In 2009, the residential and commercial building sector was responsible for more than 50 percent of total annual U.S. energy consumption, 74 percent of total U.S. electricity consumption, and 39 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. There has been a growing movement to encourage "green buildings"- those that generally use water, energy and materials more efficiently than conventional buildings, and utilize design, construction and siting features to reduce their negative environmental impacts. In an effort to address these energy problems, Columbia Law School's Center for Climate Change Law has undertaken an effort to draft a model municipal ordinance on green buildings. This article explains their proposed model together with detailed commentaries on its features, the rationale behind the choices it embodies, the associated legal issues, and various optional add-ons that municipalities may wish to consider.

Protecting aging Ohioans is connected with strengthening local area. The budget for Adult Protective services is not enough at first. After adding more budget to protect aging Ohioans, Ohio gains a more stable protective system. The funding for Adult Protective services comes from both local funding, federal funding and state funding, but funds on infrastructure should still be increased.

This report offers evidence as to why rent control is a sensible and necessary strategy to address the renter crisis, describes the benefits of rent control, and shares policy recommendations to bring rent control to our communities.

The initiative requires all NYPD officers to identify themselves in every law enforcement related interaction. The initiative requires officers to state the reason for the contact and provide contact information for the civil review board when the contact does not end in arrest. The initiative also provides an exception when an officer is not in uniform and where identification would compromise the immediate safety of the public or officers or would seriously compromise a specific, ongoing law enforcement investigation.

This ordinance extends the registration requirements for non-owner-occupied dwelling units to encompass vacant structures; modifies the information required for registration statements; modifies the fees for registration; modifies or repeals certain registration fee exceptions; modifies the civil penalty for violation of these registration requirements; repeals the license fee for multiple-family dwellings and rooming houses; creates provisions relating to the registration of non-owner- occupied dwellings and vacant structures and to the licensing of multiple-family dwellings and rooming houses.

This ordinance requires every person who possesses a firearm to notify the police department of the destruction, loss or theft of his or her firearm within 48 hours of when the person knows or should have known. An individual should also notify the department of a sale, transfer, inheritance or other disposition of the firearm within 48 hours. A person who violates this ordinance will be fined between $1,000 and $5,000 and be incarcerated for between 90 and 180 days. In addition, the ordinance requires an individual to report to the police within 72 hours the loss, theft, or destruction of his or her Chicago firearm permit or firearm registration certificate.

This ordinance makes it unlawful for any person who owns or possesses a firearm to knowingly or negligently fail to report the theft or loss of such firearm to the Sacramento Police Department within forty-eight hours of the time he/she knew or should have known the firearm has been stolen or lost, when either the owner or possessor resides in the city, or the theft or loss of the firearm occurs in the city. As used in this section, firearm means any device, designed to be used as a weapon or modified to be used as a weapon, which expels a projectile through a barrel by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion. Any person violating this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.

The initiative requires NYPD officers, prior to conducting a search for which an officer must receive consent, to explain to any individual being asked to consent to a search that the search is voluntary and that he or she has the right to refuse the request. The initiative also requires officers to create an audio or written record of the person's consent in every case in which consent to search is given and to create and submit a report based on those records, including the race and ethnicity of the person searched.

This initiative prohibits bias-based profiling by officers, which includes using certain personal factors such as race, color, ethnicity, national origin, immigration or citizenship status, socioeconomic status, or other defined characteristics as a basis of suspicion for unlawful activities. The initiative explains the prohibited practice by juxtaposing it with the permitted use of information about the circumstance, relevant to the locality and time frame, that links a person of a certain race, color, ethnicity, etc., to illegal activity. The initiative also authorizes citizens and organizations to file claims of disparate impact or intentional discrimination or against a variety of individuals and agencies.

Live-Near-your work programs help employees buy homes in the communities where they work. These programs reduce the high costs of transportation, commuting times, and increases employee morale and productivity. Communities benefit from revitalized neighborhoods, reduced traffic congestion and road repair costs.