Research and Commentaries
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Research & Commentary: School Funding Lawsuits
Publication -Research and Commentaries -With state and local governments tightening their belts in response to falling tax revenues caused by the bad economy, school districts facing cuts are increasingly resorting to lawsuits to force governments to give them more money. -
Research & Commentary: Recovery Audits
Publication -Research and Commentaries -For decades, retailers and other private-sector businesses have hired independent auditors to track down improper payments and recover the money. Now governments at all levels are being encouraged and even required to do the same thing. -
Research & Commentary: Online Learning and Related Technology
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Online K-12 education is growing rapidly as lawmakers authorize state-run or -approved virtual education options such as single classes from myriad operators and entire virtual schools. -
Research & Commentary: The Home Mortgage Interest Deduction
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Few public policy issues evoke more fervor than those promoting homeownership. -
Research & Commentary: Pennsylvania Liquor Privatization
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Mike Turzai recently introduced House Bill 11, which would privatize the state’s liquor sales. -
Research & Commentary: Teacher Evaluations
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Taxpayers and state governments are increasingly acting on the principle that teachers should receive evaluations of their work, to measure their effectiveness and ensure better education for students. -
Research & Commentary: Keystone XL Pipeline
Publication -Research and Commentaries -The Keystone XL Project is an approximately 1,661-mile pipeline expansion project that will transport crude oil from Canadian oil sands to U.S. refining markets. -
Research & Commentary: Exchange Regulation and State Implementation
Publication -Research and Commentaries -The massive and complex package of proposed health exchange rules released recently by the U.S. -
Research & Commentary: Florida’s Online Travel Agent Tax
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Florida’s tourism industry brings in more than $60 billion each year and is the state’s most profitable industry. -
Research & Commentary: High-Stakes Tests and Cheating in Atlanta
Publication -Research and Commentaries -An investigative report from Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal’s office charges 178 Atlanta Public Schools teachers and administrators with falsifying students’ state standardized tests. -
Research & Commentary: Protecting Privacy in Cloud Computing
Publication -Research and Commentaries -The 25-five-year-old federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) doesn’t protect individuals’ data stored remotely in the Internet “cloud” (such as gmail, mobileme, and skydrive). -
Research & Commentary: The Effect of Dodd-Frank
Publication -Research and Commentaries -The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, also known as the Dodd-Frank Act, is a law with consequences for every part of the financial system. -
Research & Commentary: The Effect of Dodd-Frank
Publication -Research and Commentaries -The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, also known as the Dodd-Frank Act, is a law with consequences for every part of the financial system. -
Research and Commentary: Blaine Amendments
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Thirty-eight states have Blaine Amendments to their constitutions, which prohibit public dollars from supporting religious private schools. -
Research & Commentary: Standardized Loss Allocation System for Hurricane Claims and the COASTAL Act
Publication -Research and Commentaries -The two major forces of a hurricane—wind and water—can do grave damage to homes. This can pose a problem because private insurers cover almost all wind damage while the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) handles all flood damage to ordinary homes. -
Research & Commentary: Use of Gender in Auto Insurance Scoring
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Some stereotypes about groups are pure calumny, others have a small grain of truth, and some are absolutely, 100 percent true. What follows concerns a stereotype about men and women that is 100 percent true. -
Games Legislators Play: Tricks, gimmicks, and fuzzy accounting in the 2011-2012 budget
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Using money that’s only available for one year to fund ongoing functions of government Legislators are taking $150 million from various earmarked/restricted funds to pay for ongoing obligations at the Department of Education and the Department of Health -
Research & Commentary: National ‘Common Core’ Curriculum Standards
Publication -Research and Commentaries -The Common Core State Standards Initiative, supported and created by the National Governors Association and Council of Chief State School Officers, sets grade-by-grade content requirements for K–12 in English language arts and math. -
Research & Commentary: National and State Standardized Tests
Publication -Research and Commentaries -As Congress gears up to reauthorize No Child Left Behind, the largest federal law on education, and various school districts display the fruits of the act’s mandated testing, experts have begun to weigh in on the merits and disadvantages of national and -
Research & Commentary: Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking) of Natural Gas
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Research & Commentary: Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking) of Natural GasNew natural gas discoveries in shale rock formations and rapid technological advances to recover the gas have improved the U.S. domestic energy outlook. -
Research & Commentary: Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking) of Natural Gas
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Research & Commentary: Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking) of Natural GasNew natural gas discoveries in shale rock formations and rapid technological advances to recover the gas have improved the U.S. domestic energy outlook. -
Research & Commentary: Weight-Based Smokeless Tobacco Taxes in Wisconsin
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Wisconsin is considering a revenue neutral tax proposal that would change the tax structure for smokeless tobacco from an ad valorem tax to a weight-based tax. -
Research & Commentary: Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board Fees
Publication -Research and Commentaries -State Rep. Mark Mustio (R) has introduced a bill that would prevent Pennsylvania’s Liquor Control Board (LCB) from increasing handling “fees” on alcohol without prior approval from the legislature and governor. -
Research & Commentary: Contracting Out Prison Services
Publication -Research and Commentaries -The cost of incarceration, rehabilitation, and security in state, local, and federal prisons has become a serious budget problem.
