State Legislation
Boston T Party: Using Transatlantic Policymaking to Push Free Public Transit in Massachusetts
If you’ve lived anywhere near the Boston metropolitan area in the past few months, you will no doubt have faced a barrage of discussion in the media and manifestos about the prospects of making the T (Boston’s public transport system) free for all riders. Mayor Michelle Wu has headed up the push to make the historic […]
Voter Suppression Laws in the Wake of Democratic Control of the Presidency and Senate
Georgia gained national attention in the 2020 election when the predominantly red state broke its 24-year streak of voting for Republican candidates in U.S. Presidential Elections. It went on to make history in early 2021 when the electorate flipped the U.S. Senate and elected Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff to the U.S. Senate, respectively […]
Decriminalize Everything? Oregon’s New Drug Laws
In November 2020, Oregon voters overwhelmingly decided to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of almost all hard drugs. Measure 110 went into effect on February 1, 2021. The legislation took a groundbreaking, albeit controversial step by reclassifying the possession of hard drugs. Offenses that were formally criminal misdemeanors, subjecting citizens to arrest, fines, and […]
Emergency Opportunity: Legislating Away Roe v. Wade During the Coronavirus Pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted American life, challenging mental health, physical health and the economic infrastructure of the country. Though a pandemic inherently creates adversity, one struggle that we may not have anticipated to escalate so dramatically during this time is the fight for reproductive rights. Just before the pandemic, conservative legislators and pro-life groups […]
Time To Bring Back Happy Hour To Massachusetts?
This session the Massachusetts Legislature considered “An Act restoring happy hour to the commonwealth” SB.169 at the request of a group of Boston College Law School students. The bill would allow restaurants and bars to discount alcoholic beverages during specified times if drink prices are not changed during the happy hour; the happy hour does not […]
Time To Bring Back Happy Hour To Massachusetts?
This session the Massachusetts Legislature considered “An Act restoring happy hour to the commonwealth” SB.169 at the request of a group of Boston College Law School students. The bill would allow restaurants and bars to discount alcoholic beverages during specified times if drink prices are not changed during the happy hour; the happy hour does not […]
The Legality of Ranked Choice Voting
For a number of reasons, Jared Golden (D-ME) made national news when he was elected to represent Maine’s second congressional district (CD-2). First, CD-2 is roughly ten points more conservative than the nation as a whole and voted for former President Trump twice. Second, his victory meant the Democratic party would occupy all of New […]
Book Review: Fighting Political Gridlock
Fighting Political Gridlock by David J. Toscano University of Virgina Press, 2021 ISBN: 9780813946467 (hardcover) Over the last few days, I had the chance to read David J. Toscano’s excellent new book Fighting Political Gridlock: How States Shape Our Nation and Our Lives. From the dust jacket: In this profoundly polarized era, the nation has […]
Chaos
I bought a painting! I am not a major collector by any means, but I could not pass this one up: The painting, entitled “Chaos,” is by Austin Texas based artist Laura Atlas Kravitz from Lollies Follies Studio. A lawyer, Laura works in government relations for an education organization. She started painting as a stress […]
Here Comes the Sun?
On March 12, 2021, a bipartisan coalition of Senators reintroduced the Sunshine Protection Act, a bill that would make daylight saving time permanent across the country. Leading sponsors include Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). This legislation would not only eradicate the disruption created by changing our clocks twice a year, but would also […]