Local and Responsible Banking Resolution — Portland, OR
This resolution directs the City Treasurer to shift up to $2.5 million in city funds to local financial institutions.… Read More
Vermont Streamlines Solar Permitting
The state of Vermont has come up with a good rule for reducing the cost of solar power installations. A national study recently found that local permitting can increase the cost of residential solar by 15-20%, a problem that becomes more pressing as the cost of solar hardware falls. Vermont’s rule shifts the burden of permitting … Read More
Colorado Caps Solar Permitting Fees
The state of Colorado passed a law in 2011 to solve the problem of inconsistent and expensive solar permitting costs. A national study recently found that local permitting can increase the cost of residential solar by 15-20%, a problem that becomes more pressing as the cost of solar hardware falls. Colorado’s Fair Permit Act (HB 1199) … Read More
Solar Permitting
In a recent report, SunRun and Vote Solar revealed that permitting costs were rapidly becoming a much more significant portion of the cost of a small-scale solar installation, nearly 20%! Some states have responded with policies designed to streamline and reduce the costs of permitting.
Responsible Banking Act — Los Angeles
Banks that wish to do business with the City of Los Angeles must annually submit information on their lending and investments in each of the city’s census tracts. … Read More
Market Share Cap — SAFE Banking Act (Proposed)
Introduced by Senator Sherrod Brown on May 9, 2012, the following bill would place size and leverage limits on big banks, forcing the largest four banks in the country to downsize. … Read More
Market Share Caps
In 1994, Congress adopted a policy that bars a bank from buying another bank if the combined entity would hold more than 10 percent of the country’s deposits, but the policy has several flaws that have allowed at least two banks to exceed the cap.… Read More
Authorizing Municipal Networks – 1999 Iowa Act Chapter 63
Iowa expressly authorizes cities to build publicly owned networks. In 1999, the Iowa Legislature adopted changes to Chapter 63 of the Iowa Acts that defined legislative intent, giving local authorities the unquestionable right to invest in community owned networks. The new language added broadband to a list of common utilities that we often take for granted … Read More
The Courts and the Privatization of Civil Service
State Supreme Courts have ruled in different ways regarding the privatization of public functions. In several cases, the Courts concluded that the civil service was created for a compelling public purpose that includes fairness and the protection of public employees from the old “spoils system”. These purposes, the Courts concluded, may take into account but goes … Read More