Locke experts offer initial review of governor’s new two-year spending proposals RALEIGH — Gov. Roy Cooper’s latest two-year budget plan would spend far too much money, setting North Carolina’s state government on an unsustainable future path. The governor also continues his pointless push to expand Medicaid, touts an unnecessary bond package, and targets popular parental...
RALEIGH — North Carolina is well-positioned to close the gap in access to high-speed broadband in our state’s rural areas thanks to smart choices by state leaders. Still, securing these connections quickly and at a lower cost requires three key steps tied to broadband infrastructure, according to a new John Locke Foundation report authored by Jon Sanders,...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE North Carolina’s antiquated Certificate-of-Need (CON) laws should be repealed or reformed to meet our growing state’s need for more access to affordable, convenient care to treat both physical and mental health. A new study published Jan. 26 by the John Locke Foundation details academic research that illustrates the impact of CON and...
RALEIGH — The administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has asked John Locke Foundation Senior Fellow Dr. Donald van der Vaart to serve a second term on its Science Advisory Board. Dr. van der Vaart has accepted and will serve through September 30, 2023, providing expertise on technical issues related to EPA policies and decision-making....
RALEIGH – In November, North Carolinians delivered a blow to the litigious Left by electing conservative-leaning judges to all eight of North Carolina’s open statewide judicial seats. Today, the final race achieved closure as Chief Justice Cheri Beasley (D) delivered her concession to Justice Paul Newby (R). Both John Locke Foundation and Civitas Institute engaged in...
RALEIGH — The intellectual forces that have driven three decades of freedom-forward research and policy reforms in North Carolina will merge their capabilities, ensuring that North Carolinians’ liberties are robustly defended and advanced as we enter this next decade. Effective January 1, 2021, the staff and resources of the John Locke Foundation and the Civitas Institute...
RALEIGH – With the return of fiscally conservative majorities to the North Carolina House and Senate, North Carolinians have given a thumbs-up to spending restraint and tax reforms enacted over the past decade. It’s a governing approach that ensures working women and men keep more of what they earn and that the state has stable...
RALEIGH – North Carolina’s 60-year-old ban on collective bargaining by public-sector unions is protecting North Carolina taxpayers from footing the bill for a huge hike in state spending. New economic analysis released by the John Locke Foundation concludes that repealing the state’s ban would lead to an increase in state spending of between $889 million...
Expanding Medicaid in North Carolina is a misguided and costly plan for our state, and would not be free to state taxpayers, as Gov. Roy Cooper claims. New economic analysis released by the John Locke Foundation reveals that expansion would leave the state with a funding gap estimated between $119.3 million and $171.3 million in...
In 2016, a Superior Court judge found that Apex violated the North Carolina Constitution when it installed a sewer line across the property of a town homeowner, and now Apex must pay the price for its unconstitutional action by removing and relocating the line. That’s the argument outlined in a friend-of-the-court brief filed with the North...
The constitutional right for Americans to freely express our views is under attack from laws that require nonprofit organizations to subject their donors to public scrutiny. North Carolina lawmakers should proactively reject this intimidation tactic that invades donors’ privacy for political gain, according to a new report published by the John Locke Foundation. In the...
Sometimes the guilty go free, and sometimes the blameless are held criminally accountable. This is the real-world result of North Carolina’s outdated and duplicative web of statutes, regulations, and ordinances that make it impossible for entrepreneurs, property owners, and ordinary citizens to know what is and what is not a crime. It’s time for the...