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Modernizing Procurement in Missouri
Innovators in Action 2014 Since joining the Missouri House of Representatives in 2011 and subsequently taking the reins of the Missouri House Downsizing State Government Committee, Missouri State...
View ArticleInnovators in Action (December 2014 edition): Modernizing Procurement in...
The latest interview in Reason Foundation's Innovators in Action 2014 series focuses on recent legislation introduced in Missouri to allow for “best value” procurement and create a statutory framework...
View ArticleNew Reports on State, City Fiscal Conditions
Privatization & Government Reform Newsletter Two recent reports by the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) and the Pew Charitable Trusts, respectively, offer the latest evidence...
View ArticleUniversity of Michigan Survey Finds High Use, Satisfaction with Local...
Privatization & Government Reform Newsletter With the heated rhetoric that often surrounds the privatization of government services, a perspective often lost is that of those officials that...
View ArticleEnding a Busy Year in Water/Wastewater Privatization
Privatization & Government Reform Newsletter In what was already a busy year in the water and wastewater public-private partnerships space—see my writeup from the July edition of this...
View ArticlePrivatization & Government Reform Newsletter #13 (December 2014 edition)
The December 2014 edition of the Privatization & Government Reform Newsletter is now online. Topics covered in this issue include:BUDGETS: New Reports on State, City Fiscal ConditionsPENSIONS:...
View ArticleAssessing the Costs and Benefits of Renewable Portfolio Standards
More than half the states have renewable portfolio standards in place requiring certain and growing percentages of electricity to come from specified sources. Are these policies providing society with...
View ArticleReport Highlights Need for States to do Their Own Endangered Species Research
One of the key conclusions that can be drawn from the recent report released by the U.S. House Resources Committee—on the flawed science and lack of independent peer review used by the U.S. Fish and...
View ArticleWill Missouri Replace I-70 with a 21st Century Interstate?
Public Works Financing Next year could lead to the first actual use of the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) pilot program to toll-finance the reconstruction of an Interstate highway—I-70 in...
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EPAâ??s Clean Power Plan: Legal? Maybe. Effective and Equitable? Hardly.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a new set of rules that would set limits on carbon dioxide emissions from electrical power generators. The EPA wants each state, within roughly a...
View ArticleSouthern California's Half-Trillion Dollar Transportation Plan Won't Ease...
Orange County Register The Southern California Association of Governments recently approved minor changes to its long-range transportation plan but failed to fix the plan’s biggest problems –...
View ArticleA Plan to Reduce Congestion in Denver
This report provides a detailed framework for Denver to increase its mobility. With significant growth projected over the next 25 years, Denver’s productivity and quality of life are threatened by a...
View ArticleNew $52 Billion Plan to Reduce Denverâ??s Traffic Congestion
Traffic congestion is already negatively impacting Denver’s economy and quality of life and the 2035 Metro Vision Regional Transportation Plan admits that, despite its $133 billion price tag,...
View ArticleThe Saga of the Gunnison Sage Grouse and Why it Matters
Gunnison County, Colorado, along with Utah and Colorado, have filed notices of intent to sue the Interior Department over the listing of the Gunnison sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act. Even...
View ArticleMillennials and Pensions â?? Do They Know Public Pension Systems Need Reform?
After the midterm election results there has been a lot of talk about the young people who didn’t turn out to vote. There are around 8 million millennials, people ages 18-to-35, in California. And the...
View ArticleWhy Millennials Should Care About Pension Reform
California Political Review After the midterm election results there has been a lot of talk about the young people who didn’t turn out to vote. There are around 8 million millennials, people ages...
View ArticleHow to Fix California's Infrastructure Crisis
Orange County Register Gov. Jerry Brown recently unveiled his latest budget proposal and noted that California must “deal with longstanding infrastructure challenges.” He’s right. California’s...
View ArticleUnsustainable Risk Taking by Public Pensions
In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, Andrew Biggs shows the bleak picture of public pensions’ risk taking. Biggs points out that many major public pension plans hold substantially more risky...
View ArticleCalPERS Pension vs. Social Security Benefit
Is a California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) pension as modest as its supporters suggest? The answer is no, according to Robert Fellner at the California Policy Center. In this...
View ArticleWhat Caused Increases in Public Pensions UAAL?
How did public pension plans become underfunded? A recent study by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College provides some insights to this question. Based on the data on 150 state and local...
View ArticleGovernment Lobbying on Pension Rules Does Not Align with Public Interest
Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) pronouncements 67 and 68, despite their limitations, are expected to bring about some improvements in the way governments report pension liabilities. As a...
View ArticleKeystone XL Poses Very Little Danger to Whooping Crane
The Daily Caller In the ongoing debate over whether the Keystone XL pipeline should be built, there are many false and exaggerated claims about the pipeline’s environmental impacts. One of the worst...
View ArticleGAO Sounds Warning on State, Local Budgets (Again)
In recent years, state and local governments have largely remained in a fiscal holding pattern, continuing a slow recovery from the impacts of the Great Recession. Overall, state revenues have...
View ArticleGAO Warns on Long-Term State, Local Fiscal Imbalance
The U.S. Government Accountability Office recently issued its latest state and local government fiscal outlook, which suggests a growing gap between revenues and expenditures over the coming decades...
View ArticleBringing the Endangered Species Act in to the 21st Century Through Increased...
A recent Washington Post story addresses what has long been a problem for those impacted by the Endangered Species Act: a lack of transparency for data used by federal regulatory agencies to make...
View ArticlePrivatization & Government Reform Newsletter #14 (January 2015 edition)
The January 2015 edition of the Privatization & Government Reform Newsletter is now online. Topics covered in this issue include:BUDGETS: GAO Sounds Warning on State, Local Budgets (Again)PENSIONS:...
View ArticleWhat Causes Policymakers to Underfund Pensions
The failure of many states properly fund their pension systems has been a well documented reality over the past few years, and unfunded liabilities are estimated to be as high as $4 trillion. However,...
View ArticleCompetitive Contracting Helps California Taxpayers
Orange County Register It’s been over 20 years since Orange County plunged into bankruptcy, prompting a wide range of financial and budget reforms that ultimately helped put the county on a more...
View ArticleAtlanta Transit Should Stay off Tracks and on the Road
Georgia Public Policy Forum This legislative session, the Georgia General Assembly is expected to tackle transportation reform, with many hoping lawmakers address both roadways and transit. It appears...
View ArticleWhy Obama's Alaskan Wilderness Plan Matters for the Endangered Species Act
Watchdog.org The announcement by President Obama that he wants to designate the entire Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska as a wilderness area has a great deal of importance to states,...
View ArticleHow Privatization Could Improve Accountability at Scandal-Plagued Texas Hospital
Tyler Morning Telegraph Change is never easy, as recently demonstrated by the state’s move to privatize Terrell State Hospital and the ensuing calls by state Sen. Robert Nichols and the Tyler Morning...
View ArticleCalifornia Bill to Restrict E-Cigarettes Would Harm Public Health
Orange County Register A California legislator just introduced a bill that would add electronic cigarettes to the state’s Smoke-Free Workplace Law, thereby prohibiting vaping everywhere that smoking is...
View ArticlePoll: 72 Percent of Americans Are Concerned About Public Pension Costs, 82...
The new Reason-Rupe national telephone poll of 1,003 adults finds 72 percent of Americans are concerned their state and local governments may not be able to afford the pensions that have been promised...
View ArticleThe Incoherent Philosophy of the Radical Environmental Lobby
While the growing influence of a small number of environmental lobbying groups on the implementation of the Endangered Species Act is widely known, less well understood is the philosophy driving these...
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Sign of Reform for Military Pension
While most of the private sector has embraced the defined contribution (DC) pension model, the public sector is still largely using unwieldy defined benefit (DB) plans. This is also true for members in...
View ArticleRepealing Plastic Bag Bans Is Good for Shoppers and Likely the Environment Too
Orange County Register The Huntington Beach City Council’s recent decision to overturn its ban on plastic bags is not only good for shoppers, it is likely good for the environment too. So is the news...
View ArticleEliminate TIGER Program
Recommendation for the CongressEliminate Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Program Issue: The Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Program is an...
View ArticleSurface Transportation Reauthorization Should Eliminate TIGER Grants
Approximately every six years, Congress reauthorizes U.S. surface transportation policy. These reauthorizations provide an opportunity to make changes and updates that affect millions of Americans. We...
View ArticleRequire Metro Planning Agencies to Consider Congestion in Transportation Plans
RECOMMENDATION FOR CONGRESSRequire Metropolitan Planning Organizations to Compare Future Congestion with Baseline Congestion in Long Range Transportation Plans Issue. Under federal law, Metropolitan...
View ArticleRequire MPOs to Compare Current and Future Congestion
Over the next two weeks Reason Foundation will highlight six national surface transportation policies that need to be changed. Today’s topic focuses on congestion relief in metro areas. The proposal...
View ArticleGA House Transportation Plan a Step in Right Direction
Atlanta Journal-Constitution The Georgia House bill is a good way to increase transportation funding in the state. While details need fine-tuning, the House bill finds $1 billion in new revenue,...
View ArticleAdd Taxpayer Protections to FRA's RRIF Loan Program
RECOMMENDATIONFORTHECONGRESSAdd Taxpayer Protections to the Federal Railroad Administration’s RRIF Loan Program Issue. The Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) program was created...
View ArticleAdd Taxpayer Protections to Railroad Loan Program
Reason Foundation is highlighting six national surface transportation policies that need to be changed. Past posts detail the problems with the TIGER grants program and the need for MPOs to analyze...
View ArticleEliminate Surface Transportation Funding for Non-federal Modes
RECOMMENDATION FOR THE CONGRESSEliminate Surface Transportation Funding for Non-Federal Modes Issue: The federal highway transportation program is structured as a users-pay/users-benefit system with...
View ArticleEliminate Federal Surface Transportation Funding for Non-federal Modes
Today Reason Foundation highlights the fourth of sixth national surface transportation policies that need to be changed. Past posts detail the problems with the TIGER grants program, the need for MPOs...
View ArticleNew Jersey Tries to Make Excuses for Expensive State Highways in Poor Condition
Reason Foundation’s Annual Highway Report, which found New Jersey’s state-controlled highway system ranks 48th out 50 states in cost-effectiveness and performance, has resonated with New Jersey’s...
View ArticleCongress Should Simplify Conformity Regulations for Regional Transportation...
RECOMMENDATION FOR THE CONGRESSSimplify DOT Regulations Regarding Conformity Determination Issue. The Clean Air Act of 1990 (CAA) as amended requires each region currently (or previously) in...
View ArticleSimplify DOT Regulations Regarding Conformity Determination
Simplifying DOT regulations regarding conformity determination is the fifth of six changes Reason Foundation is recommending be made in the upcoming surface transportation reauthorization. Past posts...
View ArticleThe Private Cure for Crumbling Waterway Infrastructure
A recent New York Times article recited the dreadful condition of the locks and dams on our nation’s rivers. The article noted:“[L]argely out of sight of most Americans, the locks are crumbling. There...
View ArticleCongress Should Simplify Long-range Planning Requirements for Regional...
RECOMMENDATION FOR THE CONGRESSSimplify DOT Regulations Regarding Transportation Planning Issue. Since 1964 federal laws and amendments (23 USC 134 and 49 USC 5303) have required that states and...
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