Law Reform

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved an industry-backed version of mining law reform Thursday, deliberately leaving many volatile issues to be worked out in negotiations between the Senate and House, which is expected to approve stronger legislation. Sen. J. Bennett Johnston (D-La.), chairman of the committee, said that his strategy is intended to speed the most easily passed bill through the committee and onto the Senate floor, hoping to avoid protracted argument.

WASHINGTON - President Obama had reason to be hopeful in July 2009, as he met one afternoon in the Oval Office with Maine Sen. Olympia J. Snowe. The new president was trying to sustain his ambitious initiative to overhaul the nation's healthcare system. He needed Snowe, a centrist Republican, to make the effort bipartisan. Now, she was telling Obama what he wanted to hear: She would be with him. That would precipitate a months-long scramble as the president and his team shaped the legislation to meet Snowe's concerns.

Wall Street bond specialists, citing concerns that arose when Orange County filed the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, called Tuesday for reforms in the municipal bankruptcy law. The reforms are designed to give bondholders a stronger voice in bankruptcy proceedings. A municipality, for example, would be required to notify the state before it filed for bankruptcy. A municipality in bankruptcy also would have to pay bondholders if it has the resources.

On June 17, 1972, a bungled break-in at Democratic National Committee headquarters exposed one of the most notorious abuses of presidential power and led to a wave of reforms of U.S. laws and institutions. Now, on the 40th anniversary of the Watergate scandal, many of those changes have been rolled back or eliminated. Court rulings scrapped limits on campaign contributions. Congress has returned the function of special prosecutors to the Justice Department. Executive orders issued by President George W. Bush in the aftermath of Sept.

Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin called for an overhaul of the nation's banking laws, proposing Monday that banks, securities firms and insurance companies be allowed into each other's businesses, a highly controversial idea among consumer groups and small banks. "The more diverse banks are by geography and by product, the better off the banking industry will be," Rubin told a savings bond luncheon in New York. "We must reform as we head into the 21st Century."

The Bush Administration on Tuesday proposed overhauling the nation's pension laws to eliminate much paperwork for small businesses and encourage them to set up retirement plans for workers. As many as 42 million Americans who now have no pension plan could be helped by the changes, Labor Secretary Lynn Martin said. However, most of the changes would merely be incentives to businesses, and no companies would be forced to create retirement systems.

Some good may yet come from the spectacle of government in complete disarray over the question of illegal domestic employees. It may eventually lead to some reform, although proposals--ranging from new laws on home-care workers to the age-old idea of indentured servitude--are in the preliminary stage. First, the prime candidates for attorney general collapsed. Then came a great melee of announcements from high officials, including Cabinet secretaries and legislators.

Former Gov. Jerry Brown said Thursday that a prison sentencing law touted as a historic reform when he signed it 25 years ago has been an "abysmal failure," saddling California with parolees who are ill-prepared for release, unremorseful and likely to commit new crimes.

It brought down a President, spawned an assertive mood in Congress, fostered a new generation of political leaders, brought about an array of reforms in government, altered American journalism and set a benchmark for subsequent political scandals. In short, the Watergate scandal radically transformed American politics. Yet many of the changes wrought by what began as "a third rate burglary" on June 17, 1972, appear to be evaporating.

Re "O.C. tech billionaire indicted," June 6 Now that Henry T. Nicholas III has been arrested on federal charges for allegedly distributing drugs to prostitutes and customers of Broadcom, he may well regret that he funded the opposition campaign against the "three strikes" law reform. I think he should be given the maximum sentence for all of his offenses, each and every one, because that is what he advocated in the past. Jim Benson Garden Grove

Medical malpractice reform is unlikely to cut healthcare spending significantly, the Congressional Budget Office reported Friday. Enacting a cap on pain-and-suffering and punitive damages, changing liability laws and tightening the statute of limitations on malpractice claims would lower total healthcare spending by about one-half of 1% each year -- $11 billion at the current level -- according to an estimate by the nonpartisan agency. The figure is far lower than previous estimates by groups backing malpractice reform.

Every circus needs a sideshow, which must be why every time the issue of rising medical costs gets debated, politicians start clamoring for "tort reform." You know the argument: Disgruntled patients, goaded on by unscrupulous lawyers, file frivolous malpractice lawsuits and walk off with millions of dollars in undeserved awards granted by teary-eyed jurors. Doctors respond by practicing "defensive medicine," ordering lots of unnecessary tests to cover their behinds. Bingo! Medical costs hit the stratosphere.

Laws to protect seniors and dependent adults from abuse by court-appointed conservators are under threat as California lawmakers seek painful cuts to close the state's $15.2-billion budget deficit. The laws were part of a sweeping reform package signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger two years ago after a Los Angeles Times series had exposed theft, abuse and negligence by some professional conservators appointed to look after seniors.

Re "O.C. tech billionaire indicted," June 6 Now that Henry T. Nicholas III has been arrested on federal charges for allegedly distributing drugs to prostitutes and customers of Broadcom, he may well regret that he funded the opposition campaign against the "three strikes" law reform. I think he should be given the maximum sentence for all of his offenses, each and every one, because that is what he advocated in the past. Jim Benson Garden Grove

Concerned about predatory practices and weak oversight of conservators serving as guardians for the elderly, the California Judicial Council on Friday approved a series of reforms aimed at protecting seniors from being "hijacked" into conservatorships and other abuses.

A year after a massive reworking of bankruptcy laws went into effect, the number of bankruptcy filings nationwide last year dropped to the lowest level in nearly 20 years, although experts said they might rise again this year. The total number of bankruptcy filings last year dropped 70% to 618,000, down from a record of 2.1 million in 2005, when people were rushing to file before the new laws were put in place, according to statistics released Tuesday by the Administrative Office of the U.S.

On June 17, 1972, a bungled break-in at Democratic National Committee headquarters exposed one of the most notorious abuses of presidential power and led to a wave of reforms of U.S. laws and institutions. Now, on the 40th anniversary of the Watergate scandal, many of those changes have been rolled back or eliminated. Court rulings scrapped limits on campaign contributions. Congress has returned the function of special prosecutors to the Justice Department. Executive orders issued by President George W. Bush in the aftermath of Sept.

The Commission on Federal Ethics Law Reform, which was directed by President Bush to reform and revitalize federal ethical standards, is framing recommendations that would sharply reduce requirements for financial disclosure by government employees, the Washington Post reported.

Pakistan's lower house of parliament passed amendments to contentious rape laws, revising a requirement that a rape victim must produce four witnesses and dropping the death penalty and flogging as punishments for extramarital sex. Islamic fundamentalists stormed out of the chambers in protest. President Pervez Musharraf applauded the lawmakers and urged the Senate to pass the measures quickly.

A commission created by Congress to consider changing U.S. antitrust law defeated a proposal to let judges reduce damages for thwarting competition imposed on companies such as Microsoft Corp. The Antitrust Modernization Commission, meeting in Washington, voted 8 to 3 to preserve the existing law, which permits individuals and companies to collect triple damages if they can prove they were harmed by anti-competitive practices such as price-fixing or illegal protection of a monopoly.