Research and Commentaries

Suffering patients deserve access to investigational treatments. In New Hampshire, HB 701 would expand access to drugs, biologics, and devices that have not yet been fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) but could help patients who have no other options. HB 701 would release doctors and health care providers from potential lawsuits, prosecution, or regulatory action for giving such treatments with the informed consent of the patient or guardian.

EdChoice, one of the national leaders in education choice advocacy and research, has released a new, updated “in-depth review of the available research on private school choice programs in America.” The 123s of School Choice, originally published in 2019 and updated this June, gathers information from 203 empirical studies on choice programs—including vouchers, education savings accounts (ESAs), […]

A new report shows Arkansas among the leaders in a nationwide education movement still building momentum. According to the 2025 EdChoice Friedman Index—a new measuring system released in April by the titular education reform organization, which is designed to measure how much educational choice families in a particular state actually have—Arkansas takes the second spot, just […]

The latest release of the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) annual U.S. Energy-Related Carbon Dioxide Emissions report has found, once again, that natural gas continues to be at the forefront in the decline of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in the United States. According to the report, power sector carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions remained near their […]

A new report shows Missouri has gradually fallen well behind in a nationwide education movement still building momentum.  According to the 2025 EdChoice Friedman Index—a new measuring system released in April by the titular education reform organization, which is designed to measure how much educational choice families in a particular state actually have— Missouri only […]

A new report shows Florida is the leader in a nationwide education movement still building momentum.  According to the 2025 EdChoice Friedman Index—a new measuring system released in April by the titular education reform organization, which is designed to measure how much educational choice families in a particular state actually have—Florida takes the top spot, […]

A new report shows Georgia has gradually fallen well behind its neighboring states in a nationwide education movement still building momentum.  According to the 2025 EdChoice Friedman Index—a new measuring system released in April by the titular education reform organization, which is designed to measure how much educational choice families in a particular state actually […]

Once the pioneering state in bringing choice to students and parents, Wisconsin is gradually falling behind in a nationwide education movement still building momentum.  According to the 2025 EdChoice Friedman Index—a new measuring system released in April by the titular education reform organization, which is designed to measure how much educational choice families in a […]

A Special Report released by the Heritage Foundation in April 2025 has found that New York’s decision to ban the process of hydraulic fracturing (commonly known as “fracking”) for natural gas in 2010 has had serious economic consequences for the residents of the Empire State living above the Marcellus Shale. It has resulted in a […]

Texas lawmakers are considering a bill that would speed and improve health care treatments by easing preauthorization requirements for physicians and providers delivering certain health care services. Senate Bill 1380 would establish “that certain health care services, including emergency care, intervention-necessary care, outpatient mental health treatment, and preventive services, cannot require preauthorization from health maintenance […]

A new Policy Study from The Heartland Institute details the major problems caused by the construction of industrial solar facilities and offers legislators solutions they should consider to prevent large scale solar development in their states.   In “How States Can Push Back Against the Destructive Expansion of Industrial Solar Power,” the authors relay how industrial […]

A new Policy Brief from The Heartland Institute offers a comprehensive evaluation of seven primary electricity generation sources: biomass, coal, hydropower, natural gas, nuclear, solar, and wind, and assesses each of them based on their affordability, reliability, and environmental impact.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) and the Liquids Energy Pipeline Association (LEPA) have released the latest of their annual reports on pipeline safety showing how liquids pipelines have become significantly safer over the last five years. The analysis, 2024 Pipeline Performance Report, details how total liquids pipeline safety incidents impacting people or the environment have dropped by 13 […]

A study from researchers at Miami University in Ohio—recently published in the peer-reviewed journal Energy Economics—provides new evidence that the hydraulic fracturing (commonly known as “fracking”) revolution over the last 18 years has had a significant impact on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. The researchers found that between 2007 and […]

Legislation in the Texas Senate would combat environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores by prohibiting lenders from discriminating against organizations based on social credit or value-based standards like ESG. ESG scores are essentially a risk assessment mechanism increasingly being used by investment firms and financial institutions that forces companies, entire industries, and society at large […]

Legislation in the Texas Senate would combat environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores by preventing insurance companies and holding companies from including political shareholder proposals in proxy statements and from implementing such politically driven shareholder proposals. ESG scores are essentially a risk assessment mechanism increasingly being used by investment firms and financial institutions that forces […]

Legislation in the Texas Senate would combat environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores by mandating that proxy advisory services based in Texas provide recommendations solely based on the financial interests of shareholders and exclude non-financial considerations such as ESG. ESG scores are essentially a risk assessment mechanism increasingly being used by investment firms and financial […]

Legislation in the Texas Senate would combat environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores by mandating that public retirement systems in Texas, as well as their investment managers and proxy advisors, prioritize objective financial factors in investment decisions. ESG scores are essentially a risk assessment mechanism increasingly being used by investment firms and financial institutions that […]

Florida lawmakers are considering a bill that would empower health care providers to prescribe the best-suited medications for Floridians on Medicaid suffering from “serious mental illnesses” without having to initially prescribe possibly inferior, cheaper medications. The bill, SB 264, “would create an exception to what is known as ‘step therapy’ for a series of psychiatric […]

Through House Bill 67, North Carolina would join the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (IMLC), which “offers a voluntary, expedited pathway to licensure for qualified physicians who wish to practice in multiple states,” as the IMLC websites states. The legislation would grant physicians licensed in North Carolina “the opportunity to apply for issuance of an expedited license to practice in Compact states, subject to the requirements and restrictions provided in the Compact,” the bill summary states. The bill establishes application procedures, provides for eligibility appeals, and mandates other processes to implement the compact in North Carolina.

North Carolina Senate Bill 370 and House Bill 455 would eliminate the certificate of need requirement for all health care facilities in the state. This CON reform would greatly improve access to health care in North Carolina while putting beneficial pressures on costs and quality by encouraging greater investment in new facilities and improvements of existing ones.

Legislation introduced in the Oregon House of Representatives would safeguard reliable electric power in the Beaver State so that it is not subject to blackouts and brownouts. The bill stipulates that the Public Utility Commission “may not authorize or approve a plan by an electric company to retire an electric power generating facility that provides […]

Tennessee lawmakers are considering legislation to remove Certificate of Need (CON) requirements for health care services across the state. Tennessee SB 853 and HB 970 would eliminate the certificate of need requirement for all health care facilities except for nursing homes. The bills are currently under consideration in the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee and […]

Indiana lawmakers are considering legislation that would add a work requirement for enrollees in the state’s Medicaid expansion group. SB 2 would require able-bodied, mentally fit enrollees above the federal poverty level to work an average of 20 hours per week or meet other requirements to retain eligibility for Medicaid in the Healthy Indiana Program (HIP), which expanded Medicaid coverage to them under provisions in the Affordable Care Act of 2010.