2 Nov 2008

Election 2008: State Initiatives with Regulatory Content
Health Care

by Richard Belzer

in Legislation

Health care is a major domestic policy issue in this year's federal election campaigns. Two States have initiatives on the ballot concerning health care. They reflect very different public policy perspectives.

Arizona's is a constitutional amendment that would prohibit the legislature from enacting any law that would restrict the right to purchase legal health care services.

Montana's is a statute that would expand the State's Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and authorize new regulations mandating coverage.

The text of the Arizona and Montana initiatives is reprinted below.

20 Oct 2008

Carbon Offsets:
Are small landfills behaving badly?

by Richard Belzer

in Regulatory Economics

The Wall Street Journal reports that landfills that collect methane and sell it as fuel also can sell the value of these avoided greenhouse gas emissions.

1 Apr 2008

Regulating How Drop-Out Rates Are Reported:
The tip of the iceberg of a persistent information quality problem

by Richard Belzer

in Information Quality

Department of Education secretary Margaret Spellings has announced a new regulation to control how states report drop-out rates. Under existing law, the states have the discretion to devise their own formulas. This makes interstate comparisons problematic. It also reflects the states' interest in devising formulae that under-report actual drop-out rates.

Under the proposed rule, all states would have to use the same federally prescribed formula. More...

8 Mar 2008

Virginia's New "Voluntary Tax" on Its "Bad" Drivers, Part 4:
The backlash wins

by Richard Belzer

in Regulatory Economics, Regulatory Policy

Washington Post staff writer Tim Craig reports that the Virginia legislature is expected to repeal the law that authorized the voluntary tax on bad Virginia drivers. The action follows a Virgina Supreme Court decision issued on February 29 declaring unconstitutional the legislature's other 2006 transportation policy innovation -- the creation of unelected regional authorities with the power to levy taxes. More...

18 Feb 2008

Taxing Illegal Markets to Raise Revenue:
To plug a budget deficit, NYS Governor Spitzer proposes to tax illegal drugs

by Richard Belzer

in Regulatory Economics

New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer has proposed to plug part of an expected $4.4 billion budget deficit by enacting a tax on illegal drugs. Similar laws have been enacted elsewhere to enable law enforcement to charge drugs distributors and dealers with another form of tax evasion. (Chances are they already evade federal and state income taxes.)

Are there any conditions in which this proposal could raise significant revenue? More...

6 Feb 2008

The Perils of Regulatory Policymaking by Opinion Poll:
Consumer Reports on "health care reform"

by Richard Belzer

in Regulatory Economics, Regulatory Policy

Consumer Reports has sponsored a poll on health care that yielded results characterized as "revealing a significant disconnect." But there is no disconnect at all if elementary economic analysis is applied. More...

8 Jan 2008

Cancer Risks from Air Toxics:
Remarkably small, even when exaggerated

by Richard Belzer

in Regulatory Economics, Regulatory Science

The Los Angeles Times reports that cancer risks in Southern California from air toxics declined in 2006 by 17%. Any decline in cancer risk is good news. How good is it? More...

19 Dec 2007

Can States Regulate Immigration? Part 8
Arizona's HB 2779

by Richard Belzer

in Regulatory Economics, Regulatory Policy

On July 2, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano signed into law a bill that tightens an existing statutory definition for felonious "aggravated taking identity of another person" and establishes a new statutory regime that will sanction employers who violate federal immigration law after January 1, 2008. The bill passed the State House of Representatives 47-11 and the State Senate 20-4. More...

7 Dec 2007

Can States Regulate Immigration? Part 7
Oregon to consider authorizing in-state tuition for illegal aliens

by Richard Belzer

in Regulatory Economics, Regulatory Policy

The Associated Press reports that Oregon's Board of Higher Education is considering a plan that would offer in-state tuition to qualified graduates of Oregon high schools who are not in the U.S. legally. More...

16 Nov 2007

Can States Regulate Immigration? Part 4b
NY Governor abandons 3-tiered driver license plan

by Richard Belzer

in Regulatory Economics, Regulatory Policy

This week, New York Governor Elliot Spitzer abandoned his plan for a three-tiered driver license program that would have allowed illegal aliens to obtain an inferior-form license. More...

15 Nov 2007

Can States Regulate Immigration? Part 6
New Jersey

by Richard Belzer

in Regulatory Policy

The Associated Press reports that a recent change in law enforcement policy has had discernible effects in New Jersey. More...

7 Nov 2007

Can States Regulate Immigration? Part 5
Results from the 'election market' in Virginia

by Richard Belzer

in Regulatory Policy

Economists often treat elections as markets; candidates are the "supply," voters provide the "demand," and the outcome determines which "product" the public "buys." Perhaps second only to traffic, immigration has become the top local issue in Prince William County, Virginia. We've posted on Prince William County's efforts to indirectly regulate the numbers of illegal aliens whjo reside in the county.

Yesterday elections were held statewide in Virginia. What did the market say? More...

4 Nov 2007

Can States Regulate Immigration? Part 4
An update on the New York State driver license controversy

by Richard Belzer

in Legislation, Regulatory Economics, Regulatory Policy

We recently posted times on various States' efforts to indirectly regulate immigration by supplementing federal immigration law (e.g., Oklahoma), or alternatively, to refuse to leverage State or local resources to enforce these laws (e.g., Illinois). We also looked at New York Governor Spitzer's September change in driver license policy that enabled illegal aliens to obtain valid driver licenses. We concluded that, whatever its merits as a policy, this did not appear to be a significant change from current practice because New York State's proof of identity standards would remain unchanged.

Spitzer's policy change stirred considerable controversy, so we went back to examine the issue in greater detail. Recently, Spitzer revised New York State driver license policy in a very significant way, and a comparison of the two policies reveals much more about how New York is addressing immigration issues. More...

15 Oct 2007

Can States Regulate Immigration? Part 3:
Reporting errors in today's Washington Post page one story

by Richard Belzer

in Regulatory Policy

Washington Post staff writer Anthony Fiaola has a Page One commentary on actions State and local governments have taken or are considering to regulate immigration within their borders. Fiaola's article contains mostly unattributed opinions (e.g., "some see obstacles"; "some observers fear"; "some observers are alarmed"; "others argue"; "others assert") and few facts or analysis. Because he is the Post's New York City bureau chief and not a beat reporter on immigration issues, he is especially prone to reporting error. We correct his more obvious mistakes. More...

13 Aug 2007

Benefit-cost Analysis and Real World Decision Making:
The case of homeland security equipment maintenance

by Richard Belzer

in Regulatory Economics

Critics say benefit-cost analysis is a bad tool for choosing whether to regulate. Supporters say it's a good tool because it mimics how people and institutions normally make rational decisions. Today's example is homeland security equipment purchased by the federal government but left unmaintained by local governments.
More...