Harvard Journal on Legislation

06/19/2023

JOL Volume 60.2 is now available! We are thrilled to be publishing pieces about online public health misinformation, corporate responsibility for climate change, and more. Thank you so much to our authors and print editorial team for making this possible. Read now at harvardjol.com.

02/24/2023

We're excited to share that our Fall 2022 issue (Vol. 60.1) is now online. Thank you to the authors and the editorial teams that made this issue possible!

01/09/2023

JOL is excited about a new article from WA State Senator David Frockt and Kenneth Fockele on the need for better natural disaster policymaking in the US! They offer a proposal for federal policymakers based on the case study of how the Washington state government addressed this increasingly pressing problem. Read here:

* David Frockt and ** Kenneth Fockele America has a systemic governance problem. The country that once came together to solve big challenges—through endeavors such as the New Deal, the Interstate H…

10/20/2022

New article just published! We look forward to discussing this paper with Aliza Shatzman later today in WCC 1019 at 12:30.

*Aliza Shatzman I. INTRODUCTION The judiciary is an unaccountable workplace where some judges abuse their positions of power, mistreat their employees with impunity, and act as if they are answerab…

10/19/2022

TOMORROW 10/19: Join us, Harvard Women's Law Association, and the Legal Accountability Project for a discussion about reforming the clerkship system and judicial accountability. Looking forward to seeing Aliza Shatzman in WCC 1019 at 12:30 PM!

10/13/2022

We are excited to publish Congressman Adriano Espaillat's Spanish-language piece "Reparando los Daños Causados por las Intervenciones Militares Ilícitas del Pasado: El Caso de la República Dominicana." This is the first time in our 60-year history that we have published an article in a language other than English. Last week, the English-language version of this piece was published as well.

Many thanks to the Harvard Journal on Legislation team and Congressman Espaillat's office for helping bring this to fruition!

Congresista Adriano Espaillat* y Francesco Arreaga** I. INTRODUCCIÓN Como el primer domínico-estadounidense en servir en el Congreso de los Estados Unidos y miembro del Subcomité de Estado, Operaci…

10/04/2022

Thank you to everyone who was able to make it out tonight to hear Congressman Adriano Espaillat! We thank the Congressman and his team, as well as La Alianza at Harvard Law and Harvard International Law Journal for helping us to put on this important event. If you haven't had a chance yet, you can find Congressman Espaillat's new article at harvardjol.com. We look forward to seeing you for more exciting events soon!

10/03/2022

Join us tonight to welcome Congressman Adriano Espaillat, who will be discussing the subject of his newly published article in the Journal on Legislation on US intervention in the Dominican Republic. We hope to see you in WCC 2012 at 6:30 PM! All are welcome.

Thank you to La Alianza at Harvard Law and Harvard International Law Journal for co-sponsoring!

Congressman Adriano Espaillat* and Francesco Arreaga** I. INTRODUCTION As the first Dominican American to serve in the United States Congress and a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee o…

09/26/2022

Join us next Monday, October 3 at 6:30pm in WCC 2012 for a fireside chat with Congressman Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), moderated by newly-tenured HLS Professor Ryan Doerfler! The event is co-sponsored by Harvard Journal on Legislation, La Alianza at Harvard Law and Harvard International Law Journal.

Congressman Espaillat is the first formerly undocumented U.S. Congressmember and the first Dominican American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. He proudly represents New York's 13th congressional district, which includes Harlem, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood, Marble Hill, and the northwest Bronx.

We hope to see you there! RSVP here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd4EuD8FetvUeVMFzQsdPWE_AGxm9nVXtNb03eVYsWe-u5a-w/viewform. Please submit questions for the Congressman by Thursday, September 29th at 9pm ET.

09/25/2022

Thank you to everyone who came out for our Fall Subcite today! We wouldn't be able to publish our Journal without the tireless support of our editors and staff. To get involved with the Journal on Legislation in future issues, visit us at harvardjol.com!

07/13/2022

In "Prepaid Death," Prof. Victoria Haneman describes the how the "death care" industry profits from loved ones' losses. She argues this issue can be fixed by reforming federal tax law.

By changing the federal tax code, individuals can be incentivized to make these post-death services sooner (when better planning can occur and they are more affordable to families) and avoid facing the exceedingly high costs of the modern "death care" industry.

For this article & more, visit harvardjol.com

06/28/2022

In today's article spotlight, we're featuring Professors Jody Freeman and Matthew C. Stephenson's "The Untapped Potential of the Congressional Review Act" from our latest issue. They argue how the Congressional Review Act can play a more robust role in the policymaking process and allow Congress to pass legislation, even in the face of persistent gridlock.

"The near-universal assumption is that the CRA is relevant only when a new President seeks, with the support of Congress, to cancel regulations promulgated during the previous administration. Yet the CRA has substantially greater unrealized potential....This [proposal] would be a lawful way for the Executive and Legislative Branches to clarify, or even to change, statutory law in a manner that bypasses the filibuster and other legislative roadblocks."

To read this article, visit https://harvardjol.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2022/06/202_Freeman.pdf.

06/16/2022

While new gun control proposals typically focus on mass shootings, lawmakers seeking to address gun violence "would do well to consider whether legislating to criminalize supposedly 'dangerous' gun use in fact promotes public safety for society writ large," Maria Mortenson writes. Historically, America's gun control regime aimed to promote public safety in large part by controlling America’s Black population.

In this piece, Mortenson urges lawmakers to look beyond headline-grabbing mass shootings and consider the messy, complicated history of American gun laws:
https://harvardjol.com/2022/05/23/scattershot-guns-gun-control-and-american-politics/.

06/16/2022

In this issue, Congressman Buddy Carter writes a policy essay on how to lower prescription drug costs:

"As both a pharmacist and a member of Congress, I explain why drug prices are so high from a unique perspective, and illuminate what patients and Congress can do to bring prices down and advocate for a better system. After discussing various actors involved with prescription drug pricing, this Essay then focuses on Pharmacy Benefit Managers (“PBMs”) as the clandestine menace of the healthcare industry. This Essay utilizes first-hand stories from patients, pharmacists, and doctors to illustrate why PBMs need to be exposed and held accountable. Most importantly, this Essay will provide a legislative framework for making lower drug prices a reality."

Read this article and more at harvardjol.com.

06/14/2022

We're excited to announce Volume 59, No. 2 of the Journal on Legislation!

This issue, we're featuring articles by Congressman Buddy Carter, Professors Jody Freeman and Matthew C. Stephenson, Professor Victoria J. Haneman, Professor Robin Feldman, and Tzirel Klein '22.

Find these articles and other JOL content at https://harvardjol.com/.

06/13/2022

Have an interesting idea related to the legislative process? The Journal is looking for student submissions for our upcoming issues, and we're excited to read your work!

As a bipartisan journal, JOL is open to submissions from any political perspective. Our only requirement is that the note be legislative in nature. We invite submissions on a wide range of topics, including law, policy, politics, and history, as long as the subject matter will be of interest to policymakers.

All submissions must be 10,000 to 15,000 words, and the deadline is June 19, 2022. Questions or ready to submit? Reach us at [email protected]!

04/18/2022

Join us this Wednesday at 6:30pm for a conversation with Rep. Adam Schiff! RSVP here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf09XtfAkI3jWsuglweIW02PG800vaHVnMdJ8yXMIEboAIU9A/viewform

**Open to HLS students**

03/21/2022

NOTE SPOTLIGHT:
Immigrants and English learners have consistently faced overwhelming odds in attaining a sound, basic education in the United States. Today, both groups are subject to systemic discrimination and face lower than average high school graduation and college matriculation rates, in spite of the Equal Educational Opportunities Act. This note, written by JOL's own Christopher Cruz, offers a bipartisan legislative proposal to usher in a new era of educational opportunity for these and all other students.

Available at harvardjol.com

03/10/2022

ARTICLE SPOTLIGHT:

The COVID pandemic exposed the weaknesses of the U.S. health care system’s reliance on private, employer-based health insurance. After examining proposed state public option health plans, the authors seek to answer: are these plans “worth it?”

The answer is yes, but with a twist! For state public option plans to be worth it, bigger is better.

03/09/2022

ARTICLE SPOTLIGHT:
This study debunks the myth that sunset clauses make laws easier to pass! A randomized experiment showed that sunsets did not increase overall support for laws, and led to increased support for conservative but not liberal legislation. This asymmetry gives rise to what the authors characterize as a “sucker” effect—a willingness to compromise that is not reciprocated, even if these effects are unconscious.

03/08/2022

ARTICLE SPOTLIGHT!
This article, by Professor Kimberly Jenkins Robinson from the University of Virginia School of Law, offers a timely analysis of three issues of great national significance for education and the United States: 1) research on the pandemic’s educational harms, 2) critiques on the federal response, and 3) a proposal for how to reengineer the pandemic response in a manner that advances equity.

03/07/2022

ARTICLE SPOTLIGHT!
Head to harvardjol.com to read about the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act in the House of Representatives. This proposed Policy Essay tracks a half century of policy development: the backlash against unions that remains the dominant legislative, judicial and regulatory paradigm and the cresting movement for comprehensive labor reform signified by the PRO Act.

03/02/2022

Volume 59 No. 1 is now live at harvardjol.com!

Check out articles by Representative Andy Levin & Colton Puckett; Kimberly Jenkins Robinson; Kristen Underhill & Ian Ayres; Jaime S. King, Katherine L. Gudiksen, & Erin C. Fuse Brown; and Christopher Cruz

02/07/2022

Calling all HLS students! Join us this Wednesday for our Masthead Elections.

Submit your statement of interest of 150 words or less no later than Tuesday, February 8th at noon via the following Google Form: https://lnkd.in/gY8pzhuG

12/14/2021

Head to harvardjol.com to read our latest student Note, written by Lauren Shapiro!

The prior Administration saw widespread vacancies in offices subject to the Senate confirmation process ("PAS offices"), in which agency heads would comprehensively subdelegate the responsibilities of vacant PAS offices to officials in non-PAS roles, even if those officials failed to meet the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998’s (“FVRA”) requirements for acting service. Agency heads instead invoked their authority under agency-specific “housekeeping” statutes to subdelegate authority from vacant PAS offices to lower-level officials. This Note argues that the use of housekeeping statutes to subdelegate “significant authority” from vacant PAS offices to non-PAS officials raises constitutional concerns, and, to avoid these constitutional difficulties, that housekeeping statutes should be read to permit the subdelegation of only individual, piecemeal functions from PAS offices to non-PAS officials.

11/30/2021

Reminder! The deadline to submit student writing for consideration for our Summer 2022 print edition is December 3, 2021.

Have a note that may not be ready by the 3rd? Writing for our online edition is accepted on a rolling basis!

10/14/2021

Submit your student writing to JOL!

You can submit your pieces by email to [email protected] with the subject line

Please note that consideration for online publication occurs on a rolling basis, while the deadline to submit student writing for print edition consideration is December 3, 2021 (last day of classes).

09/25/2021

Hey all!

Looking forward to seeing you at today's subcite at 9:00am via Zoom :)

07/31/2021

We’re live!

Check out the newest issue of the Harvard Journal on Legislation. Volume 58, Number 2 covers a range of important topics, including national security, COVID-19 liability, supported decision-making and student loan reform! We’ll be doing a spotlight into each over the next few weeks - follow along for more information.

https://harvardjol.com/volume-58-number-2/

07/02/2021