John Locke Updates: 2021

Regulatory dark matter is an executive agency's policies, guidelines, memos, or interpretive statements of rules that the agency then enforces as if they are the rules themselves. House Bill 361 would make any agency policy, guideline, interpretive statement, etc. implemented as a rule to be "unenforceable." The bill would require any such policy treated as a rule to be formally adopted as a rule first.

In the decade for which Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights was fully in effect, its economy far outperformed the national economy. In contrast, during the decades before and after, Colorado’s economy fell short of the nation’s. Also during the TABOR decade, Colorado taxpayers received more than $3 billion in refunds,

Because teachers have the option of declining summer employment, summer learning programs designed to address learning loss may be short-staffed. Reasons for opting out of the summer learning programs vary, but they fall into three categories: political, financial, and psychological.

The NC State Board of Elections is attempting to make our elections process less transparent. The state board’s attempt to limit the number of observers to two per day is contrary to state law. North Carolina citizens have the power to speak directly to the state board about their proposed rule changes.

Over the last decade, state legislators held government growth to the rate of growth in inflation and population even while increasing spending on teacher pay and Medicaid. Their restraint made room for rainy-day savings, tax reductions, and economic growth. A constitutional Taxpayer Bill of Rights would preserve North Carolina’s positive momentum.

For 2020-21, North Carolina’s average teacher salary is $54,392, which is ranked 34th in the nation according to the National Education Association. The statewide average salary increased by around 21 percent between 2014 and 2021. The NC Association of Educators insists that the calculation of the average is flawed.

Learning Loss Education Savings Accounts can remedy the damaging impacts of students being out of the classroom and empower parents to find the educational option that best fits their child’s needs. The American Rescue Plan Act expands the child tax credit to $3,000 or $3,600, depending on the age of the child, and this change can greatly aid the ability of parents to afford private school.

Joining the Electronic Registration Information Center would help the boards of elections in North Carolina more effectively conduct the important task of voter list maintenance. The State Board of Elections is already legally empowered to join ERIC, but it needs the General Assembly to pay for it.

Debate over North Carolina’s recently proposed Taxpayer Bill of Rights will begin heating up soon. Opponents will likely try to portray Colorado’s experience in a negative light, but their major claims are easily debunked.

NC's standard in law for electricity provision is least-cost, reliable electricity at the flip of a switch. State electricity policy, however, is too often directed by "stakeholders" whose desires clash with that legal standard, to the detriment especially of poor consumers. House Bill 529 would restore and boost the state's protection of electricity consumers from unnecessarily high costs.