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.

Congestion Pricing: Addressing The True Cost of Cars

By Peter Kaplan
August 10th, 2023 in Administrative Law, Analysis, Environmental Law, Federal Legislation, Local Legislation.

One of the most heartening social trends of the last couple of years has been a recognition of the true costs of car use in cities. Whether approaching it from the stance of climate change, health effects from air quality, physical safety on the roads, or social fragmentation from structures... More

Revenge Porn and Deep Fake Technology: The Latest Iteration of Online Abuse

By Kara Kelleher
August 10th, 2023 in Analysis, Criminal Law, Federal Legislation, State Legislation.

Revenge Porn The rise of the digital age has brought many advancements to our society. But it has also enabled new forms of online harassment and abuse. Revenge porn (otherwise referred to as image-based sexual abuse or nonconsensual pornography) is a type of gender-based abuse in which sexually explicit photos or... More

Accelerated Public Health Modernization in Massachusetts

By Shannon Gonick
March 23rd, 2023 in Health Law, Local Legislation, State Legislation.

Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and national movements for public health modernization, the Massachusetts Legislature tried to strengthen the Commonwealth’s public health during the summer of 2022. The Statewide Accelerated Public Health for Every Community Act (H.5014) (SAPHE 2.0) would have required local boards of health and regional health districts... More

Boston T Party: Using Transatlantic Policymaking to Push Free Public Transit in Massachusetts

By Jack Ford Mcdonald Morton
July 28th, 2022 in Local Legislation, State Legislation, Transportation.

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... More

The Movement to Repeal a Colonial-Era Sodomy Law in Namibia

By Rose Collins
July 28th, 2022 in Africa, Analysis, Legislation Abroad.

Namibia, located in Southern Africa, is, in terms of public opinion, one of the most LGBTQ+ tolerant countries on the continent. However, sodomy is still criminalized under Roman-Dutch common law, discrimination of LGBTQ+ people is legal, and same-sex marriages are not recognized by the courts. While all of these issues... More