Publications

Job Announcement: Coordinator of Right-to-Know Coalition for Journalists

A new coalition of journalism organizations is hiring a coordinator to help advance freedom-of-information issues. Applications must be submitted by October 15, 2003.

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CEI Fluffs Up Data Quality Lawsuit

The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) recently amended its data quality lawsuit against the White House over a global warming study, adding violations of two statues – the Administrative Procedure Act and the U.S. Global Change Research Act.

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Administration Relaxes Standards on Nursing Home Feeding

The Bush administration recently eased nursing home standards to allow workers with just one day of training help residents eat and drink. Previously, only licensed health care professionals or certified nurse aides were permitted to perform such duties.

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State and Local Finance Data Disappears

Analysts and policymakers are losing their most consistent, thorough source of state and local finance data for 2001 and 2003. The US Census Bureau did not publish state-by-state data on local government finance for fiscal year 2001 and will not be publishing it for 2003, a practice begun in 1970. In lieu of this data, the Census Bureau is publishing local finance estimates for the country as a whole. However, the Census Bureau will report the state level data for 2002 through the Census of Governments Report, and this data will be functionally similar to what was available before the Bureau stopped publishing such information, according to the government agency.

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OMB Finalizes Changes to Regulatory Decision-Making

OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) issued final guidance today that instructs federal agencies on specific analytical methods for regulatory decisions. This guidance, which contains few substantive changes from the draft version released in February, commits to put “more emphasis on cost-effectiveness analysis as well as benefit-cost analysis” than the Clinton-era guidance it replaces -- raising the bar on new health, safety and environmental protections. Specifically, the guidance:

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