PAD 525� Constitutional and Admin Law Week 2, Assignment 1

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Week 2,Assignment 1Learning by DoingPAD 525–Constitutional and Admin LawDr. Angela J. SmithYulonda Gravette JacksonOctober 21, 20131.Your state’s statute that defines what is considered to be a public record that must bemade available to thepublic upon request.Governments, schools, police departments--any entity that spends taxpayer dollars--must makemost of its documents available under the provisions of state and federal public record laws. Thisalso means that certain information about you, including political party affiliation, propertyownership and criminal history, is also available to the public under the same laws.Virginia public records, for example, are the public records for the state of Virginia. Virginiapublic records are designed to help you keep track of what the government is doing and what thegovernment collects. However, in order to do this the government needs to release everythingthey can-anything and everything that isn't considered a breach of privacy.In many cases, that means releasing data on individuals. Things like:• Marriage Licenses• Addresses• Criminal Histories

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These are all examples of personal information that isn't considered to be a breach of privacy,and so Virginia public records include all of this information, even though the data is aboutpeople, not the government. It's the role of the government-and the law across the country-thateach state is as open as possible about everything it does. It is for that reason that all states-including Virginia public records-need to release information on its people, because that data iscontained in government documents as well.2.The pre-World War I opinion by the U.S. Supreme Court holding, on re-argument, thata federal income tax was unconstitutional.The entry of the United States into World War I greatly increased the need for revenue andCongress responded by passing the 1916 Revenue Act. The 1916 Act raised the lowest tax ratefrom 1 percent to 2 percent and raised the top rate to 15 percent on taxpayers with incomes inexcess of $1.5 million. The 1916 Act also imposed taxes on estates and excess business profits.Driven by the war and largely funded by the new income tax, by 1917 the Federal budget wasalmost equal to the total budget for all the years between 1791 and 1916. Needing still more taxrevenue, the War Revenue Act of 1917 lowered exemptions and greatly increased tax rates. In1916, a taxpayer needed $1.5 million in taxable income to face a 15 percent rate. By 1917 ataxpayer with only $40,000 faced a 16 percent rate and the individual with $1.5 million faced atax rate of 67 percent.

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Another revenue act was passed in 1918, which hiked tax rates once again, this time raising thebottom rate to 6 percent and the top rate to 77percent. These changes increased revenue from$761 million in 1916 to $3.6 billion in 1918, which represented about 25 percent of GrossDomestic Product (GDP). Even in 1918, however, only 5 percent of the population paid incometaxes and yet the income tax funded one-third of the cost of the war.The economy boomed during the 1920s and increasing revenues from the income tax followed.This allowed Congress to cut taxes five times, ultimately returning the bottom tax rate to 1percent and the top rate down to 25 percent and reducing the Federal tax burden as a share ofGDP to 13 percent. As tax rates and tax collections declined, the economy was strengthenedfurther.In October of 1929 the stock market crash marked the beginning of the Great Depression. As theeconomy shrank, government receipts also fell. In 1932, the Federal government collected only$1.9 billion, compared to $6.6 billion in 1920. In the face of rising budget deficits which reached$2.7 billion in 1931, Congress followed the prevailing economic wisdom at the time and passedthe Tax Act of 1932 which dramatically increased tax rates once again. This was followed byanother tax increase in 1936 that further improved the government's finances while furtherweakening the economy. By 1936 the lowest tax rate had reached 4 percent and the top rate wasup to 79 percent. In 1939, Congress systematically codified the tax laws so that all subsequenttax legislation until 1954 amended this basic code. The combination of a shrunken economy andthe repeated tax increases raised the Federal government's tax burden to 6.8 percent of GDP by1940.

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3.The federal statute authorizing the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to make paymentsto states for the value of materials stockpiled near federalhighway construction projects inconformity with the project specifications.(a) In General.—The Secretary, from time to time as the work progresses, may make paymentsto a State for costs of construction incurred by the State on a project. Such payments may also bemade for the value of the materials—(1) that have been stockpiled in the vicinity of the construction in conformity to plans andspecifications for the projects; and(2) that are not in the vicinity of the construction if the Secretary determines that because ofrequired fabrication at an off-site location the material cannot be stockpiled in such vicinity.(b) Project Agreement.—No payment shall be made under this chapter except for aproject covered by a project agreement. After completion of the project in accordancewith the project agreement, a State shall be entitled to payment out of the appropriatesums apportioned or allocated to the State of the unpaid balance of the Federal sharepayable for such project.(c) Such payments shall be made to such official or officials or depository as may bedesignated by the State transportation department and authorized under the laws ofthe State to receive public funds of the State.

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(Pub. L. 85–767, Aug. 27, 1958, 72 Stat. 899; Pub. L. 88–157, §7(b), Oct. 24, 1963, 77 Stat. 278;Pub. L. 93–87, title I, §117, Aug. 13, 1973, 87 Stat. 259; Pub. L. 94–280, title I, §118(a), May 5,1976, 90 Stat. 437; Pub. L. 100–17, title I, §133(b)(6), Apr. 2, 1987, 101 Stat. 171; Pub. L. 102–240, title I, §1018(b), Dec. 18, 1991, 105 Stat. 1948; Pub. L. 105–178, title I, §§1212(a)(2)(A)(i),1302, June 9, 1998, 112 Stat. 193, 226.)Amendments1998—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 105–178, §1302(1), added subsec. (a) and struck out former subsec.(a) which read as follows: “The Secretary may, in his discretion, from time to time as the workprogresses, make payments to a State for costs of construction incurred by it on a project. Thesepayments shall at no time exceed the Federal share of the costs of construction incurred to thedate of the voucher covering such payment plus the Federal share of the value of the materialswhich have been stockpiled in the vicinity of such construction in conformity to plans andspecifications for the project. Such payments may also be made in the case of any such materialsnot in the vicinity of such construction if the Secretary determines that because of requiredfabrication at an off-site location the materials cannot be stockpiled in such vicinity.”Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 105–178, §1302(1), added subsec. (b) and struck out former subsec. (b)which read as follows: “After completion of a project in accordance with the plans andspecifications, and approval of the final voucher by the Secretary, a State shall be entitled topayment out of the appropriate sums apportioned to it of the unpaid balance of the Federal sharepayable on account of such project.”

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Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 105–178, §1302(2), (3), redesignated subsec. (e) as (c) and struck out formersubsec. (c) which read as follows: “No payment shall be made under this chapter, except for aproject located on a Federal-aid system and covered by a project agreement. No final paymentshall be made to a State for its costs of construction of a project until the completion of theconstruction has been approved by the Secretary following inspections pursuant to section 114(a)of this title.”Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 105–178, §1302(2), struck out subsec. (d) which read as follows: “In makingpayments pursuant to this section, the Secretary shall bebound by the limitations with respect tothe permissible amounts of such payments continued in sections 106(c), 120, and 130 of thistitle.”Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 105–178, §1302(3), redesignated subsec. (e) as (c).Pub. L. 105–178, §1212(a)(2)(A)(i), substituted “State transportation department” for “Statehighway department”.1991—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 102–240 substituted “106(c), 120,” for “120” and struck out at end“Payments for construction engineering on any project financed with Federal-aid highway fundsshall not exceed 15 percent of the Federal share of the cost of construction of such project afterexcluding from the cost of construction the costs of rights-of-way, preliminary engineering, andconstruction engineering.”1987—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 100–17 substituted “15 percent” for “10 per centum” and struck outat end “However, this limitation shall be 15 per centum in any State with respect to which theSecretary finds such higher limitation to be necessary.”

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1976—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 94–280 substituted “Federal-aid highway funds” for “Federal-aidprimary, secondary, or urban funds” and struck out 10 per centum limitation provision for anyproject financed with interstate funds.1973—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 93–87 authorized payments to be made for materials not in theconstruction vicinity where the Secretary determines that because of required fabrication at anoff-site location the materials cannot be stockpiled in such vicinity.1963—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 88–157 substituted “any project financed with Federal-aid primary,secondary, or urban funds” for “any one project” and provided for limitation, on payments forconstruction engineering on projects financed with Federal-aid primary, secondary, or urbanfunds, of 15 percent of Federal share of cost of construction of the project where found by theSecretary to be necessary and for 10–percent limitation on projects financed with interstatefunds.Effective Date of 1991 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 102–240 effective Dec. 18, 1991, and applicable to funds authorized tobe appropriated or made available after Sept. 30, 1991, and, with certain exceptions, notapplicable to funds appropriated or made available on or before Sept. 30, 1991, see section 1100of Pub. L. 102–240, set out as a note under section 104 of this title.Submission of Recommendations to Congress for Reimbursement of States for CertainHighwaysPub. L. 85–845, Aug. 28, 1958, 72 Stat. 1083, required Secretary of Commerce,within ten days after first day of first session of Eighty-sixth Congress, to submit to Congressrecommendations for legislation for purpose of assisting Congress to determine whether or not to

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reimburse each State of any portion of a toll or free highway (1) which was on National Systemof Interstate and Defense Highways [now Dwight D. Eisenhower System of Interstate andDefense Highways], (2) which met standards required by Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 forsuch System of Interstate and Defense Highways, and (3) construction of which had beencompleted since Aug. 2, 1947, or which had been in actual use or under construction by contract,for completion, awarded not later than June 30, 1957.4.The federal joint regulation of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Department of theInterior, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Department ofCommerce, identifying the factors for listing, delisting, or reclassifying endangered species.Laws & Policies | Regulations and Policies | Interagency Policy for the Ecosystem Approach tothe Endangered Species Act[From The Federal Register for Friday, July 1, 1994 (Vol. 59), p. 34274]DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIORFish and Wildlife ServiceDEPARTMENT OF COMMERCENational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration50 CFR Part 17Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Notice of Interagency Cooperative Policy forthe Ecosystem Approach to the Endangered Species ActAGENCIES: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior, and National Marine Fisheries Service,National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

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