The Heartland Institute

Overriding a veto by Gov. Beverly Perdue (D), both houses of North Carolina’s legislature have implemented a budget that cuts taxes, reduces public spending, and makes significant changes to the Tar Heel State’s environmental policies. Environmental Bureaucracy Slashed With its historic June 15 veto override, state lawmakers gave ...

The federal government is again offering money it does not have to entice a state—Iowa—to spend money it does not have on something it does not need. Iowa is being asked to provide state funds to match federal funding for a so-called "high-speed rail" line from Chicago to Iowa City. The new rail line would duplicate service ...

Marcellus Shale natural gas production in Pennsylvania is boosting employment, improving personal income, and providing much-needed state revenue, according to a newly released study by Pennsylvania State University. County-Specific Tax Data Researchers at the Penn State Cooperative Extension Marcellus Education Team analyzed various ...

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett (R) is holding firm against efforts to impose new taxes or fees on natural gas production in the state. Corbett has also fulfilled a campaign promise to end a moratorium, issued last year by former Gov. Ed Rendell (D), on new natural gas leases in state forests. Natural Gas Boosting Economy Corbett ...

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has announced it will do its part to help restore jobs and revitalize the state economy by relaxing some regulations on state businesses. The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) action stems from a 2010 executive order in which Gov. Chris Christie (R) outlined Common ...

Legislators from both parties grilled Maryland Gov. Martin O Malley (D) in separate House and Senate hearings about the governor s plan to give taxpayer dollars to offshore wind power developers and force consumers to purchase the higher-priced electricity. The hearings indicated legislators are unlikely to support subsidies and ...

The natural gas boom in North Texas is not only producing energy and jobs, it s also sparking action in the state legislature regarding hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in the energy-rich Barnett Shale. By injecting water, sand, and trace chemicals at high pressure into a wellbore, drilling teams are able to unlock natural ...

In another sign of growing unease over the economic costs of carbon-dioxide cap-and-trade schemes, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) is considering withdrawing his state from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). Credits Have Minimal Value Addressing a town hall meeting in Nutley, New Jersey in late March, Christie said ...

The Montana Senate, in a move designed to address the state s double-digit unemployment rate, has voted 27-23 to relax some state environmental rules. The legislation is aimed at decreasing regulatory burdens on businesses and opening the doors to more economic development in the state. Focus on Creating Jobs I would be more ...

Texas Members of Congress and state officials vigorously protested Environmental Protection Agency global warming regulations during a recent EPA field hearing in Houston. Gina McCarthy, EPA s assistant administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation, countered by characterizing Texas as a rogue state defying federal orders regarding ...

New York State Geologist Taury Smith, the state s top scientist and a self-described liberal Democrat concerned about global warming, has publicly announced his support for Marcellus Shale natural gas production. Smith says he has uncovered no evidence that hydraulic fracturing, a cost-effective shale gas production method frequently ...

Hoping to jumpstart a floundering state economy, Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) is spearheading an effort to tap abundant oil and natural gas deposits buried thousands of feet below ground in the Buckeye State. Kasich, who took office in January, wants Ohio to develop an exploration industry that will provide jobs and lure businesses ...

Connecticut legislators, responding to citizen concerns about environmental impacts, are considering legislation to place a moratorium on all commercial wind development until specific regulations are adopted. BNE Energy Possibly Affected West Hartford wind developer BNE Energy has proposed three project sites in the towns of Prospect ...

A Wisconsin state legislative committee has cleared the way for tighter restrictions on wind turbine placement by voting to suspend proposed rules that allowed placement near property lines. In light of health and environmental concerns raised by residents near existing and proposed wind farms, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (R ...

Federal and state legislators have recently been focusing on eliminating duplication of government programs that could be combined or eliminated to save billions of taxpayer dollars. Yet the elimination of one colossal duplication could save billions of dollars but has not been mentioned: Essentially all of the work done by the ...

The New Hampshire House has voted by an overwhelming margin to end the state s cap-and-trade program. The 246-104 vote approved a halt to the state s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The RGGI calls for Northeastern states to reduce pollution and certain emission levels or join in an auction to ...

Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) is overhauling state environmental rules and procedures that are excessively costly or unnecessarily stifle economic activity. Environmental activist groups have responded angrily, but LePage says the policies in question are harming businesses and hindering commercial growth in the state. He says he is ...

The Kentucky Senate has approved a bill to end a moratorium on nuclear power plants being built in the state. The bill, sponsored by Bob Leeper (I-Paducah), passed the Senate on February 8 by a 31-5 vote. Kentucky state law currently prohibits nuclear power plants from being built in the state until the U.S. government opens ...

Pennsylvania motorists tired of driving on pothole-strewn highways and sitting in traffic jams might see some relief coming their way. A bill written by State Rep. Rick Geist (R-Altoona) would allow private companies to set up partnerships, known as P3s, with the state. Unlike leasing, which Indiana did with its toll road and ...

A new report finds the bag tax Washingtonians have been paying for more than a year now to be a job killer and economic loser. The study, commissioned by Americans for Tax Reform and conducted by the Beacon Hill Institute, examines the economic fallout of the DC bag tax. One of the more annoying taxes ever devised, the ...