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Public Comments on Head Start
Today, Policy Integrity submitted public comments on proposed regulations triggered by recent amendments to the Head Start Act. The revisions are aimed at maximizing the federal program’s impact.
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NOAA’s Enforcement Practices
This regulatory report recommends more economically effective fines that would increase the protection of our nation’s ocean life. It comes in response to a possible shift in NOAA’s policies that could risk a rise in over-fishing. The suggestion is properly calibrated fees combined with more rigorous enforcement that, together, will serve to efficiently deter harm to marine life.
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Letter to OIRA: Coordinate on Green Labels
Several federal agencies are in the process of issuing or updating a spate of environmental labels for consumer products: cars, tires, appliances, and now, recent Federal Trade Commission proposals will affect the labeling on lots of other everyday items.
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Public comments on Green Labels
Lately, labels on eco-friendly products have proliferated. It seems like almost everything is marked as “green,” “compostable,” “free of” something, or made with renewable materials. But who makes sure all these items are as gentle on the environment as they say they are?
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Public Comments on Fuel Economy Label Revisions
Recently, the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration proposed revisions to the labels that auto manufacturers have to put in the windows of their vehicles to let buyers know how much—or how little—gas their cars will guzzle.
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Public Comments on the Economics of Coal Ash Disposal
In many places around the nation the toxic sludge leftovers of the coal combustion process are stored in vast unlined pools where poisons can leak into groundwater. Sometimes, like in Kingston, Tennessee, these holding pens break letting loose an avalanche of black poisonous muck.
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Memo on Myths of Net Neutrality
In the discourse over net neutrality there are some important facts getting lost in the shuffle. There are strong arguments that weigh in favor of net neutrality, and there are reasonable arguments that caution against it. There is no reason for either side to rely on myths to win support.
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52 Experiments with Regulatory Review
The Political and Economic Inputs into State Rulemaking
After more than a year of research, surveys, and analysis, Policy Integrity is the first to compile the regulatory practices of all fifty states in one document. Comparing each set of laws and guidelines on paper to direct feedback from leaders on the ground, the report assigns states a grade based on the quality of their review process.
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Comments on specialized services and wireless in the net-neutrality debate
Recently, the FCC asked for feedback on two issues: how so-called “specialized services” should be exempted from neutrality protections, if at all, and whether open Internet rules should be applied to wireless services in addition to wireline broadband services.
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Regulatory Change and Optimal Transition Relief
Grandfathering has become a common practice in regulating industries like coal power generation. But it is not clear that phasing out polluting plants is beneficial. The costs of retrofitting existing plants to comply with new standard can be higher than the compliance costs for a new plant. Since the costs of shifting to new technology must be borne at some point, (since granfathering can’t be indefinite) it might be best not to grandfather at all so that society can benefit from lower pollution levels earlier. That’s just one of the arguments examined in this working paper.