Legal
Legal matters are a core focus for local and state government agencies, encompassing the creation, interpretation, and enforcement of laws and regulations that govern public affairs. Legal frameworks ensure that government actions are consistent with the rule of law and protect citizens’ rights. Though by no means a perfect system – enforcement inequities continue to make the headlines – local leaders strive to create laws that work fairly for all.
Lower Merion Township offers a 100% real estate tax credit to active volunteer firefighters and ambulance personnel who live and own property in the township
The Hanceville City Council voted to immediately suspend department operations and search for a new chief to build a new department and hire employees
Combination of SMS messages and phishing uses text messages to trick people into giving out sensitive personal information
The bill bars cities and counties from reducing their law enforcement budgets by more than 5% in one year, or cumulatively across five years
The settlement is the largest in the city’s history involving a civil rights lawsuit and the Santa Rosa Police Department
A federal jury ruled that the firing of Kansas City Firefighter Jyan Harris, who is Black, was in retaliation for reporting harassment
Chauvin was found guilty on all charges in a verdict read Tuesday afternoon
The new law allows city councils and county commissioners to amend or rescind emergency orders by local health boards and health officers
“Generally speaking, not only is there more preemption [lately], it comes with teeth”
The bill’s sponsor said it was intended to promote public safety and show support for law enforcement
The inspector general’s report found more than half of female employees and 87% of Black employees surveyed reported harassment or discrimination
The smell of marijuana will no longer be grounds for police searches
The ACLU of Ohio said some parts of the legislation could have a chilling effect on free speech
A new analysis suggests that Americans who want to make mass shootings less frequent and deadly may want to think beyond gun control legislation
New York will also start automatically expunging criminal records for certain past marijuana-related convictions
“This session we’ve seen an avalanche of proposals designed to undercut local democracy and erase home rule”
A review found that most of the extreme risk protection orders granted by judges came from cases initiated by police
While DORAs promise to revitalize local business districts hit hard by COVID-19, they also come with unique guidelines for set-up, regulation and local law enforcement
The city banned assault weapons in 2018, though a Boulder County District Court judge ruled just days before the shooting that such a ban was illegal under state law
