thisfinecrew | Entries tagged with regulatory changes

So the US doesn't have federal heat protections for workers; OSHA is trying to change that. Request for comment is now open, until the end of December.

This form is a streamlined version of the official one, with some suggested text, but submits to the official form: https://act.seiu.org/a/federalheatregcomments?ms=social

It has a link to the official site: https://www.regulations.gov/document/OSHA-2021-0009-4761 where you can download the whole shebang, which is Long: 3,173 kb of very light HTML, for those of us who can remember calculating fanfiction length by text file size rather than word count.

There are various Requests for Comments scattered throughout the document that you can use to focus your thoughts into something potentially more useful than just "yes this is good and necessary, and while it may not be complete it is important to get basic heat protections for as many workers as possible"; you can search the document for "Requests for Comments" and I believe find them all that way.

(via

ladybusiness)

chestnut_pod

Regarding proposed new online copyright regulations, quoting from the Electronic Frontier Foundation:

"Right now, the U.S. Copyright Office is collecting information on the use of "standard technical measures" to address copyright infringement, as part of a longer effort that, we fear, will lead to filtering mandates."

That is, the state is considering expanding something like Content ID to mandatory use across the Internet, making it way harder to engage in art and community online without facing steep fines and possibly even jail time for work deemed copyright-infringing. You can see the full EFF statement here.

They need people to submit formal comments to the USCO, a process which does not take much time but does require a little more care than the usual email to your reps. This is the form, and please note the two links immediately under the header: "Read Agency Guidelines | Commenter's Checklist." Please be very sure to follow those requirements! Even so, a short comment is better than no comment.

Please also note that the form asks you for your phone # and address -- these are not required, and they may be posted publicly if you include them. I would recommend adding only your name and, if you like, your state, and leaving it at that.

--

This is the comment I left; please feel free to use it as a (loose! so it doesn't get thrown out!) template.

"Copyright enforcement should be relaxed, not tightened. Expanding Content ID-type filters across the whole of the Internet will stymie creativity and ensure that corporate interests control what content is possible to make and share on the Internet. I would be very sad to see communities of artists, fans, critics, and performers disappear due to draconian and anti-artist rules. As a fan of classical music, I know that these automated content filters often remove perfectly valid performances by classical musicians on Facebook, restricting their ability to share their art and my ability to enjoy it, because they do not understand context or nuanced interpretations. They will make it harder for individual musicians, new musicians, and marginalized musicians to share their art, because those people simply cannot compete with copyright holders on the scale of YouTube. Though that very scale may make those companies seem like the primary victims of copyright infringement, the people who are hurt most, and most unfairly, are individuals simply trying to share their art without receiving fines or even jail time due to the misunderstandings of a piece of code. I strongly urge you to foster creativity and art among the public, rather than fostering ever-tighter corporate control of the arts."

chestnut_pod

The EARN IT Act is the latest threat to open expression and privacy online. It is yet another anti-LGBT, anti-sex-worker, anti-privacy bill that supposedly aims to protect children, while actually making the situation worse. In this case, it would remove ability to send end-to-end encrypted messages: the end to privacy online.

Despite purporting to protect children from sexual exploitation, the EARN IT Act in fact will make online platforms less able to report and remove child pornography. Making platforms liable for content hosted on them actually makes companies less willing to do anything that involves trying to seek out, take down, and report CSAM, because of the greatly increased liability that comes with admitting that there is CSAM on the platform to search for and deal with. In the meantime, it will destroy Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the part that the ACLU regards as “foundational to modern online communications.” In destroying end-to-end encryption, EARN IT will also destroy the Internet as we know it, and continue chipping away at the right to privacy. It will also encourage platforms and far-right interest groups to label anything having to do with sexual health and sexual expression as dangerous pornography, ushering in an era of censorship and repression under the name of keeping children safe, all the while actually making the Internet less able to cope with the very real problem of CSEM. The EARN IT Act has been roundly condemned by nearly every major LGBTQ+ advocacy and human rights organization in the country, and for good reason. It is based on fundamental misunderstandings of the law and reality.

Tumblr user

fullhalalalchemist has a much longer and more comprehensive description of the bill's aims and failings, as well as a bibliography of news analysis of the bill; I encourage you to go read it.

In order to contact your senators to prevent this bill's passing, you can:

- Call the Congressional hotline at: 202-224-3121
- Email your representatives in the House and Senate
- Send a Resistbot text-letter already written for you. Text SIGN PVLKLV to 50409.

starlady

HUD wants to bar undocumented people from public housing, which would affect 108K people in mixed-status huseholds, and 55K children. Leave a comment AGAINST this proposed rule change by Tuesday July 9 on the regulations.gov site.

Comments MUST be personalized, as the administration eliminates any they deem are using "form language." Here's a thread with more info and proposed talking points for you to rewrite.

slashmarks

I just left a comment opposing Trump’s reinstatement of the domestic gag rule on abortion, which will endanger access to abortion services as well as all other services (including STD prevention and treatment, cervical cancer screening, prenatal care, and more) provided by Planned Parenthood.

Comments must be considered by government agencies and are often the basis in law suits filed to stop rule changes. They’re important. You can leave one here.

The deadline is July 31st at 11:59 PM EST. A lot of recent comments support the gag rule, so it would be great to get more comments showing support for the American public’s majority opinion. If you’d like talking points and a longer explanation of this rule change, here’s an article.

redbird

The Trump administration wants to cut SNAP benefits to low-income women without children.

We can post opposing comments here: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/02/23/2018-03752/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-requirements-and-services-for-able-bodied-adults-without#open-comment

It's best to write your own comment, but if you want talking points, feel free to paraphrase what I'm sending:

"I strongly oppose the proposed regulation change. ALL Americans should have enough to eat, including adults who don't have children, or whose children are grown.

"The SNAP program helps my neighbors, some of whom are working but still cannot afford enough to eat, because of low wages or high rents. The United States is a rich country, and no Americans should go to bed hungry at night."

(I heard about this through UltraViolet.)

slashmarks

Under this plan, both immigrants and non-immigrant visitors would be forced to fill out forms disclosing their use of sites like Facebook, Twitter, etc. They have also discussed requiring visitors to list all phone numbers and email addresses they’ve used within the last five years. (If you’ve ever made a post or written an article that wasn’t attached to your real name, but did list an email for contact info, you know why that’s a problem.)

We don’t know exactly what they intend to use this information for, but we can guess based on searches of phones at the border and other countries’ use of monitoring social media: the potential to deny entry to people who have made posts critical of the American government or are just involved in local politics the State Department doesn’t like. (Or who post anything else they can’t explain).

Two Federal Register notices were issued seeking comments from the public. You can leave comments on the requirement for immigrant visas here and nonimmigrant visas here. The comment period closes May 29 for both.

Be clear, give detailed reasons, and don’t copy paste your comment from this article or other sources - they often assume those comments are from bots and discard them. You can go ahead and paraphrase me.

Here’s news coverage from the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

[cross-posted with minor modifications from my tumblr account]

slashmarks

The Department of Health and Human Services is putting out a new “conscience” rule which would allow medical professionals to refuse care to patients for religious reasons.

Some people at risk if this rule is put into place:

-Religious personnel could refuse to help women who are miscarrying, even if their life is at risk.

-Women whose pregnancies endanger their lives might be turned away; doctors might even refuse to tell them about the risks in case they go to another facility for abortions.

-Doctors could refuse to treat LGBT patients.

-Bush era versions of the rule resulted in doctors refusing to provide care for HIV and AIDS.

The proposed rule would also create a new "civil rights" office dedicated to enforcing it, with the power to investigate whether organizations are complying and punish them if they don't allow employees to refuse care.

HHS is accepting public comments until March 27 at 11:59 EST. Comments are most effective if they give detailed reasons and are not copy/pasted from another source. You can read the proposed rule and comment on it at this link.

Some more coverage of the proposed rule:

Washington Post

Advocate

Politico

tassosss

from

cofax7 , reposted with permission

Back to politics: if you want something else to get upset about, the Senate is voting soon on the Regulatory Accountability Act, which is a bald-faced attempt to cripple environmental and workplace protections for American workers and residents. Check out that chart! My one consolation is that it's so onerous that it will be just as difficult for the Trump administration to roll back regulations they don't like as it will be to pass ones that would do good in the world.

I know this is boring, but the Administrative Procedure Act is one of the most important laws we have: it gives citizens and interest groups the right to participate in the rule-making process, and to challenge government actions that are complete bullshit. This is the law that lets Earthjustice and the Center for Biological Diversity sue the federal government for not protecting endangered species, or failing to regulate for climate change. It's vital to administrative transparency.

The new amendment would:
1. Require agencies to choose the lowest-cost alternative (cost to whom? I wonder);
2. Forbid courts from deferring to federal agencies' scientific expertise;
3. Impose an absurdly baroque system for implementing any regulations; and
4. Tilt the playing field in favor of big-money corporate interests rather than the public good.

Call, fax, email, or text your Senators. This is likely to pass without much public attention, and it's really fucking important.

S. 951, The Regulatory Accountability Act of 2017. Watch for it.

tassosss

seen via tumblr

The EPA wants to know what you think about scrapping air-pollution and radiation rules (Business Insider)

andabunchofotherstuff wrote:

Due May 15 2017, at 11:59 PM ET

Read and understand the regulatory document you are commenting on
Feel free to reach out to the agency with questions
Be concise but support your claims
Base your justification on sound reasoning, scientific evidence, and/or how you will be impacted
Address trade-offs and opposing views in your comment
There is no minimum or maximum length for an effective comment
The comment process is not a vote – one well supported comment is often more influential than a thousand form letters

If you want to SEE the difference the EPA protections make on our air quality, here's the NASA satellite evidence that these regulations reduce pollution and improve air quality.

ACTION: Here is the page soliciting comments where you can leave your protest

tanaqui

John Oliver has created an easy way to get to the page where you can file a comment about the FCC's plans, under Trump appointee Ajit Pai. to weaken net neutrality:

www.gofccyourself.com

The FCC will vote on the proposal on May 18. If passed, it will then go through a further period of public feedback.

Here are a couple of articles about the proposal:
http://money.cnn.com/2017/04/26/technology/fcc-net-neutrality/index.html
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/04/26/525705253/fcc-chief-begins-rollback-of-net-neutrality-regulations

tanaqui

Public Participation in EPA's Regulatory Reform
Deadline: 15 May 2017

From

watersword in our suggestions post:

The EPA is soliciting public comment on the plan to roll back environmental regulations; they're required by law to take comments into account when deciding next actions.

You can submit comments in writing using Email, Docket or mail, with the EPA page on the consultation providing the contact details for each method. Note that: All public comments will be accessible online in [the] docket

The docket page helpfully provides a Tips for Submitting Effective Comments (PDF) which is packed with good advice, and you can include attachments. We also have an excellent post from

tassosss on how to turn a phone script into a letter (and structuring letters in general) that may be helpful when you're drafting your comment. As both suggest, the most effective comments are likely to be those that are specific and, if relevant, personal. It may also be worth revisiting the post we made about George Lakoff's suggestions for re-framing the debate, so that the focus is on talking about the "protections" that the EPA provides (rather than "regulations").

To figure out what you want to comment on, this article summarises some of the main areas of protection at risk under the proposed cuts. The EPA website provides information on:

Regulatory Information by Topic, as well as

how to find regulations and

how to get regulatory information for your state or region, since many EPA regulations are adminstered by state agencies.

executrix

From a legal blog (subscriptions are free--it's part of the FindLaw group of free online newsletters) and I don't think it's paywalled:

http://blogs.findlaw.com/technologist/2017/03/as-trump-changes-the-law-apps-keep-track.html?DCMP=NWL-pro_downloadthis

Links to apps and other resources tracking Trump's regulatory and administrative activities.

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Entries tagged with regulatory changes

OSHA proposed regulations for worker heat protections: comment period until Dec 30, 2024

Prevent Content ID from infecting the whole Internet

Blocking the EARN IT Act

Action: Comment against HUD rule change

(no subject)

Action: SNAP benefits

The US State Department Wants To Force Visitors to Hand Over Social Media Information

New HHS Rule Protecting Right to Discriminate

Action: Senate voting soon on Regulatory Accountability Act

Action: EPA seeks public comment of air quality and radiation rules

Action: Comment on plans to weaken net neutrality

Action: Public Participation in EPA's Regulatory Reform - deadline 15 May 2017

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