The Texas Legislature meets for five months once every two years. With that being said, if laws need to be added, changed, or removed outside of this five month period, the governor can call a special session. The governor is the only person who can call for this special session and he also “has unilateral authority to decide what type of policies are in play for the special session.” Special sessions are quite common. In fact, one has just been called by Governor Abbott after the completion of the regular legislative session in May.
Read moreFair Housing Act: Local Resources
Contact the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) if you would like to enter a federal complaint. The office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) has complete information on the complaint and investigation process.
Read moreNew Incentives for Going Green in 2023
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 goes beyond tackling the recent challenges of the U.S. economy, like health care costs or the tax code, and includes laws aimed at increasing affordable access to clean energy.
Read moreBrackeen v. Haaland: What Does the Future Hold for the Indian Child Welfare Act?
November is both National Native American Heritage Month and National Adoption Month. Tomorrow, November 9, the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a case that has implications related to both, Brackeen v. Haaland, which concerns the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA), 25 U.S.C. §§ 1901-1963. The ICWA governs the removal, placement, and return of Native American children in child welfare proceedings for both foster care and adoption. At issue on appeal is the constitutionality of the act’s child placement preferences, as set forth in 25 U.S.C. § 1915. This blog sets forth the ICWA’s child placement preferences and a brief procedural history of the case.
Read moreThe Publication Procedure of U.S. Supreme Court Opinions
The procedures of the United States Supreme Court are commonly thought of as convoluted yet airtight, established with the goal of preventing bias and outside influence from affecting the decisions of our highest court in mind. One such procedure is the drafting and publishing of the opinions of the Supreme Court.
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