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Federal Pollution Control Laws: How Are They Enforced?

Description: This report focuses on enforcement of federal environmental pollution control requirements under the Clean Air Act (CAA); the Clean Water Act (CWA); the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund); and other statutes for which EPA is the primary federal implementing agency.1 The report provides a brief synopsis of the statutory framework that serves as the basis for pollution control enforcement, including an overview of the key players responsibl… more
Date: October 7, 2014
Creator: Esworthy, Robert
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Congressional Power to Create Federal Courts: A Legal Overview

Description: This report provides an overview of this often difficult and misunderstood area of law, beginning with a discussion of the various types of federal tribunals. The report continues by noting the rationales for why Congress established the breadth of different courts that exist today and concludes with a discussion of the various factors and relevant issues that limit Congress's discretion in establishing federal courts.
Date: October 1, 2014
Creator: Nolan, Andrew & Thompson, Richard M., II
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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State Considers Amendment to Protect Human Life at Any Stage of Development

Description: This legal sidebar discusses a proposal in North Dakota that would amend the state constitution to address the right to life. If adopted, the North Dakota constitution would state: "The inalienable right to life of every human being at any stage of development must be recognized and protected."
Date: October 30, 2014
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Drug Enforcement in the United States: History, Policy, and Trends

Description: This report reviews federal domestic drug enforcement. First, it provides a history and background of drug enforcement in the United States including how drugs came under the control of federal justice authorities and how legislation and administrative actions changed domestic drug enforcement. It then provides a brief overview of drug enforcement in the United States and summarizes U.S. drug policy. Finally, the report presents trends in federal drug enforcement and concludes with a discussion… more
Date: October 2, 2014
Creator: Sacco, Lisa N.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Aiding, Abetting, and the Like: An Abbreviated Overview of 18 U.S.C. 2

Description: This report discuses the issues that virtually every federal criminal statute has a hidden feature; helpers and hands-on offenders face the same punishment. This results from 18 U.S.C. 2, which visits the same consequences on anyone who orders or assists in the commission of a federal crime.
Date: October 24, 2014
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Aiding, Abetting, and the Like: An Overview of 18 U.S.C. 2

Description: This report discuses the issues that virtually every federal criminal statute has a hidden feature; helpers and hands-on offenders face the same punishment. This results from 18 U.S.C. 2, which visits the same consequences on anyone who orders or assists in the commission of a federal crime.
Date: October 24, 2014
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Immigration Detainers: Legal Issues

Description: "This report surveys the various authorities governing immigration detainers, including the standard detainer form (Form I-247) sent by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to other law enforcement agencies. The report also discusses key legal issues raised by immigration detainers, including whether Department of Homeland Security's (DHS's) detainer regulations and practices are beyond its statutory authority; whether states and localities are required to comply with immigration deta… more
Date: October 6, 2014
Creator: Manuel, Kate M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal and State Quarantine and Isolation Authority

Description: This report provides an overview of federal and state public health laws as they relate to the quarantine and isolation of individuals and a discussion of constitutional issues that may be raised should individual liberties be restricted in a quarantine or isolation situation.
Date: October 9, 2014
Creator: Cole, Jared P.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Cybercrime: A Sketch of 18 U.S.C. 1030 and Related Federal Criminal Laws

Description: This report discusses the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), 18 U.S.C. 1030, which is a cyber security law that outlaws conduct that victimizes computer systems. It protects federal computers, bank computers, and computers connected to the Internet by shielding them from trespassing, threats, damage, espionage, and from being corruptly used as instruments of fraud.
Date: October 15, 2014
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Water Infrastructure Financing: The Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) Program

Description: Policy makers have recently been considering several legislative options to help finance water infrastructure projects, including projects to build and upgrade wastewater and drinking water treatment systems. This report examines one particular option, a "Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act," or WIFIA, program, which Congress included in the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 (WRRDA). As enacted (P.L. 113-121), the legislation creates a WIFIA pilot program based on p… more
Date: October 23, 2014
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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House and Senate Floor and Committee Action to Reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act: 1966 to Present

Description: The report provides vote information on comprehensive Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization bills that have been considered in the committees of jurisdiction or on the House or Senate floors since the enactment of No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB).
Date: October 22, 2014
Creator: Skinner, Rebecca R. & Loane, Shannon S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Insurance and Climate Change: Do Governments Have a Duty to Protect Property Owners?

Description: This legal sidebar discusses the climate change in context of federal and private insurers. One of the many insurance company concerns is whether the government can be held liable for not putting in place adequate infrastructure to protect against property damage from climate-change-related extreme weather.
Date: October 16, 2014
Creator: Meltz, Robert
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Public Transportation Program: In Brief

Description: This report is categorized into five categories: (I) Introduction, (II) What is Public Transportation, (III) Funding the Federal Transportation Program, (IV) How are Federal Dollars Spent?, and (V) Program Structure.
Date: October 1, 2014
Creator: Mallett, William J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Nuclear Cooperation with Other Countries: A Primer

Description: This report discusses section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act (AEA), the specific requirements of which must be met in order for the United States to engage in civilian nuclear cooperation with other states. The AEA also provides for exemptions to these requirements, export control licensing procedures, and criteria for terminating cooperation.
Date: October 16, 2014
Creator: Kerr, Paul K. & Nikitin, Mary Beth
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): Legislation in the 113th Congress

Description: The earned income tax credit is a refundable tax credit available to eligible workers earning relatively low wages. Under current law, the earned income tax credit is calculated based on a recipient's earnings, using one of eight different formulas, which vary depending on several factors, including the number of qualifying children a tax filer has and their marital status. This report discusses and analyzes legislative proposals introduced in the 113th Congress that propose modifying the earne… more
Date: October 31, 2014
Creator: Crandall-Hollick, Margot L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Iran Sanctions

Description: This report analyzes U.S. and international sanctions against Iran. U.S. sanctions have been a major feature of U.S. Iran policy since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, but U.N. and worldwide bilateral sanctions on Iran are a relatively recent (post-2006) development.
Date: October 23, 2014
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses

Description: This report discusses the reasons that Iran is considered a threat to U.S. security, including Iran's nuclear program, involvement with terrorist organizations, and involvement with neighboring countries' local governments. It also discusses ways in which the U.S. hopes to modify Iran's behavior with sanctions, and the effectiveness of these sanctions.
Date: October 1, 2014
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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