At Hearing, a Dispute Over Banking Provision in Reform Law

WASHINGTON — The unity of regulators who have to put the Dodd-Frank financial reform law into effect was put to the test at a Congressional hearing Thursday as squabbling emerged over a provision affecting lenders.

The disagreement involved a measure requiring lenders to keep at least 5 % of the credit risk when they bundle and sell debt.

Before the housing market collapsed in 2007, many mortgage originators made reckless loans, in part because they were able to quickly sell them to other investors to lay off the risk. The new law required regulators to change that.

So on Monday, the board of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation voted 4 to 1 to approve a rule that makes “risk retention” by banks a condition for any bank that wants protection under new accounting rules if the bank were to fail.

View Full Story

State anti-illegal immigration law draws fire

JACKSON — Critics of a proposed anti-illegal immigration law in Mississippi called it an unfunded mandate for law enforcement and urged the state to avoid rushing to adopt a measure akin to Arizona’s.

An immigrant advocacy group’s lawyer also called moving toward an Arizona-styled law a form of “hysteria” by those seeking scapegoats in an economic downturn.

Patricia Ice, legal project director for the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance, told a state Senate panel on Wednesday that illegal immigrants aren’t a drain on state finances. Ice said some of the state’s illegal immigrants pay income tax and all pay sales taxes.

A Senate judiciary committee held hearings on a proposal that requires police enforcing other laws to check the status of those they suspect are in the country illegally. Mississippi is among several states considering such a law.

View Full Story

Indiana Retailers Finding Alcohol ID Law Challenging

INDIANAPOLIS – Both clerks and customers are getting a bit fed up with the change to Indiana law that requires anyone purchasing alcohol to show a government-issued photo ID, WRTV reports. The law took effect in July.

The problem comes when store owners have to refuse to sell alcohol to long-term customers because of lack of ID. Some view the law as an example of unnecessary government intervention. “Carding everyone looks silly. I mean, I come in there, and he wants my ID,” said Otis Bell, of whom there is no doubt of his over-21 age.

Stores and customers have complained enough that some state lawmakers are considering a change to the law during the upcoming legislative session that starts early next year. Sen. Jim Merritt would like to amend the law to apply to customers who look to be under 40.

Bob Graves of Alabama Liquors said looking at everyone’s ID slows the lines and can cut down on sales. “People are 30, 40, 50 years old, and you have to card them at my employer’s expenses. It’s not fair,” he said.

View Full Story

New Massachusetts law banning texting while driving starts Thursday

Most people nowadays seem to have a scary story involving cell phones and driving.

For Luis Hernandez, 21, of Holyoke, interviewed Sunday at the Holyoke Mall, his came Saturday. "I almost got hit yesterday by a woman while she was texting. She swerved into my lane, wasn't even looking," he said.

That's why he counts himself an avid supporter of the new Safe Driving law, a state law that goes into effect Thursday banning all drivers from texting while driving, and prohibiting anyone under 18 from all cell phone use while driving.

"The law keeps everybody safe. You've got to think about the children, not just the drivers," said Hernandez.

View Full Story

U.S. Is Working to Ease Wiretaps on the Internet

 

WASHINGTON — Federal law enforcement and national security officials are preparing to seek sweeping new regulations for the Internet, arguing that their ability to wiretap criminal and terrorism suspects is “going dark” as people increasingly communicate online instead of by telephone.

Essentially, officials want Congress to require all services that enable communications — including encrypted e-mail transmitters like BlackBerry, social networking sites like Facebook and software that allows direct “peer to peer” messaging like Skype — to be technically capable of complying if served with a wiretap order. The mandate would include being able to intercept and unscramble encrypted messages.

The bill, which the Obama administration plans to submit to lawmakers next year, raises fresh questions about how to balance security needs with protecting privacy and fostering innovation. And because security services around the world face the same problem, it could set an example that is copied globally.

View Full Story

WISPIRG highlights how new federal health care law affects young people

Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group held a press conference yesterday highlighting how the new federal health care law will affect young people, particularly students, as part of the group's Health Care Day of Action.

Wisconsin State Representative Kelda Helen Roys, Wisconsin State Senator and Chair of the Senate Health Committee John Erpenbach, and Citizen Action of Wisconsin Director Robert Craig spoke about how the new law directly and positively affects students.

As of yesterday, when parts of the law went into effect, a projected 14,700 young adults in Wisconsin will be allowed to remain on their parents' health insurance plans until age 26.

"With outrageous student loans, the last thing students should have to worry about are health care debts upon graduation," said Gardner.

View Full Story

NSW looks at new law to stop inmates having Facebook profiles

The NSW government has refused to rule out introducing legislation that would ban Facebook profiles being created on behalf of NSW prisoners.

The Corrective Services Minister, Phil Costa, said he would seek to have prisoners' profiles removed from Facebook after revelations on this site that inmates of SuperMax, where the worst criminals are kept, have a presence on the social media website.

Family and friends are believed to manage the profiles, helping inmates to stay in touch with the outside world.

The opposition said the government and prison authorities would be embarrassed by the online profiles and possible security breaches but conceded that laws to police postings would be difficult to put in place.

View Full Story

State workers feeling pain of implementing health-care law

Even as President Obama prepares to acknowledge the six-month mark since he signed his health-care overhaul into law, the legislation remains something of a mystery for patients and politicians alike. Its impact is instead being felt largely by state workers nationwide whose job is to implement the law - and thus begin the mammoth task of transforming the care Americans receive.

For legions of men and women such as James Focht, who coordinates health information technology for the District, that means longer hours and extra work.

When Focht's alarm clock screeched at 3:45 one recent morning, he pulled himself out of bed in the dark, switched on a computer and started tapping out a proposal for a federal grant that would make it easier for hospitals, doctors and other providers to share electronic patient records. He hurried to finish his draft, take a shower and get to work at the D.C. Department of Health Care Finance by 8:15 a.m. so that other executives could edit the proposal and send to the Department of Health and Human Services by 5 p.m.

View Full Story

New Law Allows NY Gay Couples To Adopt

ALBANY --  A new New York State law permits unmarried partners -- including gay couples -- to jointly adopt a child.

Governor David Paterson signed the measure on Monday.  It also substitutes the gender-neutral term "married couple" in the adoption statute for "husband and wife."

Gay individuals can already legally adopt in New York, but state law doesn’t permit same-sex marriages.

Health care law provisions to take effect on Thursday

Six provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that were signed into law March 24 will take effect  September 23.

Some provisions are the extension of coverage for young adults to age 26, free preventive services — such as immunizations for children — on new plans and the prohibition of exclusion of children because of preexisting conditions. The provisions also include the limitation of lifetime limits on insurance coverage for new plans, the regulation of annual limits on insurance coverage for new plans that cost less than $750,000 and the ban on insurance companies from lifting coverage after it has been purchased.

Source: The Commonwealth Fund, which is a private foundation that conducts independent research on health care issues.

Energy Interests Spending Big to Stop California Emissions Law

In 2012, a California law aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the state by roughly 25 % over the next decade, is scheduled to go into effect. The Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006  (or AB 32,) will give the California Air Resources Board sweeping new powers to set emissions limits and reduction measures—and set the stage for the creation of a regional cap and trade system called the Western Climate Initiative.

But a powerful group of business interests including 2 billionaire brothers who recently came into the public eye for their role in financing the Tea Party, are hoping to head off AB 32 with a ballot measure called Proposition 23, or "the California Jobs Initiative." Charles and David Koch, whose Koch Industries has an annual revenue approaching $100 billion—and has several times been ranked among the country's top air polluters—have donated $1 million to groups organizing for the law.

The campaign, which emanates from a series of political action committees, reportedly has received 98 percent of its funding from a group of oil companies led by Valero Energy Corp. and the Tesoro Corporation—with 89 % of that money coming from out-of-state. (Koch Industries is based in Wichita, Kans.)

View Full Story

Group says lessons in law for lovers may prevent marriage breakdown later

TORONTO - No one wants to think about the law when they are in love.

But that is just what an Ontario group looking to improve the family justice system is recommending.

A group from The Law Commission of Ontario said giving people a lesson in the law before they marry may prevent marriage breakdowns.

"They need more information about what the consequences are of living with someone. What am I getting into if I get married, what are my legal obligations?" said Julie Lassonde, a research lawyer with the commission.

The group released results Thursday of its consultations with people involved in the family law process.

Julie Lassonde said the resonating theme among couples embroiled in the legal process is that many of them wished they had more information before they tied the knot.

View Full Story

Parliament rushes through quake law

Parliament tonight passed a bill giving ministers wide-ranging powers to override laws that may hold up reconstruction in Canterbury.

The Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Bill, which became law on a unanimous vote, allows the Government to suspend provisions in 22 different Acts and will stay in force until April 2012.

The Acts listed in the bill include the Building Act, the Land Transport Act, the Local Government Act and the Commerce Act.

"The task ahead is enormous," cabinet minister Gerry Brownlee told MPs when he launched the debate on the bill.

"It's going to take a long time and we're going to need the rest of New Zealand to lend a hand."

View Full Story

Arnold Schwarzenegger Signs Off On Chelsea’s Law

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a new bill into law that comes down hard on child sex offenders.

Chelsea’s Law is the name of the bill that was proposed following the abduction of 17 year old Chelsea King who was sexually assaulted and then killed by John Gardner.

Under the new law, those found guilty of committing a sex crime against a child will face life in prison without the possibility of parole.

“Because of Chelsea, California’s children will be safer. Because of Chelsea, this never has to happen again,” said Arnold Schwarzenegger.

14-year-old Amber Dubois was also a victim of the 31 year old child molester who will spend the rest of his life in prison.

This will impact John Gardner who recently served five of 6 years in prison and violated his parole on numerous occasions.

New U.S. Health Law Won’t Curb Growth in Spending This Decade

Sept. 9 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. health overhaul that Democrats said would slow the rising costs of health care will have little overall effect on spending in the next 10 years, according to an analysis by government actuaries.

By 2019, U.S. health-care spending will make up almost $1 of every $5 spent in the country, or 19.6 %, of gross domestic product, according to the report. Over the decade, costs will increase by 6.3 % each year -- 0.2 % faster than before the law was signed by President Barack Obama in March.

“The overall net impact is moderate,” Andrea Sisko, an economist with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Office of the Actuary, said at a press conference. The government analysis appeared today in the journal Health Affairs.

Reducing the rate of growth in health-care costs was a central goal of Obama’s overhaul championed by the administration and congressional Democrats. Proponents argued lowering costs for the public and private sector would keep the country from being overwhelmed by the expense of delivering health care.

View Full Story

Britain likely to tighten US-UK extradition law

LONDON — Britain is likely to overhaul its extradition laws amid concerns the United States is able to fly suspects out of the U.K. with little proof they have committed a crime, a senior government minister said Wednesday.

A review of current laws would propose changes and consider whether the present rules are "unbalanced" in favor of the U.S. and against British citizens, Home Secretary Theresa May said in a statement to Parliament.

It follows worries over high profile extradition cases including hacker Gary McKinnon, who is wanted in the U.S. for allegedly breaking into American military computers, and retiree Christopher Tappin, accused of plotting to sell missile components to Iran.

"I’m fully aware there are a number of areas of the U.K.'s extradition arrangements which have attracted controversy in recent years," May said. "This government is committed to reviewing those arrangements to ensure they work both efficiently and in the interests of justice."

View Full Story

Law firms may be forced to publish diversity figures

Justice may be blind, but the legal profession isn't, and from next year the public may get to see just what kind of people they are buying their legal services from.

The Legal Services Board (LSB), the body responsible for overseeing the regulation of lawyers in England and Wales, is mulling over plans that would require law firms and chambers to compile and publish comprehensive diversity information about their staff . This would include the 7 diversity strands – age, disability, gender, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation and working patterns – plus social mobility.

The work is the latest in a string of initiatives aimed at changing the profile of the profession. However, the headline statistics are pretty good. Women have made huge strides over the last 40 years and it will not be long before they make up the majority of solicitors, while black and minority ethnic (BME) lawyers are over-represented in the profession in proportion to the population as a whole.

But this only tells part of the story. The LSB notes that much of the work has focused, successfully, on entry level. For example, only a quarter of law firm partners are women, and a mere 3.5 percent of partners in the biggest 150 firms are BME. "The anticipated 'trickle up' effect has not materialized," it says. There is also evidence of significant pay differentials, as well as concern that the impressive BME statistics mask significant under-representation for some groups, such as African-Caribbean men and Bangladeshi women.

Read Fully

New Mexico poll: Majority support Ariz. immigration-check law

ALBUQUERQUE - New Mexico voters strongly disapprove of the state's policy of giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, and a majority of them give a thumbs-up to Arizona's new immigration law, according to a poll released Sunday by the Albuquerque Journal.

According to the poll, 53 % favor Arizona's law, 35 % disapprove, 7 % have mixed feelings and 5 % don't know or wouldn't say.

Hispanic voters agreed with the majority on the state's driver's license policy and supported the city of Albuquerque's new policy of checking immigrant status of anyone who is arrested. However, only 39 % of the Hispanics polled said they supported the Arizona law and 48 % opposed it.

Gabriel Sanchez, an assistant professor of political science at the University of New Mexico, said New Mexicans do not favor the Arizona law as much as the rest of the country does, but the state's voters are becoming more disenchanted with illegal immigrants.

View Full Story

Online dating, bedbugs addressed in new laws in New York

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York's newest laws are meant to make Internet dating safer, further protect victims and witnesses in domestic abuse cases, and require landlords in New York City to come clean about bedbugs when leasing apartments.

Among 26 vetoes, Gov. David Paterson again sank a proposal to create a commission that would promote commemorations of the often forgotten, but critical, War of 1812 vs. Great Britain on its 200th anniversary.

In a legislative session in which the state budget was adopted 4 months late during a historic fiscal crisis and politics often trumped policy, the Internet dating safety act would require that companies warn customers of the dangers of meeting strangers.

The tips include always letting someone else know if you’re going to meet someone new, always providing your own transportation and making sure to meet in a public place.

View Full Story