Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, a Republican since 1966, said on Tuesday April 28 that he will switch to the Decmocratic Party and will run as a Democrat in 2010, thus presenting Democrats with a possible 60th vote and the power to break Senate filibusters. Here is a link to…
Articles Posted in Legislative Information
New York Legislation: Update to Legislation Regarding Rockefeller Drug Law Reform
On March 30, 2009 we posted information on this blawg about the historic agreement reached by New York lawmakers regarding reform of the Rockefeller drug law. Since that time there has been significant activity related to his effort including the signing of Chapter 56 of 2009 by the Governor on…
New York Legislature: Chapter Law List as of April 10, 2009
Information for this list was obtained from the New York State Legislative Retrieval System (LRS): 2009 CHAPTER LIST AS OF April 10, 2009 – Listed by Chapter Law Number, Highest number listed at top. NOTE: Provisions regarding Rockefeller drug reform are included as Part AAA of Chapter 56A. CHAPTER No.…
All Charges Dropped Against Former Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska
The U.S. Justice Department moved on Wednesday April 1 to drop all charges in the case against former Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska. In a federal court on Wednesday Justice Department lawyers explained that in addition to earlier disclosures they discovered further evidence of misconduct that raised questions about the…
New York State Lawmakers Reach Historic Agreement to Reform Rockefeller Drug Law
New York Governor David Paterson, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, and Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith announced an agreement of Friday March 27 that would effectively end the harshest provisions of the New York Rockefeller Laws The Agreement ends mandatory jail for first-time and non-felony offenders. It also gives judges total…
Good Breakdown of Comparative Funding Levels Between the House and Senate Versions of the Stimulus Legislation
I was going to post something about the comparative funding levels between the House and Senate versions of the stimulus legislation, but have just learned that ProPublica has already done so on their blog. Congratulations to ProPublica for a really good posting. Here is the link. http://www.propublica.org/special/the-stimulus-bills-house-vs.-senate
Summary of Proposed U.S. Stimulus Legislation
This posting links to a summary of the highlights of proposed stimulus legislation. including the Nelson-Collins Amendment and other floor amendments as of February 6, 2009. It is not a complete listing of all programs and spending included in the proposed legislation, but it provides a good overview for those…
Preserving the American Historical Record Act (PAHR)
FROM: News from the [New York] State Archives, Region 1, No. 1-2/2009. Preserving the American Historical Record Act (PAHR): The Act will authorize grants to support the essential evidence of American government and society held by state and local governments, historical societies, and libraries. Status: On May 15, 2008, the…
The Future of Sentencing in New York State: Recommendations for Reform
A Report of the New York State Commission on Sentencing Reform, dated January 30, 2009 and released on February 3, 2009. The Report, Future of Sentencing in New York State, calls for reforms to New York Stae drug laws; determinate sentencing, graduated and sanctions for parole violators are among the…
Proposed Democratic Senate Committee Assignments for 111th Congress
On December 22, 2008 we posted a list of House committee assignments preferred by many freshman in the 111th congress. Although we have heard nothing more about House commitee assignments, we have heard from the Senate. Senate Majority Harry Reid has announced a partial list of the committee assignments he…