Policewomen in the 1950s

Attempts to prevent prenatal harm have led to a number of court cases resulting in interference with pregnant women. These include incarceration and the imposition of medical and surgical treatments thought to prevent prenatal harm. We argue that the legal sanctions that have been used and/or are proposed for use against pregnant women in order to prevent prenatal harm are (1) morally unjustified even where they might be legal, (2) are morally and legally unacceptable because they violate important moral values captured in our legal system, and (3) are morally unacceptable and would make bad law because they would contribute to the harm they would be instituted to prevent.     

Health care programs: fraud and abuse; revised PRO sanctions for failing to meet statutory obligations--HHS. Final rule

This final rule addresses revised procedures governing the imposition and adjudication of program sanctions, based on recommendations from State utilization and quality control peer review organizations (PROs), resulting from enactment of sections 214 and 231(f) of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996.     

Elimination of sanctions for refusal of vocational rehabilitation services without good cause. Final rule

We are amending our regulations to remove provisions relating to the imposition of benefit sanctions on account of a beneficiary's refusal of rehabilitation services. We are making these changes to reflect the repeal of sections 222(b) and 1615(c) of the Social Security Act (the Act). Prior to their repeal, these sections of the Act authorized the Commissioner of Social Security to impose sanctions against the benefits of a disabled or blind beneficiary who refused, without good cause, to accept rehabilitation services made available by a State vocational rehabilitation (VR) agency. The Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 repealed these sections of the Act, effective January 1, 2001. We are amending our regulations by removing rules and related provisions that are obsolete as a result of the repeal of these sections of the Act to conform our regulations to the changes in the statute.     

DETERRENT EFFECTS OF FORMAL AND INFORMAL SANCTIONS

This article reports a random telephone survey of Evanston, Illinois, residents in the spring of 1978 probing knowledge of legal sanctions, perceptions of the certainty of their imposition, feelings about their legitimacy, and approval of peers for violating the law. It focuses on traffic offenses, marijuana smoking, and shoplifting and uses self-reports of actual or potential violations. The data indicate that knowledge of the severity of legal sanctions and perceptions of the certainty of their imposition are not related to imputed violation; feelings that the law is legitimate and that peers disapprove of violations are related to imputed violation.     

Is outcome fairness used to make procedural fairness judgments when procedural information is inaccessible?

In a study of relocation decisions at seven different sites, procedural fairness was shown to be more sensitive to outcome fairness when respondents had less time to gather information about decision procedures. We interpret this finding to show that inaccessibility of information about decision procedures moderates the influence of outcome fairness judgments on procedural fairness judgments, such that outcome recipients rely more heavily on outcome fairness as a basis for forming procedural fairness judgments when information about decision procedures is not available. A second, laboratory study is reported that confirms the information inaccessibility explanation in the first study. When procedural information is available, procedural characteristics may be the primary bases for procedural fairness judgments, but when such information is unavailable, procedural fairness will likely be more sensitive to self-interest concerns. Future research should therefore take contextual factors such as accessibility to procedural information into account, given that there are likely to be differences on that dimension between organizational settings on the one hand and legal, political, and dispute resolution settings on the other. Information about decision procedures, generally accessible in legal, political, and dispute resolution settings, is often much less accessible in organizations.     

Deciding to prosecute white-collar crime: A national survey of state attorneys general

In the past decade, academic research on white-collar crime has reemerged. Most of this inquiry has focused on three general issues: (1) public attitudes toward the seriousness of white-collar crime; (2) the use of government sanctions to control white-collar crime; (3) the differential and often beneficial treatment afforded white-collar criminals in comparison to traditional offenders. Little of this research has examined the prosecutorial link between occurrences of white-collar crime and the imposition of sanctions on white-collar offenders. In this study, an attempt to focus on the link that exists at the level of state attorneys general, a survey of the 50 state attorneys general was conducted. The results suggest the following: (1) state attorneys general prefer to use criminal sanctions, but use them most in cases involving individuals; (2) when organizations are involved in white-collar criminality, civil intervention is preferred; (3) the most crucial factor in the decision to prosecute and investigate white-collar crime is the seriousness of the offense; (4) the least important factors in the decision to investigate and prosecute white-collar violations are publicity aspects and political considerations; (5) state attorneys general may play an important part in the prosecution of white-collar crime because of the limited resources available in most local prosecutors' offices.     

Medicare, Medicaid, and Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant programs; civil money penalties and assessments for false or improper claims--Department of Health and Human Services. Notice of proposed rulemaking

These proposed regulations are intended to strengthen the Department's ability to protect the health care financing programs against persons and organizations who defraud and abuse those programs. The regulations would specify procedures for implementing the authority provided to the Department by section 2105 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (Pub. L. 97-35), as amended by section 137(b)(26) of the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (Pub. L. 97-248), to impose civil money penalties and assessments administratively for the filing of false or certain other improper claims in the Medicare, Medicaid, or Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant programs. The statute also permits an individual upon whom the Department imposes a civil money penalty or assessment to be suspended from participation in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Until enactment of the civil money penalties legislation, the federal government had to rely upon litigation under the False Claims Act or criminal proceedings in order to compel restitution of funds falsely or improperly claimed under HHS health care financing programs.     

Reconsideration of denied claims--VA. Proposed rule

This document proposes to amend the Department of Veterans Affairs' "Medical" regulations by adding a new section to set forth reconsideration procedures available if requested by an individual or entity who made a claim for benefits administered by the Veterans Health Administration and who disagrees with the initial decision denying the claim. It is anticipated that these procedures would not only allow for more reflective decisions at the local level but would also allow some disputes to be resolved without the need for further appeal to the Board of Veterans Appeals.     

Regulations implementing the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, as amended. Employment Standards Administration, Labor. Final rule

On January 22, 1997, the Department issued a proposed rule to amend the regulations implementing the Black Lung Benefits Act. 62 FR 3338-3435 (Jan. 22, 1997). When the comment period closed on August 21, 1997, the Department had received written submissions from almost 200 interested persons, including coal miners, coal mine operators, insurers, physicians, and attorneys. The Department also held hearings in Charleston, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C. at which over 50 people testified. The Department carefully reviewed the testimony and the comments and, on October 8, 1999, issued a second notice of proposed rulemaking. 64 FR 54966-55072 (Oct. 8, 1999). In its second notice, the Department proposed changing several of the most important provisions in its initial proposal. The Department also explained its decision not to alter the original proposal with respect to other key regulations based on the comments received to date. Finally, the Department prepared an initial regulatory flexibility analysis. In order to ensure that small businesses that could be affected by the Department's proposal received appropriate notice of the Department's proposed changes, the Department mailed a copy of the second notice of proposed rulemaking to all coal mine operators contained in the databases maintained by the Mine Safety and Health Administration. The Department initially allowed interested parties until December 7, 1999 to file comments to its second proposal, but extended that period until January 6, 2000. The Department received 37 written submissions before the close of the comment period, from groups representing both coal miners and coal mine operators. The Department also received comments from individual miners, various coal mining and insurance companies, as well as from claims processing organizations, attorneys, and various professional organizations. The Department has carefully reviewed all of the comments, and is issuing its final rule. The rule contains a final regulatory flexibility analysis as required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act.     

Exemption of certain research and demonstration projects from regulations for protection of human research subjects--DHHS. Notice of proposed rulemaking

The Department of Health and Human Services (the Department or HHS) is proposing to include among the types of research specifically exempt from the application of the regulatory requirements of 45 CFR Part 46 (protection of human research subjects), research and demonstration projects conducted under the Social Security Act and other Federal statutory authority and designed to study certain public benefit or service programs, the procedures for obtaining benefits or services under those programs, and possible changes or alternatives to those programs or procedures, including changes in methods or levels of payment. This proposed amendment to the revised final regulations for protection of human research subjects (published January 26, 1981) would, in effect, restore to the regulations an exemption included in the initial notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) (published August 14, 1979). These demonstration and service projects are already subject to procedures which provide for extensive review by high level officials in various program administration offices. Review by an IRB would be duplicative and burdensome to state and local agencies and to other entities participating in demonstration projects. Removal of an unnecessary layer of review will not only reduce the cost of the projects but help to avoid unnecessary delays in project implementation.     

Health care programs: fraud and abuse; revisions to the PRO sanctions process--HHS. Final rule

This final rule revises and updates the procedures governing the imposition and adjudication of program sanctions predicted on recommendations of State Utilization and Quality Control Peer Review Organizations (PROs). These changes are being made as a result of statutory revisions designed to address health care fraud and abuse issues and the OIG sanctions process. In addition, this final rule sets forth new appeal and reinstatement procedures for practitioners and other persons excluded by the OIG based on a PRO recommendation.     

Health care programs: fraud and abuse; revisions to the PRO sanctions process-HHS. Correction to final regulations

This document corrects a technical error that appeared in 42 CFR part 1004 of the final rule published in the Federal Register on December 12, 1995 (60 FR 63634). The final rule was designed to revise and update the procedures governing the imposition and adjudication of program sanctions predicated on recommendations of State Utilization and Quality Control Peer Review Organizations. Specifically, this correction notice sets forth the corrected text for section 1004.110(f) which contained a typographical error in subparagraph (2).     

New Challenges for International Rules Against Cyber-Crime

In light of the borderless nature of cyber-crime, international legislation and action are essential to combat the phenomenon. Current legal instruments, as well as continuing efforts of international organizations, provide a significant basis in this area. However, important issues are still open, such as a uniform or harmonized definition of the crimes and of the sanctions to be imposed on perpetrators, which are a prerequisite for avoiding domestic legislation taking different approaches to the subject matter. The clarification of these issues is also a prerequisite for enhancing international cooperation and making it effective, if this has to be based on the respect for the principle of dual criminality. In this context, it must also be stressed that interstate cooperation may not be sufficient if the private sector, including companies producing hardware and software, are not involved. Finally, a harmonized approach to jurisdictional issues, including careful consideration of the universality principle, would also play a critical role in combating cyber-crime.     

Public information; communications with state and foreign government officials--FDA. Proposed rule

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing to amend its regulations governing communications with State and foreign government officials. The proposed rule would permit FDA to disclose confidential commercial information to international organizations having responsibility to facilitate global or regional harmonization of standards and requirements. These disclosures would, in almost all instances, occur only with the consent of the person providing the confidential commercial information to FDA. The proposed rule would also streamline the process for FDA officials to disclose certain nonpublic, predecisional documents (such as draft rules and guidance documents) to State and foreign government officials. The proposal does not alter current procedures for sharing documents that contain confidential commercial information. These changes are intended to facilitate information exchanges with State and foreign governments and certain international organizations.     

Patient safety and quality improvement. Notice of proposed rulemaking

This document proposes regulations to implement certain aspects of the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 (Patient Safety Act). The proposed regulations establish a framework by which hospitals, doctors, and other health care providers may voluntarily report information to Patient Safety Organizations (PSOs), on a privileged and confidential basis, for analysis of patient safety events. The proposed regulations also outline the requirements that entities must meet to become PSOs and the processes for the Secretary to review and accept certifications and to list PSOs. In addition, the proposed regulation establishes the confidentiality protections for the information that is assembled and developed by providers and PSOs, termed "Patient safety work product" by the Patient Safety Act, and the procedures for the imposition of civil money penalties for the knowing or reckless impermissible disclosure of patient safety work product.     

Regulatory enforcement in the presence of a court system

The responsibilities of a regulatory agency involved in the law enforcement process vary considerably. In this paper we consider three different legal procedures in the process of law enforcement: First, we assume that the regulatory agency is in charge of the detection of offenses. Conviction takes place via court trial. Second, we assume that the regulatory agency has the power to fine an individual if there is some evidence that he did not comply with the law. An individual who has been fined by the agency has the right to lodge an appeal. If he makes use of this right, the question whether or not he complied with the law will be reconsidered. Here we discuss two different legal procedures: The case is decided by court, and the regulatory agency is required to provide sufficient evidence for its decision. Or, the agency reconsiders its decision and decides whether or not to press charges in court. We formalize these three legal procedures in a game-theoretic context and analyze the implications of the procedural regulations on the decision of a potential offender to behave illegally.     

Standards for the accreditation of educational programs for and the credentialing of radiologic personnel--PHS. Notice of proposed rulemaking

These proposed regulations would establish standards for the accreditation of educational programs for radiologic personnel, and for the credentialing of such persons. These standards are proposed as part of the implementation of the Consumer-Patient Radiation Health and Safety Act of 1981 (Title IX of Pub. L. 97-35), which requires their promulgation by regulation. The standards are voluntary for States and are intended to encourage the adoption of uniform accreditation and credentialing procedures.     

行政征收的法律规制论纲

公民财产权的排他性支配属性及其在公民权利体系中的地位呼唤法律对行政征收进行有效规制。首先,行政征收立法应遵守法律保留原则,并以公共利益条款限制征收目的。其次,行政征收程序应吸纳正当法律程序的精髓——参与,并且这一参与应是有效参与。最后,在不得不征收公民财产时,行政机关应给予公平补偿。     

Grants and subgrants to for-profit organizations--HHS. Final rules

This announces HHS's final decision to make for-profit organizations eligible for grants in all programs in which grants to those organizations are consistent with legislative intent and program purposes. For all such programs which we have identified and which still have regulatory bars to grants to for-profit organizations, this removes the bars. This also (1) makes HHS's Department-wide grants administration regulations, 45 CFR Part 74, apply to grants and subgrants to for-profit organizations and (2) adds to those regulations additional provisions for grants and subgrants to for-profit organizations. These actions reflect a reversal of the long standing HHS policy of not making grants to for-profit organizations even in programs where they are not barred by law. The new policy is intended to increase competition. This is likely to help the affected HHS programs achieve their objectives better, because they will be able to select from among a greater number of proposed projects.     

Protection of human subjects--Department of Energy. Proposed rule

Executive Order 12044 sets forth a program of regulatory reform to be followed by all executive departments. One element of that program is periodic review of existing regulations. The Department of Energy is committed to review all of its existing regulations within five years, on schedule set forth in the Federal Register for May 8, 1980, 45 FR 30448. As part of that commitment, the Department has reexmained the regulations contained in 10 CFR Part 745. These regulations deal with the protection of human subjects in research activities supported by the Department. In this notice, we are proposing regulations that will supersede the existing requirements. These proposed regulations are intended substantially to duplicate the policies and procedures proposed by the Department of Health and Human Services on August 14, 1979 (44 FR 47688). The primary responsibility for adequate review and approval to protect human subjects of research activities sponsored by the Department of Energy is placed on the institution that receives, or is accountable to the Department, for the funds awarded.