The Heartland Institute

Sometime in the next few days, Florida Gov. Rick Scott will have to decide whether to sign or veto HB 7117 , a multipronged renewable energy and conservation bill that provides tax credits for renewable energy technology investment and renewable fuel infrastructure. If signed and implemented, the bill would cost taxpayers $16 ...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is underestimating the costs of numerical nutrient restrictions it is imposing on Florida waters, the National Research Council (NRC) reports. The NRC, which is an arm of the National Academies, concluded in a March 6 report EPA is relying on overly optimistic assumptions about compliance ...

With transportation coffers barely able to maintain highways, let alone adding new capacity to relieve congestion, many transportation economists and urban planners have concluded that the best solution to U.S. freeway congestion is to implement variable pricing on all congested freeways. At the same time, many political scientists ...

With transportation coffers barely able to maintain highways, let alone adding new capacity to relieve congestion, many transportation economists and urban planners have concluded that the best solution to U.S. freeway congestion is to implement variable pricing on all congested freeways. At the same time, many political scientists ...

Opposition is growing to Florida House Bill 7117, which would give millions in taxpayers subsidies to Solyndra-style renewable energy companies, impose new obstacles on the construction of power plans utilizing inexpensive fuel sources like coal and natural gas, and authorize local governments to put taxpayers on the hook for ...

High-profile writers and publications have recently written the Parent Trigger needs to change drastically, or that parents can't be trusted with its power. RiShawn Biddle, editor of Dropout Nation and a contributor to the American Spectator, explains why these ideas are foolish, demeaning, and antithetical to school choice. See ...

Florida’s Republican-dominated legislature passed legislation this month that will impose new obstacles on coal and natural gas power plants, grease the wheels for expensive wind and solar power plants, create new Solyndra-style subsidies for wind and solar power, and hand over millions of taxpayer dollars to ethanol producers ...

An Orlando-based law firm is suing the Better Business Bureau of Central Florida for giving the firm an “F” rating on its services. The firm flunked in mid-2011 due to its failure “to resolve the underlying cause of a pattern of [client] complaints.” The complaints came from clients involved in the defense of foreclosure ...

Florida Senate Bill 1852 would require school boards to share federal funding for property costs with charter schools, which often set up shop in churches, empty strip malls, or other alternative locales. The bill passed out of the Senate PreK-12 education committee and awaits a floor vote. It also mandates that when a student ...

The recent discovery of vast deposits of oil and natural gas trapped in shale rock formations has revolutionized our nation’s short-term, mid-term, and long-term energy outlook. For example, proven natural gas reserves in the United States rose by 40 percent between 2004 and 2009. At the same time, new technological advancements ...

Florida Tea Partiers and grassroots conservatives are expressing frustration at the state’s Republican-dominated legislature for passing legislation that would ramp up taxpayer subsidies to Solyndra-style renewable power projects. Bills Hand Over Subsidies, Preferences If signed by Gov. Rick Scott (R), the legislation will require ...

Florida Senate Bill 1852 would require school boards to share federal funding for property costs with charter schools, which often set up shop in churches, empty strip malls, or other alternative locales. The bill passed out of the Senate PreK-12 education committee and awaits a floor vote. It also mandates that when a student ...

While providing ample entertainment on the gridiron, perhaps the greater drama of February’s Super Bowl was the disputes between the network television stations carrying the game and the cable and satellite companies responsible for bringing it to viewers. Television retransmission disputes, which at one time occurred only every ...

Florida legislators have proposed an education reform that is garnering significant national attention: the Parent Trigger. The legislation, first passed in California, is currently being drafted in a dozen other states. The Florida Parent Trigger would allow a simple majority of parents at a school to “trigger” one of three ...

The Florida legislature is frustrating Tea Partiers and grassroots conservatives by fast-tracking legislation that would ramp up taxpayer subsidies to Solyndra-style renewable power projects. Two bills sailing through the Republican dominated legislature would require taxpayers to hand over millions of dollars in new subsidies to ...

The current economic environment of low—virtually zero—interest rates has hit savers hard, but the US Federal Reserve’s accommodative monetary policy is actually having a stabilizing effect on the economy. Abruptly raising interest rates could harm economic growth and the housing market. Until the economy stabilizes enough that ...

Auto insurance fraud is a serious problem in Florida. Con men, unscrupulous doctors, swindlers, and ambulance-chasers have taken advantage of poor regulations under the state’s no-fault insurance laws to inflate personal injury protection (PIP) claims, stage accidents, and defraud insurers, resulting in increased costs for insurers ...

Despite bipartisan support for reform over the last three years, Florida’s legislature has not effectively addressed the state’s dysfunctional property insurance system. Add to that emerging concerns regarding the long-term sustainability of Florida’s vehicle insurance system, and the state now faces dual crises in its insurance ...

Executive Summary Following the passage of “Chemicals of Concern” legislation in Maine, Washington, and California, several states are considering adopting similar statutes. Although everyone supports reasonable measures aimed at protecting human health and the environment, these particular efforts are ill-considered and unnecessary ...

As in all states with significant hurricane risks, windstorm coverage is expensive for people in Florida. To control the costs of this coverage, Florida’s legislature has established the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, a massive government-owned reinsurance entity. All private insurers operating in the state are required to ...