ABA Government Law News
State and Local
A 60 - Second Update on What's Happening
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Co -Editor: Keith H. Hirokawa
Albany Law School
[email protected]
Co- Editor: Sorell E. Negro
Robinson & Cole LLP
[email protected]
Volume 10 Issue 11 Current 2013
Section News
2014 Midyear Meeting
Join us at the ABA Midyear Meeting in Chicago, February 5-11, 2014…
“I give you Chicago. It is not London and Harvard. It is not Paris and buttermilk. It is American in
every chitling and sparerib. It is alive from snout to tail.” - H. L. Mencken
“It’s a 106 miles to Chicago, we’ve got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes; it’s dark and we're
wearing sun glasses. Hit it!” - The Blues Brothers
For more information about what ABA will offer in the Windy City: [register here]
Live CLE Webinars:
“Ocean Zoning, Marine Spatial Planning and Recent Developments in Coastal Zone
Management”
Dec. 5, 2013, 1-2 p.m. EST
John M. Boehnert, Law Offices of John M. Boehnert, Providence, RI, will present this webinar on ocean
zoning, an emerging area of coastal zone management law. This program will introduce marine spatial
planning and ocean zoning, provide details of how ocean zoning plans can be considered and adopted
by states, and identify how such measures fit into the existing coastal zone management regulatory
scheme. For more information: [register here]
“Chapter 9 Bankruptcy: The Big Debates in this Brave New World”
Dec. 5, 2013, 1-2:40 p.m. EST
Since the filing of Vallejo, California’s Chapter 9 bankruptcy case in May of 2008, many of the
country’s distressed municipalities have been considering Chapter 9 as a potential vehicle to help
them return to fiscal stability. This new use of Chapter 9 has raised many questions that are being
debated nationwide. The esteemed panel, consisting of current and former judges, as well as
practitioners from California, Arizona, and Rhode Island, will discuss five of the most controversial and
timely issues including eligibility requirements, bond priorities, pension obligations, collective
bargaining agreements, and sovereign immunity. For more information: [register here]
State & Local News
Hawaii and Illinois Legalize Same-Sex Marriage
Hawaii and Illinois passed legislation allowing same-sex marriage, becoming the fifteenth and
sixteenth states to do so, in addition to the District of Columbia. Hawaii’s law was enacted on Nov. 13,
2013, after 5 days of public comments, which were allowed by Hawaii’s House during its debate. [U.S.
News] A week later, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn slowly signed SB 10, using 100 pens to be used as
souvenirs. [Chicage Tribune]
State Health Exchanges Increase Enrollment While Federal Health Exchange Struggles
The fourteen state-run health exchanges saw enrollment increase significantly in November, more
than doubling and reaching at least 176,000. Supporters say the increase in enrollment is
encouraging, although the numbers are still less than earlier projections and enrollment in the federal
health exchange has faltered due to technical difficulties with the federal marketplace,
HealthCare.gov. [Washington Post]
Hawaii Democratic Party Loses Lawsuit Challenging Open Primary Elections
Hawaii’s open primary election system was upheld in federal court, when U.S. District Judge J. Michael
Seabright rejected the state Democratic Party’s claim that open primary elections are facially
unconstitutional. The Hawaii Democratic Party argued that its First Amendment right to free
association was violated because general voters could vote in the open primaries without publicly
declaring their affiliation for the party. Judge Seabright found that the open primary elections did not
always burden parties’ rights to free association. The court left open the possibility of an as-applied
challenge in the future. [Opinion]
Turkeys Take Over Staten Island
Wild turkeys have taken over Staten Island, NY, where they are obstructing traffic, making messes
and loud disturbances, and even attacking people. The turkeys began congregating at a state
psychiatric hospital about a decade ago, and despite efforts by federal and state officials to round
them up and kill them, the turkeys have persisted. State officials argue that the purging is necessary
because the birds have attacked patients, employees, and visitors, and they cannot be released to the
wild because they are a mix of domestic and wild strains. While the purging has led to protesting by
concerned residents, others have taken drastic measures to try to eliminate the turkeys, including
setting off fireworks to scare them away, which led only to a resident’s arrest, and coating turkey eggs
with vegetable oil, a failed attempt to kill the embryos. Officials are awaiting test results showing
whether the slaughtered, frozen birds are safe for consumption. Unfortunately, results are not
expected before Thanksgiving. [NY Daily News]
New Jersey Allows People to Ban Themselves from Online Gambling
New Jersey will allow people to ban themselves from online gaming, similar to the state’s current
practice of allowing people to place their names on a list of people who are banned from Atlantic City’s
casinos. [NJ News]
Environmental and Land Use News
Florida Couple Challenges Municipal Ban on Front Yard Gardens
A South Florida couple is challenging a Miami Shores ordinance that bans front yard vegetable
gardens, arguing that the ban violates their property rights under the state’s constitution. Hermine
Ricketts and Tom Carroll assert that they grow 80% of their food in their vegetable garden, and their
backyard is not conducive to gardening because it faces north. [NBC Miami]
Colorado Proposes Rules to Regulate Emissions from Oil and Gas Drilling Operations
After four communities in Colorado recently enacted moratoriums on hydraulic fracturing, Governor
John Hickenlooper proposed rules to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas drilling. The
proposed rules include regulation of methane leaks from well sites and storage tanks. These would be
the first rules in the U.S. to directly regulate methane emissions. [NY Times]
California and Illinois Issue Draft Rules to Regulate Fracking; Wyoming Requires Testing of
Nearby Wells and Springs Before and After Drilling
Both California and Illinois issued draft rules to regulate hydraulic fracturing. California’s proposed
rules require notification to neighbors prior to drilling, groundwater testing, state permits, continuous
monitoring, and an analysis of nearby wells and earthquake faults to prevent fluid migration.
[Opinion]
Illinois’s draft rules comprehensively regulate hydraulic fracturing and would require permits, impose
well site preparation and construction standards, mandate water quality monitoring, and require postclosure plugging of wells and land restoration and enforcement. [Illinois Register]
Meanwhile, the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission adopted a new rule requiring energy
companies to test wells and springs within half a mile of the drilling site both before and after drilling,
starting March 1, 2014. [NY Times]
New Federal Partnership to Help State and Local Governments Address Drought
The Obama Administration announced a new federal partnership on Nov. 15, 2013 designed to aid
state and local governments in addressing drought. The National Drought Resilience Partnership gives
state and local governments access to federal resources for increasing resiliency in the face of drought
and serves as a clearinghouse of drought-related information. [NIDIS]
Happy Thanksgiving!