Senators John Kerry and John McCain introduced an Internet privacy bill that would require companies to clearly spell out the types of data collected from consumers online, how it’s used and require corporate safeguards from hackers and other criminals. [More]
laws
Town Passes Anti Black Friday Rampage Ordinance
By 10.21.10
Finally, one town has taken a stand against the madness and said, “no more.” [More]
NY To Make Foreclosure Lawyers Verify Paperwork
By 10.21.10
The chief judge in New York Wednesday ruled that lawyers handling foreclosures will have to verify that all paperwork is correct. [More]
Your Saggy Pants Are Not Welcome In Dublin, Georgia
By 9.7.10
Even though other municipalities have tried — and failed — to enact laws regulating the bagginess and sagginess of their citizens’ trousers, the mayor of Dublin, GA, is moving forward with his plan to sign an ordinance that would fine violators up to $200 for low-riding pants. [More]
California Decides Not To Ban Plastic Bags
By 9.1.10
California lawmakers rejected a proposed statewide ban on plastic bags late Tuesday. [More]
New York Requires Landlords To Tell Tenants Of Bedbug History
By 8.31.10
Since New York is being eaten alive by bedbugs, the state government has stepped in to make landlords disclose a one-year history of bedbug infestations at properties to prospective tenants. [More]
Colleges Are Now Required To List Textbooks During Class Registration
By 7.31.10
Finding the best textbooks prices just got a whole lot easier now that colleges are required to provide students with a list of required textbooks when they register for classes. The requirement was mandated back in the 2008 as part of the Higher Education Opportunity Act, but only took effect this year. [More]
10 State Taxes That May Be Coming Your Way
By 7.30.10
As states scramble to fill coffers, lawmakers are getting creative in dreaming up new ways to tax you. [More]
Saggy Pants Legal: Your Constitutional Right To Foolishness Has Been Protected
By 7.29.10
A Bronx judge has ruled that saggy pants are not, in fact, illegal and do not constitute “Disorderly Conduct.” The ruling comes in a case where a gentleman was issued a summons because he was wearing “his pants down below his buttocks exposing underwear [and] potentially showing private parts,” says Gothamist. [More]
NYC To Retailers: Close The Door, Did You Grow Up In A Barn?
By 7.6.10
In New York City, if you have a store with more than 4,000 square feet of retail space, or if you own a chain of at least five stores in the city, you’re required by law to keep your cool air inside where it belongs. That means none of this leaving the door open so your cool air will “lure in overheated customers,” reports WNYC. A city councilwoman says she hopes to conduct surveys this week to catch any retailers skirting the law. An employee at French Connection in SoHo said that her store is concerned about the energy crisis, so they only open one door instead of two these days. [More]
Internet Sales Tax Bill Introduced Again
By 7.6.10
Last week, Massachusetts Rep. Bill Delahunt introduced a bill called the “Main Street Fairness Act,” which is a stupid name for a bill. The text of the bill hasn’t been released yet, but if passed, it would presumably set up a process where sales tax could be collected on purchases made over the Internet. As anyone who has shopped online over the past decade is probably aware, this has been an ongoing and thorny issue, since billions in online sales tax would provide a welcome revenue stream for struggling states. [More]
Arizona Becomes 16th State To Punch Payday Lenders In The Face
By 6.27.10
Arizona is about to say goodbye to predatory payday lenders who issue loans with annual interests exceeding 460%. On Thursday a decade-old law will expire, capping interest rates at 36%. The predatory lenders begged to keep the law in force, but voters and the legislature just sat back and gave the industry a big, slow, deserved punch right in the face. [More]
NYC Forces Retailers To Stop Selling Illegal Knives
By 6.21.10
If you were planning on picking up a sturdy switchblade or gravity knife from one of the Home Depots in NYC for your next home improvement project, or because you wanted to stab someone, you should note that they’re no longer available. That’s because last week, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office persuaded that store and 13 other retailers to stop selling such knives. They’re generally illegal in New York, and the retailers have agreed to surrender their inventory and forfeit any profits they made from illegal knife sales over the past four years. [More]
Congress Considers Federal Anti-Slapp Law To Protect Consumers From Angry Businesses
By 6.2.10
The New York Times has an article about Justin Kurtz, the college student who angered the owner of T&J Towing by creating a Facebook page about the company and who is now fighting a $750k defamation lawsuit. That sort of lawsuit–the kind meant to intimidate an opponent into silence–is called a “strategic lawsuit against public participation,” or Slapp. Now two Representatives are sponsoring a bill that would create a federal anti-Slapp law to protect consumers from vengeful businesses. [More]
No More Eating Shark Fin In Hawaii
By 5.30.10
A new law has made Hawaii the first state in the country to outlaw the possession of shark fin — a delicacy that goes for $48 a plate, according to the AP. [More]
What's In The Financial Reform Bill?
By 5.21.10
Now that the Senate has passed the financial reform bill, it’s off to non-smoke-filled rooms, where it will go into a Blendtec with the version passed by the House last year. CNNMoney.com sifted through all 1,600 pages of the bill and came up with a handy cheat sheet explaining what’s actually likely to change when this thing becomes a law. [More]
New Jersey Wants To End Mail In Rebates
By 5.10.10
Mail in rebates are a sneaky way to make things look cheaper than they actually are at the point of sale, since many consumers never actually get any cash back. Now New Jersey’s state Assembly is considering legislation that would require retailers to charge shoppers the after-rebate price on goods, instead of forcing them to mail in or submit online requests. If the retailer still wants to take advantage of the rebate, that’s no problem; he’ll just have to mail it in himself. [More]
Supreme Court Makes It Easier To Sue Debt Collectors
By 4.26.10
Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that debt collectors can’t use a “bona fide error” defense to avoid being sued for misinterpreting the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA). In other words, if a debt collection agency makes a demand that’s in violation of the Act, it can’t say it didn’t know any better. Well, it can, but you can go right ahead and sue. [More]
