Articles

The Civitas Institute has identified $205.4 million in new “pork barrel” spending in the FY2007-2009 expansion budget. In addition, the budget contains $155 million in ... Keep Reading

During the 2007 long session, legislators considered several bills pertaining to voter registration and identification laws, taxpayer-financed campaigns, and the assignment of ... Keep Reading

The 2007 session saw dozens of bills introduced on criminal justice issues, but very few became law. Proposed legislation ranged from tougher penalties for sex offenders to the ... Keep Reading

The 2007-2008 General Assembly Session resulted in the passage of a budget, as well as a number of other bills, that increased funding for a number of environmental initiatives ... Keep Reading

Important Bills Still in Play for Next Session While we reflect on the legislation that passed during this year’s long session, it is important to keep an eye on bills that ... Keep Reading

As might be expected, education remained a top priority for lawmakers during the 2007 long session. What is perhaps more surprising is that even as education spending increased by ... Keep Reading

One of the main sticking points during this year’s contentious and drawn out budget process was the debate over whether the “temporary” sales and income tax rates ... Keep Reading

With the U.S. Congress, as well as the Bush administration, having failed to pass an immigration reform bill in 2007, many states took it upon themselves to pass legislation ... Keep Reading

This article was originailly published in the Fayetteville Observer, August 2007 We are often treated to editorials about "desperately needed" programs like ... Keep Reading

The General Assembly violated its own rules more than 100 times when it passed the budget last week. At the eleventh hour, legislators added new pork projects that had not been ... Keep Reading