Lawyer-legislator says ethics opinion clears Prattville lawmaker
Legal Events
The chairman of the Legislature's Contract Review Committee said an opinion from the executive director of the State Ethics Commission clears a senator to work for a law firm that does business with the state.
The chairman, Republican Sen. Bill Holtzclaw of Madison said the opinion settled the issue of whether Republican Sen. Bryan Taylor of Prattville was in compliance when he joined the law firm of Capell & Howard.
The Huntsville Times reported that the opinion from Executive Director Jim Sum-ner said changes made in the state ethics law in December had very little, if any, impact of state contracting.
The committee had sought the advice last month when Capell & Howard got a $100,000 contract from the state Department of Corrections.
Related listings
-
Too big to stop? Obama's overhaul lumbers on
Legal Events 02/02/2011Most insurers, hospital executives and state officials expect they'll keep carrying out President Barack Obama's health care overhaul even after a federal judge cast its fate in doubt by declaring all of it unconstitutional."It's still the law of the...
-
UW Madison's patenting arm wins lawsuit
Legal Events 01/05/2010The University of Wisconsin-Madison's patenting arm has won an appeal in federal court against Canadian drug company Xenon. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday in favor of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. The lawsuit dealt with ho...
-
Lawsuit: Botched Diagnosis Led to 30-Year-Old New York Teacher's Brain Hemorrhage Death
Legal Events 11/23/2009Page rank5Doctors at a Long Island hospital failed to properly diagnose a 30-year-old Queens teacher's head pain in the days leading up to her death from a brain hemorrhage, a lawsuit alleges. Melissa Fudge, who taught at PS 16 in Corona, died a year...
USCIS Issues Clarifying Guidance on NAFTA TN Status Eligibility for Economists
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it is clarifying policy guidance (PDF, 71 KB) on the specific work activities its officers should consider when determining whether an individual qualifies for TN nonimmigrant status as an economist.
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) TN nonimmigrant status allows qualified Canadian and Mexican citizens to temporarily enter the U.S. to engage in specific professional activities, including the occupation of economist. The agreement, however, does not define the term economist, resulting in inconsistent decisions on whether certain analysts and financial professionals qualify for TN status as economists.
TN nonimmigrant status is intended to allow a limited number of professionals and specialists to work temporarily in certain specifically identified occupations in the United States. This updated guidance provides USCIS officers with a specific definition of one such category – economists – allowing them to adjudicate applications in a way that complies with the intent of the agreement. This policy update clarifies that professional economists requesting TN status must engage primarily in activities consistent with the profession of an economist. Individuals who work primarily in other occupations related to the field of economics — such as financial analysts, marketing analysts, and market research analysts — are not eligible for classification as a TN economist.