Fentanyl overdoses are devastating the entire country. In 2021, over 107,000 Americans died from a drug overdose, 71,238 of which were caused by fentanyl. In Florida alone, fentanyl ended over 5,000 lives in the same year. This tragic crisis will not be resolved by doubling down on prohibition policies that have failed for decades and are actually fueling overdose deaths. In a letter by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody published in The Observer last month, she called upon President Joe Biden to officially designate fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction. Similarly, Florida Sen. …
Californians shouldn’t lose access to telehealth services because emergency order ended
Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom officially ended California’s COVID-19 “State of Emergency.” While ending that emergency order was long overdue, California has failed to permanently change many of the laws and regulations that were waived or altered during the COVID-19 pandemic to help temporarily allow patients to access needed health care remotely. In the future, telehealth could help alleviate California’s growing shortage of primary care providers and ensure that all residents have access to the health care they need, regardless of where they live. Unfortunately, California’s antiquated licensing rules are preventing the state from reaping the full benefits …
Pension Reform News: Modeling pension changes and costs, Alaska’s rollback of reform, and more
This month’s newsletter from the Pension Integrity Project at Reason Foundation highlights articles, research, opinion, and other information related to public pension challenges and reform efforts across the nation. You can find previous editions here. In This Issue: Articles, Research & Spotlights Pension Integrity Project pension modeling to help stakeholders Alaska’s potential rollback of reform could be costly Montana needs to improve the way it pays for pension benefits Retirement benefits are low priority for young public workers SECURE Act 2.0 improves defined contribution plans Chicago turns to a casino to improve funding of pensions News …
Examining the impacts of education reform legislation proposed in Kansas
In the 2023 legislative session, Kansas lawmakers have a historic opportunity to pass vital school choice legislation and reform the state’s K-12 education finance system. By expanding its modest tax credit scholarship program and enacting an education savings account program, the state could improve from one of the worst states for school choice to one of the best. These changes, and updating how students are counted for funding purposes, could provide better educational opportunities for students and families and financial savings to the state. House Bill 2048: Improving Kansas’ Tax Credit Scholarship for Low-Income Students …
Why New Mexico House Bill 547’s tax increases undermine public health
New Mexico House Bill 547 would significantly increase taxes on e-cigarettes and marijuana vaping products. HB 547 would impose a 31% wholesale tax on vapor products and a tax equal to 25% of the product value on other tobacco products, such as cigars, smokeless tobacco, and nicotine pouches. Research from the Cochrane Review, Yale University, and many others. shows that noncombustible nicotine products, like e-cigarettes, present significantly less danger to consumers and benefit public health if smokers switch from cigarettes. Because e-cigarettes are safer than cigarettes, several have been authorized for sale by the Food …
Amicus Brief: Memmer v. United States
2021-2133, -2220United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Jeffrey Memmer, Gilbert Effinger, Larry Goebel, Susan Goebel, Owen Halpeny, Joseph Jenkins,Michael Martin, Rita Martin, Mcdonald Family Farms Of Evansville, Inc., Reibel Farms, Inc., James Schmidt, Robin Schmidt, Plaintiffs-appellants, v. United States, Defendant-cross-appellant. On Appeal From The United States Court Of Federal Claims In Case No. 1:14-cv-00135-mms, Honorable Margaret M. Sweeney, Senior Judge Brief for National Association of Reversionary Property Owners, Cato Institute, Owners’ Counsel ofAmerica, Southeastern Legal Foundation, Reason Foundation, and Professor James W. Ely, Jr., as AmiciCuriae In Support of Appellants Jeffrey Memmer, …
Actuarially determined contributions would reverse Montana’s pension debt trends
Pension systems like the Montana Public Employee Retirement System Define Benefit (PERS-DB) plan rely on contributions from government workers and their employers—as well as compounding investment returns—to save the necessary amounts needed to pay constitutionally protected retirement benefits. Despite periodically increasing rates, annual contributions have routinely fallen short of what’s needed to pay off more than $2 billion in unfunded pension liabilities. Moving from the current statutorily-fixed contribution rate to an employer contribution that is actuarially determined (ADEC) annually is an important step towards securing the long-term financial future of one of Montana’s largest public …
Amicus Brief: Roberts v. McDonald
No. 22-757Supreme Court of the United States JONATHAN ROBERTS and CHARLES VAVRUSKA, Petitioners,v.JAMES V. MCDONALD, in his official capacity as Commissioner for New York State Department of Health, et al., Respondents. On Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit Brief Amicus Curiae of the Center For Equal Opportunity, The Kirkwood Institute, Manhattan Institute, and Reason Foundation in support of petitioners Questions Presented During the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted emergency approval for lifesaving oral antiviral treatments, Facing a severe shortage of these …
Montana reform would improve pension funding and retirement savings for public employees
Nearly two years after House Joint Resolution 8 set Montana legislators on the interim task of finding a long-term solution to better funding state pension benefits, lawmakers are advancing a reform that would greatly improve the funding and security of the state’s public employee retirement plan. House Bill 226 (HB 226), sponsored by Rep. Terry Moore (R-Billings), would guarantee active and retired members of Montana’s Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) that the system’s current $2 billion of unfunded liabilities will be paid off and future debt is less likely to accrue going forward, all while …
Ridership struggles in cities like Dallas and Chicago highlight the transit challenges ahead
The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly affected transportation demand across the country, especially in urban areas where mass ridership is still far below 2019 or pre-pandemic levels. With a fiscal cliff approaching for most transit systems, many local governments and agencies are scrambling for solutions. The transit ridership recovery has varied drastically from metro area to metro area and even more from mode to mode. Transit ridership decreased from 802 million trips in January 2020, before the pandemic, to 158 million trips in May 2020, as most states were shut down. That’s an 80.3% decrease in transit …
Chicago wants to open a casino to help pay down its public pension debt
Chicago recently announced it is in the process of opening a new casino with the intent to use its revenue to pay down significant unfunded liabilities in the city’s public safety pension plan. According to estimates in the recommendation report by Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office, the casino will cost around $1.7 billion to build and generate roughly $200 million per year. But even under the proposal’s optimistic outlook, the casino’s annual revenue is only a fraction of the annual required contributions to the city’s police and fire pension fund. Due to the gargantuan amount …
Tolling value proposition for trucking and state departments of transportation
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research BoardVolume 2677, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981221147048 Abstract The Interstate Highway System is critically important to the trucking industry. In a 2019 report to Congress, the Transportation Research Board found that much of the system is wearing out. It recommended a 20-year, US$1 trillion program of reconstruction and modernization. However, in its 2021 Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act, Congress took no action on interstate reconstruction. Several states are considering toll financing for this purpose, but the trucking industry has long opposed any expansion of tolling, despite its need for …
