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Pollution

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Pollution: an overview

Pollution is the contamination of air, water, or earth by harmful substances. Concern for pollution developed alongside concerns for the environment in general. See Environmental law. The advent of automobiles, increased chemical wastes, nuclear wastes, and accumulation of garbage in landfills created a need for legislation specifically aimed at decreasing pollution.

Property tax

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property tax: an overview

Taxes are sometimes classified as either specific or ad valorem. Specific taxes are of a fixed amount based on a number, or standard of weight or measurement. Ad valorem taxes are based on a fixed proportion of the value of the property with respect to which the tax is assessed. They require an appraisal of the taxable subject matter's worth. General property taxes are almost invariably of this second type -- ad valorem. Ad valorem property taxes are based on ownership of the property, and are payable regardless of whether the property is used or not and whether it generates income for the owner (although these factors may affect the assessed value).

Real estate transactions

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real estate transactions: an overview

Real estate transactions are governed by a wide body of federal statutes and a combination of state statutes and common law. The requirements established by state law often differ significantly from one state to the next.

Energy

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energy law: an overview

For most of American history, the federal government did not play an active role in the energy industries. (This history is often explained by the widespread belief in the unlimited supply of energy). During the Great Depression and into the years of WWII, the federal government began to establish a fragmented regulatory framework, with many agencies participating. Furthermore, the Manhattan Project to develop nuclear weapons initiated the era of nuclear regulation. However, the energy crises of the 1970s forced the federal government to consolidate its scattered regulatory framework that had developed piecemeal in the previous decades. With the creation of the Department of Energy in 1977, a national energy plan emerged for the first time. The stated purpose of federal energy laws and regulations is to provide affordable energy by sustaining competitive markets, while protecting the economic, environmental, and security interests of the United States.

Landlord-Tenant Law

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landlord-tenant law: an overview

Landlord-tenant law governs the rental of commercial and residential property. It is composed primarily of state statutory and common law. A number of states have based their statutory law on either the Uniform Residential Landlord And Tenant Act (URLTA) or the Model Residential Landlord-Tenant Code. Federal statutory law may be a factor in times of national/regional emergencies and in preventing forms of discrimination.

Debtor and creditor

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debtor and creditor: an overview

Debtor-creditor law governs situations where one party is unable to pay a monetary debt to another. There are three types of creditors. First are those who have a lien against a particular piece of property. This property (or proceeds from its sale) must be used to satisfy the debt to the lien-creditor before it can be used to satisfy debts to other creditors. A lien may arise through statute, agreement between the parties, or judicial proceedings. See, e.g., Secured Transactions and Mortgages. Secondly, a creditor may have a priority interest. A priority arises through statutory law. If a creditor has a priority his debt must be paid when the debtor becomes insolvent before other debts. For example, Congress has granted priority to debts owed the Federal government. See Federal Tax Lien Act. The final type of creditor is one who has neither a lien against the debtor's property or is the subject of a statutory priority.

American Indian law

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American Indian law: an overview

In U.S. law the term "Indians" refers generally to the indigenous peoples of the continent at the time of European colonization. "Alaska Natives" and "Native Hawaiians" refer to peoples indigenous to the areas occupied by those named states. The terms "tribe" or "band" designate a group of Indians of the same or similar heritage united in a community under one leadership or government and inhabiting a particular territory. Because Indians have increasingly preferred "nation" or "people," the term "tribe" has become controversial. The terms used may vary from statute to statute and case to case as well.

Agriculture

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agriculture: an overview

Agriculture includes soil preparation, seed planting, crop harvesting, gardening, horticulture, viticulture, apiculture (bee-raising), dairying, poultry, and ranching. Generally, laws grouped under the heading "agricultural law" relate to the production of the fruits of these activities as they are carried out in a commercial setting.

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