Regulatory policies and procedures for the Domestic Public Land Mobile Radio Service--Federal Communications Commission. Proposed rule

Policies and procedures concerning objective need showings for applications requesting an additional one-way frequency for one-way signaling stations are being proposed. The present rules do not provide applicants with sufficient information as to what is required in need showings before applications can be granted. Applicants requesting an additional one-way frequency must show that the existing or projected grade of service is .50 before an additional channel is granted. The proposed standards are concurrently being adopted as an interim rule.     

Regulatory policies and procedures for the Domestic Public Land Mobile Radio Service--Federal Communications Commission. Second report and order

This Order eliminates the requirement that applicants in the Domestic Public Land Mobile Radio Service requesting one initial two-way frequency demonstrate a public need for the proposed service. This action will serve the public interest by making frequencies available for use by the public in a more timely manner, by reducing the costs associated with filing applications and by relieving the staff of an unnecessary processing burden. This action is necessary to speed service to the public and to reduce staff resources necessary to process applications.     

Medicare and Medicaid programs; announcement of additional applications from hospitals requesting waivers for organ procurement service area--HCFA

This notice announces two additional applications that HCFA has received from hospitals requesting waivers from entering into agreements with their designated organ procurement organizations (OPOs) in accordance with section 1138(a)(2) of the Social Security Act. It supplements notices published in the Federal Register on January 19, 1996, May 17, 1996, November 8, 1996, April 21, 1997, and September 17, 1997, that announced hospital waiver requests received by us. This notice requests comments from OPOs and the general public for our consideration in determining whether these waivers should be granted.     

Medicare and Medicaid programs; announcement of additional application from hospital requesting waiver for organ procurement service area--HCFA. Notice with comment period

This notice announces an additional application that HCFA has received from a hospital requesting waiver from dealing with its designated organ procurement organization (OPO) in accordance with section 1138(a)(2) of the Act. This notice requests comments from OPOs and the general public for our consideration in determining whether such a waiver should be granted.     

New drugs for human use; clarification of requirements for patent holder notification--FDA. Proposed rule

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing to amend its regulations on notice of certification of invalidity or noninfringement of a patent to provide additional methods for new drug and abbreviated new drug applicants to provide notice to patent owners and new drug application (NDA) holders, without removing the existing means. These proposed amendments reflect current business practices and are intended to ensure that notice is provided to patent owners and NDA holders in a timely manner. FDA is also proposing to require certain applicants to submit to FDA a copy of the notice of certification.     

LEGAL AND JUDICIAL INTERPRETATION OF COMPETENCY TO STAND TRIAL STATUTES AND PROCEDURES

This study provides an analysis of the views of the legal community with respect to competency to stand trial statutes and procedures. Responses from North Carolina judges and defense attorneys reveal significant areas of disagreement or misunderstanding. While many judges believed that defense attorneys misunderstood or misused the competency procedures, the judges uniformly granted the motions. Defense attorneys indicated reasons for requesting competency evaluations that were frequently unrelated to concerns about competency. Hearings to determine competency were often not even held, and if a defendant was found to be incompetent. most judges believed that involuntary commitment to a mental institution should be automatic regardless of perceived dangerousness. The authors argue that these issues demand further attention and resolution to allow the competency laws to accomplish their intended goal without jeopardizing defendants’ rights.     

Notice inviting applications for new award for fiscal year 1999. The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), DHHS

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) announces the availability of funds and invites applications for research into the status of applicants and potential applicants to the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program, individuals and families entering the TANF caseload, and individuals and families who leave TANF. Approximately four to six States or large counties will receive funding that will enable them to monitor and conduct research into the progress of individuals who apply for TANF benefits and their families. ASPE is particularly interested in targeting those applicants who apply for cash assistance but are never enrolled because of non-financial eligibility requirements, participation in up-front job search or other diversion programs, or failure to complete the application process. Proposed studies of new entrants onto the TANF program and of individuals leaving welfare also will be given consideration. Research topics could fall into the broad categories of employment and earnings, participation in government assistance programs, and child and family well-being. Grant applicants may choose any method for their proposed studies, including the linking of administrative data, surveys, or other methods as appropriate. The funds could either support a newly designed project or could be used to add new data sources and analyses to an existing project.     

论现代公共法律服务多元化规范体系建构

公共法律服务体系建设现代化的核心问题是满足人民群众追求美好生活日益增长的法律服务需求,为实现共同富裕发展目标提供全方位的法治保障。现代公共法律服务体系建设的地方立法例中,均集中体现出对公共法律服务基本概念和调整范围的反思与分歧,为此亟待厘清公共法律服务应然规范构造理论,这是未来形成公共法律服务全国统一立法的法学理论基础。公共法律服务专门立法在整个公共法律服务规范体系中具有纲领性地位,公共法律服务体系建设改革实践不仅具备基本服务与非基本服务二元结构架构特征,而且越来越多地呈现出多元和多维架构的本质特征。现有二元规范构造理论已经不能全面解释和解构现有的公共法律服务体系建设实践发展的全样本和多维度、多元化样态,只有建构多元化的现代公共法律服务规范体系才能根本解决现有公共法律服务地方立法例实践及理论研究中出现的关于基本概念、规范类型、规范属性、调整方式、权利属性等诸多基本争议,从而确定公共法律服务的权利义务主体、事项范围、模式与程序、标准与评价指标、监督管理等主要体系建构的基本规范要素,进而归纳整合公共法律服务立法规范构造的本质特征,为将来形成区域协同一体化立法或全国统一立法提供立法规范要素的基本构造理论支撑。     

Federal support for hospital construction in overbedded areas

This memorandum established policies and procedures to limit Federal financial support for the construction of hospitals in overbedded areas. The policy for Federal hospitals is that no new or replacement hospitals will be built in an overbedded area unless suitable, existing, non-Federal facilities cannot reasonably be acquired through purchase or lease. The policy for non-Federal facilities is that no Federal grants, loans, loan subsidies, or loan guarantees will be provided for hospital construction or renovation in an overbedded area, unless the proposed project is consistent with an approved local hospital facility plan or the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) determines that it is necessary. In addition, legislation and regulations will be proposed to revise the current Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement policies for costs related to hospital construction or renovation. Finally, legislation will be proposed to revise Federal tax exempt bond financing for hospital construction and renovation in overbedded areas. This memorandum also prescribes agency responsibilities and procedures for implementing these policies.     

Chronic disease and the shifting focus of public health: is prevention still a political lightweight?

Why is it so politically difficult to obtain government investment in public health initiatives that are aimed at addressing chronic disease? This article examines the structural disadvantage faced by those who advocate for public health policies and practices to reduce chronic disease related to people's unhealthy lifestyles and physical environments. It identifies common features that make it difficult to establish and maintain initiatives to prevent or reduce costly illness and physical suffering: (1) public health benefits are generally dispersed and delayed; (2) benefactors of public health are generally unknown and taken for granted; (3) the costs of many public health initiatives are concentrated and generate opposition from those who would pay them; and (4) public health often clashes with moral values or social norms. The article concludes by discussing the importance of a new paradigm, "health in all policies," that targets the enormous health and economic burdens associated with chronic conditions and asserts a need for new policies, practices, and participation beyond the confines of traditional public health agencies and services.     

Grants to states for construction or acquisition of state home facilities--VA. final rule

This document amends the "Medical" regulations regarding applications for grants to States for the construction or acquisition of State home facilities. VA awards grants based on a priority ranking system. Usually, the higher priority applications deplete the available funding to the extent that the lowest ranking application to be offered funding is offered only a partial grant. This final rule provides that if the lowest ranking grant application receives only a partial grant in a fiscal year and if such grant award is partial solely because VA has insufficient funds for a full grant, the application would be placed at the top of the list within its priority group for the next fiscal year. Often applicants are hesitant to accept a partial grant because of the uncertainty of receiving an additional grant the next fiscal year. This final rule will encourage States to accept a partial grant by creating the likelihood that the State would receive an additional grant in the subsequent fiscal year. Accordingly, this will help ensure that VA would be able to award grants to higher priority applicants that might otherwise reject partial funding. Also, this final rule provides that the applicant receiving partial funding and receiving priority as a proposed will not be required to submit a second application for additional funds in the subsequent fiscal year, but could be required to update information already submitted. The first application would normally be adequate because the grant award in the second fiscal year would be for the same project which received the partial grant award. Further, the final rule provides that the total amount awarded for the application may not exceed 65 percent of the total cost of the project as determined at the time of the second grant award for that grant application. This is consistent with the statutory requirement that limits grant awards to no more than 65 percent of the estimated cost construction or acquisition.     

Verification of eligibility for public benefits--INS. Proposed rule

This rule amends the Immigration and Naturalization Service ("Service") regulations by establishing a new part requiring certain entities that provide Federal public benefits (with certain exceptions) to verify, by examining alien applicants' evidence of alien registration and by using a Service automated verification system that the applicants are eligible for the benefits under welfare reform legislation. The rule also sets forth procedures by which a State or local government can verify whether an alien applying for a State or local public benefit is a qualified alien, a nonimmigrant, or an alien paroled into the United States for less than 1 year, for purposes of determining whether the alien is eligible for the benefit. In addition, the rule establishes procedures for verifying the U.S. nationality of individuals applying for benefits in a fair and nondiscriminatory manner.     

An Empirical Study of Patent Grant Rates as a Function of Race and Gender

In this article we examine the rate at which patent applications are granted as a function of the inventor's race and gender. Empirical analysis of more than 3.9 million U.S. applications finds minority and women applicants are significantly less likely to secure a patent relative to the balance of inventors. Further analysis indicates that a portion of this bias is introduced during prosecution at the Patent Office, independent of the quality of the application. Mechanisms underlying these disparities are explored. The article concludes with a discussion of our results and their interaction with patent law, innovation policy, and employment trends.     

Healthcare Can Change from Within: Sustained Improvement in the Healthcare Response to Intimate Partner Violence

There is a great need to demonstrate sustained improvement in healthcare-based inquiry, intervention, and prevention provided to patients exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV). We evaluated implementation of the Healthcare Can Change from Within model (HCCW) in three primary care clinics and an emergency department within a large healthcare system, using two other primary care clinics for a usual-care comparison on selected variables. Outcome measures included individual-level variables (staff knowledge and attitudes) and system characteristics (clinic policies, procedures, patient education materials, and IPV documentation in patient records). Doctors and nurses reported increased self-efficacy, understanding of referral resources, and understanding of legal issues; IPV knowledge was unchanged. Intervention clinics implemented new policies and procedures, increased patient education, and increased documentation of IPV screening, an improvement which was sustained at 2-year follow-up. Results suggest HCCW is a promising practice for improving the healthcare response to IPV.     

我国股票期权激励制度的法律问题研究

股票期权制度作为近年来在西方国家行之有效的一种企业激励机制,在我国也得到了越来越广泛的运用。但由于相关法律制度的不完善、甚至空缺,我国大多数公司在这一制度的实施过程中遇到了各种问题。改变我国现有的公司资本制度,为建立＂库存股＂提供可操作性,并修改《公司法》与《证券法》中关于新股发行与股份回购的相关规定,是有待解决的首要问题之一;其次,将独立董事纳入激励对象范围,为激励对象提供更多行权资金来源渠道,有助于提高该制度的实施效果;最后,修改《税法》,给予股票期权制度更多税收优惠政策,更好地体现税法在调节该制度激励尺度和激励方向上的杠杆作用。