Publications
-
Testimony to the Kansas House Committee on Education On House Bill 2621 to repeal and replace Common Core
Publication -Testimony -Testimony to the Kansas House Committee on Education On House Bill 2621 to repeal and replace Common Core February 19, 2014 Thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony. -
Testimony of James Taylor – Kansas House Standing Committee on Energy and Environment
Publication -Testimony -Senior Fellow James Taylor's written testimony submitted on February 13, 2014 to the Kansas House Energy & Environment committee on a resolution to oppose the Presiden't Climate Action Plan. -
Research & Commentary: Illinois Corporate Income Tax Reform
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Illinois’ combined federal and state corporate income tax rate is 41.2 percent, fourth-highest in the United States and the industrialized world. After a 47 percent increase to the base rate in 2011, Illinois’ state corporate income tax rate of 9. -
A Better Medicare for Seniors and Taxpayers
Publication -Policy Briefs -Of all the entitlement programs in the U.S. requiring reform, Medicare – the federal health insurance program for people who are 65 or older – presents the most difficult problem of all. -
Research & Commentary: Examining the Arkansas Medicaid Expansion Model
Publication -Research and Commentaries -In several of the states that have chosen not to expand their Medicaid programs under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare), lawmakers are offering proposals to expand Medicaid under new schemes designed to improve the flawed -
Research & Commentary: Iowa Minimum Wage Reform
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Iowa Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal and House Minority Leader Mark Smith have said members of their caucuses will introduce proposals this session to raise the state’s legal minimum wage. -
The Leaflet – Wireless Taxes for Water Skiing
Publication -The Leaflet -Wireless Taxes for Water Skiing For years state wireless and cell phone taxes have grown steadily without raising any significant alarm. This is surprising given that wireless taxes in many states are up to three times higher than the state sales tax. -
Research & Commentary: Should Illinois Move to a Progressive Tax System?
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Just a few years ago Illinois’ tax competitiveness compared well to its neighbors and other states. The Tax Foundation’s State Business Climate Index ranks states based on more than 100 variables, ranging from income taxes to property taxes. -
Research & Commentary: Connecticut Pension Reform
Publication -Research and Commentaries -According to the most recent available data (2011), Connecticut’s pension system is the second-most underfunded in the United States, trailing only Illinois, which passed minor reforms in late 2013. -
Research & Commentary: West Virginia Wireless Taxes for Tourism
Publication -Research and Commentaries -In January, West Virginia state Sen. H. Truman Chafin proposed a $10 million increase in the tax on wireless services to increase funding for the West Virginia Division of Tourism. -
Research & Commentary: Net Metering
Publication -Research and Commentaries -In 43 states and the District of Columbia, utility customers who purchase their own generation source (also called distributed generation, most often a rooftop solar panel) can sell any excess electricity they produce to a utility for resale to other -
The Leaflet – Obama Urges Governments To Raise Minimum Wage
Publication -The Leaflet -v:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} w:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} . -
Testimony of James Taylor – Washington State Senate Energy, Environment & Telecommunications Committee
Publication -Testimony -Heartland Senior Fellow for Environment Policy James Taylor testifies before the Washington Senate Energy, Environment, and Telecommunication committee during a January 2014 work session to discuss solar power. -
The Other Side of the Global Warming Story
Publication -Testimony -Dr. Jay Lehr, science director of The Heartland Institute and one of the authors of the Clean Air and Clean Water acts, delivered the testimony below to the Washington State Senate in January, 2014. -
Research & Commentary: Pennsylvania Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Pennsylvania state Rep. Tommy Sankey has introduced a proposal that would repeal the state’s alternative energy portfolio standard (AEPS), which mandates utilities obtain a specified percentage of their power from renewable sources by a certain date. -
Research & Commentary: Michigan Income Tax Reform
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Michigan is facing a budget surplus, and as a result several legislative leaders are now considering lowering the personal income tax. According to the Senate Fiscal Agency, this surplus totals around $1. -
Research & Commentary: Wyoming Medicaid Expansion
Publication -Research and Commentaries -After voting in 2013 not to expand Medicaid, the Wyoming Legislature is now considering three possible alternatives to simple Medicaid expansion in Wyoming. -
Tip Sheet: Hydraulic Fracturing
Publication -Policy Tip Sheets -ProblemHydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a decades-old well stimulation technique that recently has been combined with horizontal drilling and computer-assisted underground monitoring to make extracting from vast reserves of oil and natural gas more -
Research & Commentary: Wisconsin Income Tax Repeal
Publication -Research and Commentaries -A new report by the American Legislative Exchange Council’s Center for State Fiscal Reform found 18 states made a total of 25 meaningful tax cuts during the 2013 legislative session. -
The Leaflet – The Top State Policy Issues for 2014
Publication -The Leaflet -The Top State Policy Issues for 2014 As state lawmakers head back to their state capitols to begin their 2014 legislative sessions, states are expected to face many important issues this year. -
The Leaflet – The Top State Policy Issues for 2014
Publication -The Leaflet -The Top State Policy Issues for 2014 As state lawmakers head back to their state capitols to begin their 2014 legislative sessions, states are expected to face many important issues this year. -
Research & Commentary: Utah Medicaid Expansion
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Most states across the country already have decided whether to expand their Medicaid programs as part of Obamacare. Currently, 26 have chosen to expand their programs starting in 2014, and 22 states have refused to do so. -
Research & Commentary: Certificate of Need Laws
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Competition among health care providers improves the services they provide and gives consumers more options. -
Research & Commentary: Vermont Pension Reform
Publication -Research and Commentaries -As unfunded government liabilities have raced out of control, the high cost of traditional defined-benefit public pensions has become a big issue for Vermont.