Dome:
Law, Legislation & Policy

Housed at Boston University School of Law, Dome is a valuable resource for news, analysis, and opinion on legislation and public policy. Dome is staffed by students of BU Law’s various legislation clinics. Dome features work contributed by staff members, scholars, practitioners, and law students interested in legislation and public policy.

Can Mandatory Liability Insurance Stem Police Brutality? By: Phil Schneider

By Sean J Kealy
July 21st, 2016 in Analysis, Local Legislation, News.

The deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and Freddie Grey in Baltimore has placed a spotlight on the problems of police brutality and misconduct. Responding to those deaths and other examples of police abuses, large scale protests, some of which have turned violent, and the Black Lives Matter movement... More

Privacy in the Tech Age: Delaware Law Protects Personal Identifying Information

By Deborah Hinck
May 25th, 2016 in Analysis, News, State Legislation.

On Jan 1, 2015, Delaware’s “Safe Destruction of Records Containing Personal Identifying Information” law (“§736”) went into effect. Under this law, a Delaware business that tries but fails to adequately destroy a record containing an employee’s personally identifying information (“PII”) could face liability.  Any employee who suffers actual harm due... More

Massachusetts Legislature Passes Controversial Solar Energy Bill

By Tyler Spunaugle
May 25th, 2016 in Analysis, News, State Legislation.

After months of negotiation, the Massachusetts Legislature finally reached a compromise  to raise the caps on the state’s controversial “net metering” program. The net metering program enables solar (and other alternate energy) producers to sell excess power their systems produce back to the grid for a credit on their account. ... More

Loopholes in the System: How Student Loan Litigation May Change Going Forward

By Sonam Bhagat
January 28th, 2016 in Federal Legislation, Legislation in Court, Legislative Oversight.

In June 2014, the Department of Education greatly reduced its funding from the for-profit institution Corinthian Colleges, which had received $1.4 billion in funding annually from the federal government. But serious concerns that Corinthian had mishandled the funds, redirecting them to creditors and other avenues rather than to students, led... More

The Demise of the EU-U.S. Safe Harbor Agreement

By Deborah Hinck
January 28th, 2016 in Federal Legislation, Legislation in Court.

Maximillian Schrems, an Austrian law student, is at the center of a monumental shift in data relations between the United States and the European Union; a shift that revolves around a clash in philosophies regarding data privacy. The EU views privacy as a fundamental human right. The U.S. does not. Americans... More