Spring/Summer 2018

Can the Every Student Succeeds Act Help Close the Discipline Gap?

By Nkoyo-Ene Effiong Lewis

Recognizing the correlation between discipline, academic achievement, and incarceration, ESSA provides funding for states to implement effective discipline practices. However, closing the discipline gap will require far more than legally compliant data collection and dissemination.

Local Government

Florida Cities Challenge Penalties Imposed on Local Officials for Adoption of Local Gun Regulations

By Martha H. Chumbler

Nine Florida cities and many of their mayors and commissioners have filed suit challenging the constitutionality of Florida Statutes § 790.33(3), which imposes penalties for the local adoption of all but a few very narrow categories of gun regulations.

Local Government

Section Leader Helps Draft Environment and Natural Resources Code for Cambodia

By Peter Buchsbaum

A collaborative effort among ministries of the Cambodian government, a local public interest law firm, and working groups including ABA members, the code provides a framework for almost all aspects of land use and environmental regulation.

Eminent Domain

National Flood Insurance Program Reauthorization and Reform

By Ed Thomas and Joe Rossi

The NFIP was established to make affordable flood insurance available both to aid recovery and to require land use regulation by local governments. Proposals in the current Congress to reauthorize the NFIP consider policy changes and deal with the program’s accumulated debt.

Homelessness

The Role of Planning and Law in Solving Homelessness

By Wendie L. Kellington

Housing the unhoused will be effective if we provide places for them to go, they are willing and able to go to the places provided, the places are socially effective and supported with social and medical services, and the homeless are required to go there.

Local Government

Affordable Housing Demand Leading to Land Use Regulation Reform

By Kathy Kinsman

Growth management regulations led to a significant increase in housing costs. To address this increase, communities began enacting inclusionary zoning ordinances, which encourage the developer to build affordable units while making the development feasible to the developer and to investors.

Local Government

Hurry Up and Wait! The Court Punts on Partisan Gerrymandering

By Benjamin E. Griffith

In June 2018, the Supreme Court vacated the district court’s decision in Gill v. Whitford that had invalidated the Wisconsin legislative redistricting plan as an unconstitutional political gerrymander based on a theory of vote dilution. The Court remanded the case to allow the plaintiffs to prove Article III standing.

State Government

Report of the Nominating Committee 2018 (Positions in FY2019)

The Nominating Committee reports its nominations for each Section of State and Local Government Law position to be filled by election at the ABA Annual Meeting in Chicago.

State Government

ABA Annual Meeting, August 2–5, 2018

Join the Section of State and Local Government Law at the 2018 ABA Annual Meeting in Chicago! Here's what's on the schedule.

State Government

Fall CLE and Networking Conference, October 4–7, 2018

Join the Section of State and Local Government Law for cutting-edge CLE and fun on the River Walk in San Antonio!

State Government

21st Annual Jefferson Fordham Award Winners

The Section’s Jefferson Fordham Society presents its annual Jefferson Fordham Awards honoring professional excellence in the practice of state and local government law.

State Government

Explore Our Communities! Learn, Grow, Participate

Join one or more of our Section communities (formerly committees) to build your network, ask questions, participate in meetings, and access valuable resources.

State Government

Add Value to Your ABA Membership

Learn about the ABA Value Pass and Free CLE series. The “ABA Value Pass” is available to provide people with yearlong access to our distance learning programs for a one-time fee.

Local Government

Cybersecurity Best Practices in Elections: ABA Paris Sessions, June 8, 2018

Speakers discussed and identified the best practices/standards that need to exist to prevent interference from state actors and others to ensure a fair and free democratic electoral process.