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‘Black Tax’ Costs US Cities Millions to Borrow on Wall Street - Bloomberg Top State Judges Make a Rare Plea in a Momentous Supreme Court Election Case - The New York Times (nytimes.com) Cities can’t prohibit the homeless from using blankets or pillows on public property, court rules (sfchronicle.com) Mayor Breed to End Practice of Making Appointees Sign Undated Resignation Letters (sfstandard.com) For More Than 20 Guaranteed Income Projects, the Data Is In - Bloomberg

February 24, 2022, marked the start of what has become a never-ending nightmare for all Ukrainians. This day went down in world history as the start of the full-scale invasion of Russian troops into the territory of Ukraine under the auspices of the “special military operation” to “liberate” the Ukrainian people, and to demilitarize and “denazify'' it. Although Vladmir Putin claimed at first that Moscow’s plans did not include the paramilitary occupation of the territories of

NYC Preps Inaugural ‘Social’ Bonds as Part of $1.4 Billion Debt Sale - Bloomberg Summit County court worker sues judge, deputies for attacking him while entering courthouse from employee entrance - cleveland.com Criminal investigation opened into Gov. DeSantis' migrant flights to Martha's Vineyard - CBS Miami (cbsnews.com) The long, hard struggle of Windsor Park | Las Vegas Review-Journal (reviewjournal.com) Former Mayors Call for US Cities to Fight Extremist Violence - B

The bankruptcy of Purdue Pharma is a saga with many twists and turns. Among the many interesting facets of the case is the role state and local governments have played within it. These governments were involved from the beginning of the case and will have a vital role to play whenever settlement funds are distributed. Throughout the case, these governments have been a critical part of negotiations. Relying in part on assurances from pharmaceutical companies like Purdue that o

Boil notice lifted for Jackson after nearly 7 weeks of water crisis, Mississippi officials announce (nbcnews.com) Michigan charter school spending questioned - Chalkbeat Detroit Gov. Ron DeSantis' Administration Tells Florida Town to Abandon Zoning Reform (reason.com) Chicago Looks to Boost Hiring for People Released From Prison - Bloomberg N.Y. State Vote Could Raise Pressure on Officials Over Hasidic Schools - The New York Times (nytimes.com) Public Libraries Face Thre

Michigan’s Board of Canvassers, "gibberish," and what makes a word: what just happened with the state’s Reproductive Freedom Initiative and why it matters for future elections Michigan’s Supreme Court ruled last week that the state’s voters will find the Right to Reproductive Freedom initiative on their midterm ballots. The initiative was stalled by a challenge before the State Board of Canvassers but revived by state supreme court intervention. The unusual path for the prop

Murphy Says NYC Congestion Pricing Can’t Burden NJ Taxpayers - Bloomberg California Law to Cut Public Meeting Disruptions - Bloomberg Federal Monitor Investigating How Arsenic Got Into NYCHA’s Water - THE CITY 'It's a disgrace': West Baltimore residents demand action on contaminated water - CBS Baltimore (cbsnews.com) Teddy Bears and Racial Justice: How St. Louis Became a Laboratory for Social Work - The New York Times (nytimes.com) Michigan’s high court puts abortion quest

Durham’s unarmed first responders are making an impact, data shows :: WRAL.com Conservatives’ Federal Case Challenges Immigrant Voting — Using Ex-Council Members’ Own Words - THE CITY NYC's Rise of Low-Level Arrests Worry Critics of 'Broken Windows' Era - Bloomberg New 'Stability' Housing Vouchers for Homeless, At-Risk Families - Bloomberg Lakewood NJ cut down Town Square trees to deter homeless (app.com) Jackson water crisis deepens as state deploys National Guard (msn.

This Alabama city couldn’t fire cops who sent racist texts, so it disbanded the entire department - al.com Louisiana Delays Critical Flood Response Funds to New Orleans Over Abortion Politics (jezebel.com) Florida’s Bond Chief Sees Disney District Being Re-Established (DIS) - Bloomberg New Orleans short-term rental rule struck down by court (msn.com) Inside the Effort to Help Lowndes County's Water Issues | Time Texas trigger law making abortion a felony goes into effect

What Does the Inflation Reduction Act Do for State and Local Government? (governing.com) What Should Mayors Do After Mass Shootings? - Bloomberg Ten cities and towns are poised to ban fossil fuels from new buildings - The Boston Globe Pipeline break spills 45,000 gallons of diesel in Wyoming - ABC News (go.com) Report: Rural Electric Cooperatives Lack Women, Minorities in Elected Positions | The Daily Yonder Ramsey County jail officers of color barred from guarding Derek Ch

Philadelphia police cancel 200 block parties for ‘criminal activity,’ frustrating residents - On top of Philly news (billypenn.com) Indiana officers suspended for arrest of possible candidate they thought was anti-cop - The Washington Post Op-Ed: Solve the insulin pricing problem by getting government into the business - Los Angeles Times (latimes.com) How New York City Hopes to Win Its Long, Losing War on Trash - The New York Times (nytimes.com) Judge Says He Will Toss O

How Abortion Rights Supporters Won in Kansas - The New York Times (nytimes.com) DeSantis suspends Florida prosecutor for indicating he would not enforce restrictions on abortion, gender therapy (nbcnews.com) Pennsylvania County Could Divest From Wells Fargo Over Abortion - Bloomberg School districts facing 'crisis' teaching shortage - The Washington Post Upset over LGBTQ books, a Michigan town defunds its library in tax vote | Bridge Michigan Opinion | Alabama Takes From

It depends on how organized you are, this could be vacation time. Or, it could be preparation time. Whatever you are doing, have a look at Ilya Somin's view on the protection of same -sex marriage . Also of interest is Rick Pildes' take on the Independent State Legislature Theory . Rick and Carolyn Schapiro will be our guests for a panel on September 29 on this topic. You can sign up here . It is going to be pretty challenging to teach about constitutional law and state a

I am not even a fan of Fall Out Boy, and yet I am distressed that Atlanta’s Midtown Music Festival, scheduled for September 17-18 in Piedmont Park, was cancelled this week by organizers because of a preemption issue. Well, that is not what Instagram account said , but it is what happened . This time, it is about gun safety. In 2014, then-Governor Nathan Deal of Georgia signed the so-called Safe Carry Protection Act, which expanded where people could carry concealed firearms

Gavin Newsom signs California gun bill modeled after Texas abortion law - CNNPolitics Nearly half of Oregon’s inmate population included in first class action suit of its kind – Oregon Capital Chronicle Code Snitching: Nashvillians Are Weaponizing Metro Codes Against ‘Undesirable’ Neighbors | Cover Story | nashvillescene.com Ceremony marks official return of Bruce's Beach - Los Angeles Times (latimes.com) A College Town Takes On Exclusionary Zoning - Bloomberg Over 2.5 m

What Croydon, a ‘Live Free or Die’ Town, Learned About Democracy - The New York Times (nytimes.com) Climate Activists Pivot to Local Action, Frustrated by Washington Gridlock - Bloomberg Newsom to Sign Bill Allowing Residents to Sue Over Illegal Guns - The New York Times (nytimes.com) Deadly heat: US cities are hiring 'chief heat officers' as they face increasing heat threat - CNN Pittsburgh passes three bills to protect reproductive freedom (pittsburghpa.gov) Oklahoma T

Meryl Chertoff, Executive Director, Georgetown Project on State and Local Government Policy & Law, Adjunct Professor of Law I have just finished reading Leah Litman and Kate Shaw’s really excellent takedown of the independent state legislature theory (ISLT) and the decision of the North Carolina Supreme Court that was granted cert as Moore v. Harper — Harper v. Hall which could be the case that decides if the Court will accept ISLT as a doctrine governing the relationship o

As NYC Slashes School Budgets, Art Teachers Are Feeling the Squeeze (hyperallergic.com) Uvalde Schools’ Police Chief, Criticized Over Mass Shooting Response, Quits City Council - WSJ Is your dishwasher repairman packing heat? The case for ‘no carry’ gun defaults on private property | The Hill New York Moves to Enshrine Abortion Rights in State Constitution - The New York Times (nytimes.com) St. Paul's new basic income project: $12K cash plus college funds (twincities.com)

Editor's Note: Periodically, we provide a forum for authors to discuss law review or SSRN essays where the topics are of interest to a broad audience. If you think that your scholarship has crosscutting appeal, please let us know at sloglawblog@gmail.com Readers of this blog will be familiar with the importance of state courts, especially on the front lines of election and reproductive rights litigation. As a matter of procedure, the state courts that handle such high stak

Stop spreading the news: non-citizens may not be allowed to vote in New York City elections, after all, unless a state appellate court overturns a recent decision saying that the state constitution forbids the practice. The United States has a long, storied history of non-citizens voting in local elections. Even today, although non-citizens may not vote in federal elections, non-citizens in eleven towns in Maryland, two in Vermont, and one in California (San Francisco) can va