The Heartland Institute

The federal government spent over $33 billion on energy and environmental projects under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and state governments also literally bought in to the green hype. Many states have pushed green growth even harder than the Obama administration. State Budget Solutions examined what actions states ...

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 ...

Republicans, Democrats, industry representatives, and environmentalists all say they agree that it is time to “modernize” the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA—pronounced “tosca”), the federal law that regulates chemicals not covered under other federal laws. Some say the law needs an overhaul because it is too weak and has accomplished ...

Most of the states have established their own clean/renewable energy standards so it’s not clear why we need a national standard. Indeed, if market forces are allowed to drive fuel choice by utilities, the overall portfolio of power generation will become “cleaner” over time without additional federal mandates. America is fortunate ...

The Obama administration released a final list of waivers from the costly mandates of President Obama’s health care law—a list including an overwhelming number of union members. The waivers were necessary because the ACA mandates no annual or lifetime limits may be placed on coverage, so insurers cannot afford to offer those ...

The Oregon Senate has passed a bill limiting the amount of mercury allowed in compact fluorescent light bulbs that can be sold or distributed in the state. The Senate passed the bill on Feb. 15 by a vote of 21-8, with one member not voting. Agreement on Common Bulbs “It came about through negotiations with the industry for ...

The Sierra Club, an environmental activist group leading the charge against affordable coal power, is in trouble with donors and activist allies for accepting more than $25 million in funding from a natural gas company to promote the Sierra Club’s anti-coal campaign. A Common Opponent The company, Chesapeake Energy, gave the Sierra ...

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 ...

West Virginia lawmakers are working to pass bills that address teacher shortages by creating alternative paths to teacher certification. The House of Delegates recently passed two bills allowing college graduates without degrees in education to work toward a teaching certificate. The bills now face Senate deliberation. Currently ...

In an effort to thwart the use of cell phones in prisons, the Illinois Department of Corrections is requesting information from cell phone companies regarding equipment to detect and “jam” or prevent illegal cell phone calls within the prison grounds. The Correctional Department says contraband cell phones pose dangers by potentially ...

President Obama has announced a way to help states get around No Child Left Behind’s requirements. His plan grants certain states waivers from No Child Left Behind accountability requirements if they agree to a series of preset conditions. Although many states are enthusiastic about obtaining this relief, the waiver plan poses ...

This model legislation for education tax credits from the Cato Institute aims to provide maximum freedom for parents, children, schools, and taxpayers to support and attend the schools they choose. It allows businesses and individuals to claim a tax credit for donations made to a private school scholarship-granting organization ...

For the past year, we’ve been warning you about the evidence that Obamacare’s health insurance exchanges will be larger, and far more costly, than the administration originally claimed. The subsidies within the exchanges are simply too appealing, and it makes all too much mathematical sense for employers to shed coverage and ...

Several states, including Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Nevada, New Jersey, South Dakota, and Virginia, are considering making teacher tenure more difficult to obtain or replacing it with rolling contracts. Teacher unions argue tenure is necessary for K-12 teachers to protect them from being arbitrarily fired. They also suggest ...

More than a few Americans consider telemarketers, phone text spammers, and assorted other marketing riffraff as huge sources of annoyance. Sure, telemarketers are a pain to most people, but the federal government’s crackdown on them shows just how powerful government’s job-killing ability really is. When the Federal Communications ...

Two former law students are suing the Texas Southern University law school, alleging their bad grades were arbitrary and capricious. The suit came after they were dismissed from the school for failing to maintain the required 2.0 grade point average. They are also suing for breach of contract, defamation, and negligent ...

Two recent surveys of Louisiana parents and voters reveal high satisfaction with the New Orleans vouchers system and overall approval of major components of Gov. Bobby Jindal’s education reform proposals. “The program is exactly what I was looking for,” said Deetta Holmes, mother of a Louisiana voucher student.” I wish the entire ...

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 ...