State & Local Government Law

Public Law Produces Public Benefit
The Section serves as a collegial forum for its members, the profession and the public to provide leadership and educational resources in urban, state and local government law and policy.

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ABA Government Law News

State and Local

A 60-Second Update on What’s Happening

Vol. 1, # 1, May, 2004

New member service: Recent developments at a glance: new cases, legislation, studies, books and articles. You will not be overwhelmed. If you see an item of interest, great! If not, you’ve only spent a minute looking.

Access to courthouses and the ADA: reversing a trend of state victories, in Tennessee v. Lane (5-17-04) the Supreme Court, by a 5 to 4 vote, found that the ADA provides the disabled with the right to sue state governments that fail to provide ramps or other forms of access to their courthouses.

Municipal equal protection liability: The Supreme Court decision in Olech (2000) seems not to have not exposed municipalities to increased liability, at least as much as some thought it might. Judge Posner in a recent concurrence in Bell v. Duperrault (7^th Cir., 5-12-04) explained the standard of proof applicable to "class of one" equal protection cases. The opinion is a valuable source of cases interpreting Olech and provides a roadmap for analyzing such a claim.

Annexation so often provokes litigation. Who can bring a challenge? The Nebraska Supreme Court held in County of Sarpy v. City of Gretna (May 2004) that a county has standing to challenge a city’s annexation.

New federal overtime regulations that will take effect automatically in 32 states on Aug. 23 are generating confusion. States that will not be automatically affected, unsure what to do, are taking different steps to deal with the new regulations.

Expanding federal activities for military and other homeland security reasons may lead to increased federal land acquisition. Under one method the federal government must seek state consent. Under another it need not. What is the difference, how can the state be prepared, and what role is there for local governments?

Freedom of Information: the Citizen Access Project at the University of Florida offers state-by-state comparisons on access to government information.

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Section of State and Local Government Law, American Bar Association

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