Category Archives: legislation and legislatures

Will Republican Lawmakers Sue Pres. Obama Over How He Vetoed Greenhouse Gas Law?

December 31, 2015, 8:36 amlegislation and legislaturesRick Hasen

Keep your eye on this issue raised by Professor Robert Spitzer in a WaPo oped: In his two vetoes, Obama issued a so-called “protective return pocket veto,” whereby he announced a pocket veto and titled his veto… Continue reading

“Marco Rubio Endorses Idea for Constitutional Amendment to Set Congressional Term Limits”

December 31, 2015, 8:23 amlegislation and legislatures, term limitsRick Hasen

And an Article V constitutional convention to boot. Focusing on term limits rather than the convention in some ways buries the lede, as the constitutional convention could be much more far reaching and radical.

“These four reasons explain why bipartisanship is breaking out all over. Will it last?”

December 17, 2015, 11:07 amlegislation and legislatures, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

Must-read Sarah Binder.

“Unorthodox Lawmaking, Unorthodox Rulemaking”

December 16, 2015, 9:19 amlegislation and legislatures, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

Gluck, O’Connell, and Po have posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, Columbia Law Review). Here is the abstract: The Schoolhouse Rock! cartoon version of the conventional legislative process is dead, if it was ever an accurate description in the first… Continue reading

“Legislative Dysfunction and Political Accountability”

December 16, 2015, 9:17 amlegislation and legislatures, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

Edward Stiglitz has posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The inability of members of Congress to agree on legislation is arguably generating a slow motion crisis in our separation of powers system. Some legislative disagreements reflect genuine… Continue reading

“Robert Menendez Case Eligible for Appeal”

December 16, 2015, 7:33 ambribery, legislation and legislatures, Speech or Debate ClauseRick Hasen

AP: Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey may appeal his indictment on corruption charges, based partly on his argument that some of the charges stem from routine legislative work protected by the Constitution. The United States Court of Appeals… Continue reading

“McConnell Takes Credit for Resuscitating the Senate”

December 14, 2015, 8:22 pmlegislation and legislatures, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

NYT: Barney Frank once told me that asking Republicans to govern was like asking him, the first openly gay member of Congress, to judge the Miss America contest: He would do it, but he wouldn’t enjoy it much or… Continue reading

“A ‘view’ from the Courtroom: Committee of the Whole”

December 8, 2015, 8:57 amlegislation and legislatures, statutory interpretation, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Mark Walsh @SCOTUSBlog: On Monday at the Supreme Court, Justices Stephen G. Breyer and Antonin Scalia engaged in a skirmish over one of their favorite topics: using committee reports and other legislative history to help interpret a statute (Breyer)… Continue reading

2 NYT Pieces Shed Light on Current Polarization in Congress

December 5, 2015, 12:13 pmlegislation and legislatures, political polarization, primariesRick Hasen

Lawmakers Near Deal on Billions in Tax Cuts: The package would extend or make permanent around 50 temporary tax breaks that have expired or will soon lapse. By combining business breaks that are priorities of Republicans with tax credits… Continue reading

“Inglewood City Council’s new hours aren’t exactly welcoming”

November 20, 2015, 4:39 pmchicanery, legislation and legislaturesRick Hasen

LAT editorial: Earlier this year, the same council took advantage of a loophole in state election law to approve the construction of a giant football stadium without conducting a full environmental review or taking a vote of the people.… Continue reading

“Inside California lawmakers’ paid trips to Maui”

November 19, 2015, 8:30 amlegislation and legislaturesRick Hasen

Ingratiation and Access 101 will be held in the Kea Lani conference area and bar.

Senate Rules Entangle Bid to Repeal Health Care Law”

November 13, 2015, 8:23 amlegislation and legislatures, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

NYT: In the Senate, Republicans are determined to dismantle or defund the law using a fast-track procedure that requires a simple majority vote, rather than the 60 votes needed for most hotly contested measures. But the Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough,… Continue reading

“The Dog Ate My Vote: How Congress Explains Its Absences”

November 12, 2015, 9:05 amlegislation and legislaturesRick Hasen

ProPublica: ProPublica has collected all of the Personal Explanations filed since 2007 — some 5,058 in all, covering 21,176 votes — and created a database that lets readers look up their representatives’ missed votes, as well as their explanations.… Continue reading

“Lamar Alexander Seeks Path to Change in Senate”

November 9, 2015, 7:31 pmlegislation and legislatures, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

NYT: Nothing touches off a political war in the Senate like proposals to tinker with the arcane rules that govern the often creaky chamber. Talk of eliminating the filibuster is called the nuclear option for a reason. But Senator… Continue reading