Search Results

open access

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act: Its Rise, Fall, and Current Status

Description: This report briefly summarizes Employment Division, Oregon Department of Human Resources v. Smith, the legislative history of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), the Supreme Court's decision in City of Boerne, Texas v. Flores, and RFRA's current legal status, and notes the introduction of the Religious Liberty Protection Act (RLPA).
Date: June 25, 1998
Creator: Ackerman, David M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Religious Persecution Abroad: Congressional Concerns and Actions

Description: The 105 Congress has sought to raise the priority of combating religious persecution worldwide among U.S. foreign policy objectives. The difficulty has been in agreeing on legislation that would effectively deal with religious persecution without adversely affecting other important U.S. interests. On May 14, 1998, the House passed H.R. 2431 (the Freedom from Religious Persecution Act of 1998) establishing in the State Department a Director of the Office of Religious Persecution Monitoring who i… more
Date: June 25, 1998
Creator: Bite, Vita
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Encryption Technology: Congressional Issues

Description: This report discusses primarily, the controversy over encryption concerns what access the government should have to encrypted stored computer data or electronic communications (voice and data, wired and wireless) for law enforcement purposes.
Date: July 9, 1998
Creator: Nunno, Richard M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Property Rights Implementation Act of 1998

Description: On July 7, 1998, Senator Hatch introduced S. 2271, the "Property Rights Implementation Act of 1998." The bill appears to be the likely replacement on the Senate floor for H.R. 1534 as reported by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. S. 2271 retains the basic "process" approach of its predecessor, but makes numerous changes. Among these are a restriction of H.R. 1534's takings-ripeness provisions to real property rather than all types of property, a new definition of "futility," different rest… more
Date: July 10, 1998
Creator: Meltz, Robert
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The "Son of Sam" Case: Legislative Implications

Description: In Simon & Schuster, Inc. v. Members of the new York State Crime Victims Board, the U.S. Supreme Court held that New York State's "Son of Sam" law was inconsistent with the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech and press. This report examines the Supreme Court decision and then considers whether its rationale renders the federal law unconstitutional. Concluding that it likely does, the report considers whether it would be possible to enact a constitutional Son-of-Sam statute. Finally… more
Date: November 30, 1998
Creator: Cohen, Henry
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Online Privacy Protection: Issues and Developments

Description: It is routinely acknowledged that the success of the Internet and electronic commerce depends upon the resolution of issues related to the privacy of online personal information. This paper discusses some potential threats to the privacy of online personal information, and efforts by businesses, governments, and citizens to respond to them. The paper also provides an overview of the legal framework for the protection of personal information. Individuals and businesses increasingly rely upon com… more
Date: September 28, 1999
Creator: Stevens, Gina Marie
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Wetlands Regulation and the Law of Property Rights "Takings"

Description: When a wetland owner is denied permission to develop, or offered a permit with very burdensome conditions, the property's value may drop substantially. Wetlands programs also may impose costly development delays. For these reasons, federal and state wetlands regulation continues to generate "takings" lawsuits by land owners. Such suits allege that by narrowing or eliminating the economic uses to which a wetland can be put, the government has "taken" (permanently or temporarily) the wetland unde… more
Date: February 17, 2000
Creator: Meltz, Robert
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Property Rights: House Judiciary Committee Reports H.R. 2372

Description: On March 9, 2000, the House Committee on the Judiciary reported favorably H.R. 2372. The bill, titled "Private Property Rights Implementation Act of 2000," is aimed principally at lowering the threshold barriers of ripeness and abstention encountered when land owners file in federal court challenging local government actions as "takings." (1) Under the Fifth Amendment's Takings Clause (which applies to state and local, not only federal, actions), private property may not be "taken" for public u… more
Date: March 10, 2000
Creator: Meltz, Robert
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Campaign Finance Regulation Under the First Amendment:

Description: This Report first discusses the critical holdings enunciated by the Supreme Court in Buckley, including those: upholding reasonable contribution limits, striking down expenditure limits, upholding disclosure reporting requirements, and upholding the system of voluntary presidential election expenditure limitations linked with public financing. It then examines the Court’s extension of Buckley in fourteen subsequent cases, evaluating them in three regulatory contexts: contribution limits (Califo… more
Date: September 8, 2000
Creator: Whitaker, L. Paige & Jennings, Christopher Alan
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Privacy Protection for Customer Financial Information

Description: Title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 (P.L. 106-102, H.Rept. 106-434) requires financial institutions to provide their customers with notice of their privacy policies, including those relating to sharing of customer information with affiliated entities. It prohibits sharing personally identifiable customer information with non-affiliated third parties and prohibits financial institutions from providing account numbers to non-affiliated third parties for marketing purposes.
Date: January 5, 2001
Creator: Murphy, M. Maureen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Internet Privacy - Protecting Personal Information: Overview and Pending Legislation

Description: The privacy of information collected by operators of World Wide Web sites is a growing issue of concern. Many in Congress and the Clinton Administration prefer to rely on industry self regulation to protect consumer privacy, but frustration at industry's slow pace led to the 1998 passage of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act in 1998 (P.L. 105-277). This report provides a very abbreviated overview of Internet privacy issues and tracks pending legislation.
Date: January 16, 2001
Creator: Smith, Marcia S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Alabama School Prayer Case: Chandler v. Siegelman

Description: This report considers the events of Chandler v. James in 1997. The case was a federal district court ruling in Alabama holding up a statute to violate the establishment of religion of the First amendment. The Governor attempted to appeal the court's position to both the Supreme Court and the circuit court but was denied.
Date: June 25, 2001
Creator: Ackerman, David M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

China and "Falun Gong"

Description: The “Falun Gong” movement has led to the largest and most protracted public demonstrations in China since the democracy movement of 1989. On April 25, 1999, an estimated 10,000 to 30,000 adherents assembled in front of Zhongnanhai, the Chinese Communist Party leadership compound, and participated in a silent protest against state repression of their activities. On July 21, 1999, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) government, fearful of the spread of social unrest, outlawed the movement and be… more
Date: August 3, 2001
Creator: Lum, Thomas
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Medical Records Privacy: Questions and Answers on the HIPAA Final Rule

Description: This report discusses the issue facing Congress on whether to continue to support the executive branch’s prosecution of medical marijuana patients and their providers, in accordance with marijuana’s status as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act, or whether to relax federal marijuana prohibition enough to permit the medical use of botanical cannabis products by seriously ill persons, especially in states that have created medical marijuana programs under state law.
Date: September 10, 2001
Creator: Redhead, C. Stephen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Race-Based Civil Dentention for Security Purposes

Description: The current crisis has caused concern that measures implemented to fight terrorism will have a disproportionately negative effect on innocent Arab-Americans, Muslims, and aliens with ties to the Middle East. The purpose of this report is to address the issues surrounding race-based civil detention for security purposes.
Date: October 4, 2001
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Freedom of Speech and Press: Exceptions to the First Amendment

Description: The First Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press. . . .” This language restricts government both more and less than it would if it were applied literally. It restricts government more in that it applies not only to Congress, but to all branches of the federal government, and to all branches of state and local government. It restricts government less in that it provides no protection to some typ… more
Date: November 5, 2001
Creator: Cohen, Henry
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

International Conflict and Property Rights: Fifth Amendment "Takings" Issues

Description: This report discusses the international conflict and property rights. After the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon has raised the possibility of responses by the United States that impinge on private property, and, in turn, the possibility of claims under the Fifth Amendment Takings Clause.
Date: December 5, 2001
Creator: Meltz, Robert
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

China's Relations with Central Asian States and Problems with Terrorism

Description: This report provides an overview of the Muslim separatist movement in China’s northwestern Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China’s attempts to stifle activities which it considers terrorism, and implications for U.S. policy. Some analysts suggest that the U.S.-led campaign against terrorism may make it difficult to pressure the Chinese government on human rights and religious freedoms, particularly as they relate to Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang.
Date: December 17, 2001
Creator: McNeal, Dewardric L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
Back to Top of Screen