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Electricity Restructuring and the Constitutionality of Retail Reciprocity Requirements

Description: Retail reciprocity requirements have been included in the electricity restructuring legislation of at least four states. These requirements mandate generally that out-of-state utilities which operate in a state “closed” to retail competition cannot market power to retail consumers in the “open” state. Because state reciprocity requirements enacted without congressional authorization are probably unconstitutional under the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, Congress would have to include … more
Date: March 9, 2000
Creator: Shimabukuro, Jon O.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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527 Organizations: How the Differences in Tax and Election Laws Permit Certain Organizations to Engage in Issue Advocacy without Public Disclosure and Proposals for Change

Description: This report compares the tax and election laws relating to political organizations and political committees prior to the enactment of P.L. 106-230 in an attempt to highlight the differences between them, and discusses some of the proposals in the 106th Congress to require additional reporting by organizations engaging in political activities. This report does not address the taxation of other tax-exempt organizations making political expenditures taxable under IRC § 527. For developments after … more
Date: September 7, 2000
Creator: Morris, Marie B.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Constitutionality of Requiring Sexually Explicit Material on the Internet to be Under a Separate Domain Name

Description: It is unclear whether making a “.xxx” domain mandatory would violate the First Amendment. Some propose making use of a “.xxx” domain voluntary, but others propose that Congress make it mandatory. The latter proposal raises the question whether a mandatory separate domain would violate the First Amendment, and this report focuses on that question.
Date: January 3, 2006
Creator: Cohen, Henry
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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“Good Samaritan” Tort Reform: Three House Bills

Description: This report discusses three 108th Congress tort reform bills: the Volunteer Pilot Organization Protection Act (H.R. 1084), the Good Samaritan Firefighter Assistance Act of 2003 (H.R. 1787), and the Nonprofit Athletic Organization Protection Act of 2003 (H.R. 3369).
Date: September 15, 2004
Creator: Cohen, Henry
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Limiting Court Jurisdiction Over Federal Constitutional Issues: “Court-Stripping”

Description: This report discusses various proposals that have been made to limit the jurisdiction of federal courts to hear cases regarding particular areas of constitutional law such as busing, abortion, prayer in school, and most recently, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Proposals of this type are often referred to as “court-stripping” legislation.
Date: December 11, 2003
Creator: Thomas, Kenneth R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

"Digital Rights" and Fair Use in Copyright Law

Description: This report examines judicial case law which has considered the doctrine of fair use in relation to the First Amendment, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and as a means of protecting private, noncommercial use of digital music and film by consumers. It concludes that when the potential to infringe is great, as it almost always will be in a digital environment, the courts have not been willing to expand fair use to encompass subsidiary uses such as time shifting, space shifting, or personal… more
Date: March 24, 2003
Creator: Jeweler, Robin
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Unborn Victims of Violence Act

Description: This report examines the act's provisions, and reviews existing state laws that criminalize the killing of a fetus or unborn child. The report also discusses selected cases that have considered the legitimacy of state fetal homicide and unborn child homicide statutes.
Date: January 24, 2007
Creator: Shimabukuro, Jon O.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Merger and Antitrust Issues in Agriculture

Description: A sustained period of low farm prices has generated legislative interest in the effect of concentration and consolidation on U.S. agriculture. Questions have been raised about the federal government's role in pursuing cases of unfair competition or violations of antitrust laws. Legislative interest has risen because, while regulations target business practices, important issues associated with concentration and consolidation may not be adequately addressed by existing antitrust laws. Recent rev… more
Date: January 10, 2001
Creator: Heykoop, Jerry & Segarra, Alejandro E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Monopoly and Monopolization - Fundamental But Separate Concepts in U.S. Antitrust Law

Description: This report illustrates the difference between the concepts of “monopoly” and “monopolization” by touching on the monopoly/monopolization thinking in the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), as illustrated in (1) statements on merger enforcement made by recent antitrust enforcement officials (generally indicative of the agencies’ concerns about competitive conditions and the effect of various market transactions), (2) the 1992 Horizontal … more
Date: August 20, 2001
Creator: Rubin, Janice E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The U.N. Law of the Sea Convention and the United States: Developments Since October 2003

Description: On October 31, 2007, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to recommend Senate advice and consent to U.S. adherence to the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 1994 Agreement Relating to Implementation of Part XI of that Convention. This followed the statement by President Bush on May 15, 2007, urging “the Senate to act favorably on U.S. accession” to the Convention. CRS Issue Brief IB95010, The Law of the Sea Convention and U.S. Policy, serves as a basic CRS source for dis… more
Date: October 31, 2007
Creator: Browne, Marjorie Ann
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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527 Organizations: How the Differences in Tax and Election Laws Permit Certain Organizations to Engage in Issue Advocacy without Public Disclosure and Proposals for Change

Description: Virtually all political organizations are "section 527" political organizations, which means that they are tax-exempt. 527 organizations are created to influence the election or defeat of public officials. This report compares the tax and election laws relating to political organizations and political committees prior to the enactment of P.L. 106-230 in an attempt to highlight the differences between them, and discusses some of the proposals in the 106th Congress to require additional reporting… more
Date: September 7, 2000
Creator: Morris, Marie B.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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