2007

Counties across the state are adopting Adequate Public Facilities Ordinances (APFOs) that require homebuilders to pay fees of up to $14,953 for each new home built.1 County commissioners favoring these ordinances argue that they allow public services to keep pace with population growth. Opponents believe that APFOs actually place an unfair burden on homebuilders and homebuyers because APFOs can significantly increase home prices.

RALEIGH – A government-sponsored group lobbying for corporate tax incentives in Cumberland County refuses to release details about a study used to support its claims. That’s the assessment of a…

RALEIGH – An environmental group misses the boat when it tries to use temperature data from N.C. cities to make a case for the dangers of global warming. That’s according…

Gov. Mike Easley and the General Assembly continue the spend-and-tax cycle, increasing the General Fund $1.8 billion, 9.5 percent, over last year. General Fund spending on operations reaches $20.7 billion in FY 2007-08, a 43 percent increase in just five years, similar to the five-year period through FY1997-98.

RALEIGH – North Carolina electricity customers could soon be forced to pay as much as $125 million a year for electricity they’ll never use. A new John Locke Foundation…

The legislature passed a law, SB 3, which would require North Carolinians to pay for electricity used by out-of-state residents. SB 3, which is the new, hastily drafted energy bill, was touted as requiring utilities to provide at least 7.5% of their electricity from renewable resources. However, North Carolinians likely will not be the recipient of a significant amount of this electricity.

RALEIGH – North Carolina cannot fix its ailing public school systems by mandating longer school days or a longer school year. That’s the conclusion in a new John Locke Foundation…

There is no consistent relationship between in-school instructional time in mathematics and a nation’s average score on an international mathematics test. Researchers from Pennsylvania State University concluded that there was no statistically significant correlation between instructional time in math, science, reading, and civics and test scores on international assessments of those subjects.

North Carolina is headed toward imposing major new regulations and taxes on the consumption and production of energy, all in the name of fighting global warming. But the climate hysteria on which they are based has nothing to do with reality. Whatever the risks of future climate change, they pale in comparison to the risks of the “wrenching transformation” sought by climate alarmists.

RALEIGH – Increased accountability and a larger private sector role could help improve North Carolina’s troubled mental health system. That’s a major recommendation offered in a new John Locke Foundation…