Category: Uncategorized
Category: Uncategorized (page 26)
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Revenue Shortfalls and Debt Downgrades in Kansas
Kansas policymakers were recently hit with two pieces of bad news: a state bond downgrade by Moody’s investors and lower than expected income tax revenues. Opponents of Kansas tax reform…
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Massachusetts Plans to Replace Troubled Health Insurance Exchange
On the heels of Oregon’s decision to drop its dysfunctional health insurance site, Massachusetts officials announced plans to follow suit on Monday. Unlike Oregon, however, Massachusetts will be taking…
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Missouri Lawmakers Override Governor’s Veto, Choose Economic Growth
Yesterday, the Missouri House of Representatives voted to override the veto of Governor Jay Nixon and enact broad based tax cuts for the citizens of Missouri for the first…
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Oregon’s $300 Million Exchange to be Transferred to Feds
Earlier today, Oregon became the first state-run health exchange to adopt the federal HealthCare.gov exchange portal. After receiving more than $300 million in federal grants, the state struggled…
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Why Paper Bags Should Be Fee-Free
A growing number of “bag bills” introduced at state and local levels prohibit stores from distributing single-use plastic bags and impose a fee on paper bags. Other bills impose…
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A Year in Review: The State of Cybersecurity
In early April, computer security firm Symantec released its annual Internet Security Threat Report, one of the most comprehensive sources of Internet threat data in the world. Symantec crowned…
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Is the Highway Trust Fund About to Hit a Dead End?
By Steven Johnson The Department of Transportation (DOT) released a report this past Tuesday showing that the Highway Trust Fund will run out of money by this August. The…
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Correcting the Net Metering Record
“There’s nothing so absurd that if you repeat it often enough, people will believe it.” – William James “A lie told enough becomes the truth.”…
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The Importance of Unlicensed Spectrum
Technology can quickly outpace regulatory frameworks, and a new example of this phenomenon is the rapid expansion of WiFi-enabled devices without a concurrent increase in the fixed amount of unlicensed…
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New 2014 Rich States, Poor States Rankings Show States Are Making Large Reforms
Since 2008, Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index has used the latest economic data to determine which states are doing well and which states are struggling. The…
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State-based exchanges face scrutiny, questions of mismanagement
Officials from five states came under congressional scrutiny last week for various failures in creating state-based health insurance exchanges, despite each state accepting and spending hundreds of millions of…
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Prison Overcrowding Threatens Public Safety and State Budgets
Audrey Williams How many people are actually locked up in the United States? Well, as it turns out, it’s hard to say. Inconsistent and fragmentary data has made piecing together…
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Balancing Ride-on-Demand Innovations with Common Sense Consumer Protections
We all can agree that overregulation of an industry tends to chill innovative business strategies and ultimately harm the consumers the regulations were intended to protect. However, in pursuit of…
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Financial Ready Idaho
States are increasing their dependence on federal funds at a time when the federal government is facing difficult fiscal challenges. According to the nonpartisan fiscal watchdog group, State…
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States Can Promote Next-Generation Wireless by Removing Regulatory Barriers
By: Seth L. Cooper State lawmakers should enact policies they believe to be sound, expedient and consistent with current federal law. Good state policymaking should not get sidetracked by speculations…
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New House Bill Takes Major Strides in Overcoming Washington’s Wireless Regulatory Hurdles
On March 28, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed into law HB 2175, a significant step forward in promoting the Washington’s telecommunications competitiveness. HB 2175 was fashioned to alleviate regulatory restrictions…
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The Overfederalization of Crime in America
In March 2013, Anthony Brasfield released a dozen heart-shaped balloons in the air as a romantic gesture for his girlfriend. After a Florida Highway Patrol officer spotted the gesture, Brasfield…
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Mississippi Makes Progress toward a More Just and Efficient Criminal Justice System
Steven Johnson Mississippi has taken important strides this week to create a criminal justice system that effectively protects the public while making best use of taxpayer dollars. On March 25,…
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Government-run UTOPIA is not good for Utahans
A new bill seeking to curb Utah’s government-owned broadband networks incited anger among observers, indicating confusion remains regarding the policy—and the state of broadband. Promoting broadband is in the public…
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Overcriminalization Interview with Jason Lewis
On March 24, Cara Sullivan went on The Jason Lewis Show to discuss the importance of criminal justice reforms, which include mandatory minimum sentencing reform, criminal intent requirements…