August 15, 2012, 1:36 pmlegislation and legislaturesRick Hasen

USA Today: “Just 61 bills have become law to date in 2012 out of 3,914 bills that have been introduced by lawmakers, or less than 2% of all proposed laws, according to a USA TODAY analysis of records since… Continue reading