In a surprising ruling, a three-judge panel of the Eleventh Circuit ruled last week in Graham v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company that strict liability claims and negligence claims in the long running Engle-progeny litigation are preempted by federal law. The decision, written by Judge Tjoflat, applied a broad reading of the implied preemption doctrine, concluding that […]
Recently, Senator Ted Cruz made headlines with his claim that the “IRS Code” contains more words than the Bible, with “not a one of them as good.” The Washington Post fact-checked that claim but in doing so, opened up another hornet’s nest. Academics across the country wrote in to take issue with the WaPo’s parroting […]
If the Supreme Court rules for the plaintiffs in King v. Burwell, the thirty-four states without their own exchanges will come under immense pressure to create them. But there’s a catch, one that so far has gone unmentioned in the debate over King. Could residents of the states with new state-based exchanges even qualify for […]
The Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) is looking for a researcher/consultant for an exciting new project entitled The Ombudsman in Federal Agencies . If I weren’t already working on ACUS’s project on federal agencies in the legislative process , I’d definitely be interested in consulting on this project. These offices can play a critical […]
The Social Security Administration (“SSA”) seeks comment on its proposed rule to modify its regulations so that, in addition to submitting the required evidence, Social Security number (“SSN”) applicants may complete a “prescribed application,” instead of a paper Form SS-5, “Application for a Social Security Card”). The suggested changes are intended to make applying for […]
There was a time when the Fed Chair’s semi-annual testimony before the House or Senate was something of a love fest. Chairman Greenspan would be celebrated by members on the left and right, each side eager to latch onto the growing perception that Greenspan—and the Fed—was the best thing going in U.S. economic policy. Judging […]
Here is the March 2015 edition of the most-downloaded recent papers (those announced in the last 60 days) from SSRN’s U.S. Administrative Law eJournal, which is edited by William Funk. For more on why SSRN and this eJournal are such terrific resources for administrative law scholars and practitioners, check out my first post on the subject here. […]
With Republicans in control of both Houses of Congress, one should expect more legislative efforts to reign in the modern administrative state. And, indeed, about three-dozen such reform proposals have been introduced in Congress since the first of the year. It is a daunting task to try to keep track of all of these proposals, […]
In my prior posts, I have discussed two Treasury/IRS regulations that contradict the language of Section 36B. The first regulation rewrites Section 36(c)(1)(B) and extends the ACA tax credit, in a roundabout way, to unlawful aliens. However, as I previously noted, it’s doubtful that the employers of the unlawful aliens would face any adverse consequences […]
In a prior post, I wrote about Treasury/IRS regulations that contradict Section 36B and extend the ACA premium tax credit to some low-income unlawful aliens. In this post, I want to discuss another regulation that contradicts the statute. Although Section 36B provides tax credits only if your household income falls within a certain range (100 […]
With the spring law review submission process winding down, I’ll be spending the next few months trying to catch up on covering the terrific new administrative law scholarship via this Administrative Law Bridge Series. In this post, I’d like to highlight three important empirical studies on immigration adjudication. Full disclosure: Immigration adjudication is an area […]
In my prior post, I explained how Treasury/IRS regulations contradict Section 36B and essentially extend premium tax credits to the lawfully residing dependents of an unlawfully residing alien. I posited that a controversy could arise when the extension of that credit triggered an employee penalty. To avoid a penalty under Section 4980H(a), an employer must provide […]
Meet Renée Landers, Professor at Suffolk University Law School and Vice Chair for the ABA Section of Administrative Law & Regulatory Practice. Below, Prof. Landers shares her diverse experiences with administrative law and insights for practitioners and students alike. 1. What led you to a career in law? How did you become interested in studying […]
The econ blogosphere is alight with the news that former Fed Chair Ben Bernanke is now blogging. While I may engage the substance of his posts in this space, I want to comment on his striking choice to blog at all. In a Q&A at Brookings earlier in the month, a journalist asked Bernanke for […]
As the end of the Supreme Court’s current term nears, all eyes are on King v. Burwell, in which the Court will address whether premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act extend to purchases of health plans on federally established exchanges. As I learn more about Section 36B, however, I’m growing increasingly concerned that […]