Public Policy & NGOs
Public Policy & NGOs
Here's a look at documents from public policy and non-governmental organizations
Featured Stories
Wildlife Society: Wild Cam - When Wolves Kill, Ravens Saddle Up to the Table
BETHESDA, Maryland, May 22 -- The Wildlife Society, a wildlife conservation organization, posted the following news:* * *
Wild Cam: When wolves kill, ravens saddle up to the table
If you're lucky enough to see wolves in Yellowstone, you know that ravens are never far away. Scientists thought that the cunning corvids followed hunting wolves so they could get an easy meal. But new research tracking ravens revealed a more surprising and sophisticated tactic: memorizing and returning to common wolf kill sites.
"Our hypothesis was they would follow wolves, but then it turns out they don't," said ... Show Full Article BETHESDA, Maryland, May 22 -- The Wildlife Society, a wildlife conservation organization, posted the following news: * * * Wild Cam: When wolves kill, ravens saddle up to the table If you're lucky enough to see wolves in Yellowstone, you know that ravens are never far away. Scientists thought that the cunning corvids followed hunting wolves so they could get an easy meal. But new research tracking ravens revealed a more surprising and sophisticated tactic: memorizing and returning to common wolf kill sites. "Our hypothesis was they would follow wolves, but then it turns out they don't," saidMatthias-Claudio Loretto, a researcher at the University of Veterinary Medicine's Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology in Vienna, Austria.
Researchers had known for decades that ravens (Corvus corax) associate with wolves (Canis lupus) during the winter as a way to find food. Ravens arrive at fresh kill sites sometimes within minutes.
The idea that ravens follow wolves made sense to Loretto: wolf packs kill about every two to three days in the winter, a season where it's hard for ravens to find food. So, they spend their days following wolf packs, waiting for the perfect moment to swoop in and pick off the carcass.
Ravens often interact with other species. Loretto had documented them stealing food from wolves in a game park in Austria. In the wild, he's even seen ravens tugging on the tails of wolves to distract them from a carcass.
But he needed a place to test his hypothesis, ideally an area where scientists were already studying wolves with GPS collars. "Everyone said, 'Go to Yellowstone,'" Loretto said.
Outsmarted by bird brains
Ravens are highly intelligent, and consequently, difficult to capture and work with. The team had to first trap ravens in order to fit them with GPS backpacks. But fooling a raven to enter a trap is difficult, if not impossible. They managed to trap the birds through ambush: using a remote-controlled device that launched nets at the birds from a distance. "Often they escaped anyway," he said.
But he said this problem-solving is also part of what fascinates him about working with the species. He'll make a plan, but when the ravens respond unexpectedly, he has to pivot.
After fitting the ravens with GPS backpacks, shown in the photo above, Loretto could now monitor each individual bird's movements. While he expected to see the ravens following the wolves' GPS tracks, he found a different pattern that he published in a new paper in Science.
Ravens might follow wolves for a kilometer or two but lose interest and fly dozens of kilometers away. But the birds were still able to locate the wolves' next kill. "Yellowstone is pretty big," he said. But for ravens, Yellowstone is one large, connected landscape sprinkled with potential food.
With all his experience with ravens, Loreto wasn't too surprised his hypothesis was wrong. "Of course they don't do what we expected them to do," he said. "That's the interesting thing--they're really not so easy to predict."
There were many ravens that traveled up to 150 kilometers to a wolf kill site that wasn't there the day before. This looked just like a flight that a raven would make to a man-made food source like a dumpster or landfill.
Loretto believes that the birds could anticipate where they'd find food. "They know where the landfills are," he said. "But equally, it seems they just know where wolf kills are abundant."
In the winter, wolves are more successful in parts of the park, such as open areas where deep snow can accumulate. These areas also had large numbers of ravens at wolf kills.
The opposite was true, too: if the wolves got lucky and killed an animal where they didn't usually, fewer ravens found the carcass.
Loretto said that other species like magpies might do this as well. Sometimes, they're the first birds Loretto sees at a wolf kill--even before ravens.
Dumpster diving
Loretto also found something surprising, but less exciting, in his study. Many ravens, even within Yellowstone National Park, rely on human-made food sources like landfills, sewage ponds or restaurant dumpsters outside the park's boundaries.
During the winter, when food was scarcer, ravens flew up to 115 kilometers away to landfills or French fries. "The distances they cover on a daily trip are remarkable," he said. "And at the same time, a bit disappointing that even this huge national park isn't big enough."
He said the tourism numbers in Yellowstone are going up every year, so he assumes that the amount of trash--and food for ravens--will only increase each year.
If more trash supports more ravens, Loretto said, other native species they prey on, like sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) and tortoises, could be hurt. Ravens often predate the eggs and young of these species.
While there are many lethal control campaigns to limit raven numbers, Loretto thinks that reducing their access to food is the best way to manage the birds.
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This photo essay is part of an occasional series from The Wildlife Society featuring photos and video images of wildlife taken with camera traps and other equipment. Check out other entries in the series here (https://wildlife.org/series/wild-cam/). If you're working on an interesting camera trap research project or one that has a series of good photos you'd like to share, email Olivia at om*******@******fe.org.
Article by Olivia Milloway, Staff Writer
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Original text here: https://wildlife.org/wild-cam-when-wolves-kill-ravens-saddle-up-to-the-table/
[Category: Environment]
UANI Applauds Recent Vessel Seizure and U.S. Sanctions on Iran's Illicit Oil Trade
NEW YORK, May 22 -- United Against Nuclear Iran posted the following news release on May 21, 2026:* * *
UANI Applauds Recent Vessel Seizure and U.S. Sanctions on Iran's Illicit Oil Trade
UANI First Identified Recently Seized Vessel and 16/19 of Sanctioned Vessels on Ghost Armada
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United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) applauds President Trump and his administration for yesterday's seizure of SKYWAVE (IMO 9328716) and latest designations action targeting entities and vessels involved in the illicit transport of Iranian oil and petrochemicals.
The falsely flagged supertanker SKYWAVE was seized ... Show Full Article NEW YORK, May 22 -- United Against Nuclear Iran posted the following news release on May 21, 2026: * * * UANI Applauds Recent Vessel Seizure and U.S. Sanctions on Iran's Illicit Oil Trade UANI First Identified Recently Seized Vessel and 16/19 of Sanctioned Vessels on Ghost Armada * United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) applauds President Trump and his administration for yesterday's seizure of SKYWAVE (IMO 9328716) and latest designations action targeting entities and vessels involved in the illicit transport of Iranian oil and petrochemicals. The falsely flagged supertanker SKYWAVE was seizedby U.S. forces in the Indian Ocean, between Indonesia and Sri Lanka, on its way back from conducting a ship-to-ship transfer in the Malaysian Eastern Outer Port Limits (EOPL) and toward Iran. The vessel had previously been monitored by UANI transiting the Strait of Hormuz on March 11 with approximately 1.9 million barrels of Iranian crude bound for buyers in China. UANI blacklisted SKYWAVE in 2023 and added it to the Ghost Armada list, and OFAC subsequently sanctioned the vessel in 2025.
UANI Senior Advisor Charlie Brown also observed SKYWAVE firsthand during a trip to the Malaysian EOPL, where he photographed the empty supertanker on May 8.
In addition, 16 of the 19 vessels designated by the U.S. Treasury Department had previously been listed on UANI's Ghost Armada for evasion of American sanctions. These vessels include: BRIGHT GOLD (IMO 9171503), DAKUSH (IMO 9278698), DOUBLE IN (IMO 8917807), G JADES (IMO 9131096), GALA ROSE (IMO 9126015), GAS ENDURANCE (IMO 9240419), GAS STRENGTH (IMO 9172636), GREAT SAIL (IMO 9177583), LUNA LUSTER (IMO 9292187), MIDAS (IMO 9266841), OCEAN RADIANCE (IMO 9194969), OCEAN WAVE (IMO 9387152), QUANTUM STAR (IMO 9225342), SWIFT FALCON (IMO 9246803), TEJAS (IMO 9326067), and VASLATI (IMO 9252333).
UANI CEO Ambassador Mark D. Wallace stated:
"SKYWAVE's seizure is a significant victory for sanctions enforcement and a clear warning to Iran's dark fleet. This tanker was long known to UANI, and its repeated attempts to disguise its movements and continue hauling Iranian oil in spite of regional conflict show just how persistent these smuggling networks have become.
"The Trump administration has once again demonstrated the critical importance of sustained, intelligence-driven sanctions enforcement against Iran's oil smuggling network. These designations underscore the scale and persistence of Tehran's sanctions evasion operations, which continue to fund its destabilizing activities worldwide.
"Every illicit barrel sold helps finance Tehran's missile and drone programs used extensively to target U.S. assets, regional allies, and commercial shipping throughout the Iran War. Robust enforcement is not optional; it is a strategic imperative.
"UANI calls on governments, insurers, port authorities, and the broader maritime industry to remain vigilant and take immediate action to de-risk exposure to Iran's illicit oil trade."
View UANI's complete Ghost Armada list here (https://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/blog/stop-hop-ii-ghost-armada-grows).
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Original text here: https://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/press-releases/uani-applauds-recent-vessel-seizure-and-us-sanctions-on-irans-illicit-oil-trade
[Category: Energy]
Public Interest Groups Seek Intervention in Xcel Energy Data Center Tariff Proceeding
SAN FRANCISCO, California, May 22 -- Earthjustice posted the following news release on May 21, 2026:* * *
Public Interest Groups Seek Intervention in Xcel Energy Data Center Tariff Proceeding
SWEEP and Rewiring America urge strong protections for residential ratepayers following data center legislation postponement
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Denver, CO -- Public interest organizations today filed a petition with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) seeking intervention in Xcel Energy's proposed tariff for data centers and other large load customers. The groups hope to ensure the PUC adopts the strongest ... Show Full Article SAN FRANCISCO, California, May 22 -- Earthjustice posted the following news release on May 21, 2026: * * * Public Interest Groups Seek Intervention in Xcel Energy Data Center Tariff Proceeding SWEEP and Rewiring America urge strong protections for residential ratepayers following data center legislation postponement * Denver, CO -- Public interest organizations today filed a petition with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) seeking intervention in Xcel Energy's proposed tariff for data centers and other large load customers. The groups hope to ensure the PUC adopts the strongestpossible protections for residential utility customers to prevent electricity cost increases and minimize data centers' harmful impacts to the grid, while ensuring that load growth supports affordability, reliability, and Colorado's clean energy transition. With the Colorado legislature's postponement of legislation placing guardrails on data centers, the groups noted that it is even more important for the PUC to take meaningful action in this proceeding.
In April, Xcel Energy announced a large load tariff proposal that public interest groups say takes steps in the right direction but must be improved. Xcel's proposal would create a new large load rate class for customers with new or incremental loads greater than 50 megawatts and modify policy for transmission cost allocation. The utility is also proposing an optional Clean Transition Tariff that would allow large load customers with clean energy goals to receive electricity from zero-emissions sources that Xcel would not otherwise acquire, including geothermal, nuclear, long duration storage, and carbon capture and storage. Finally, Xcel proposes an optional Speed-to-Market Pathway to allow data centers that require accelerated timelines or greater flexibility to enter into tailored contracts.
Public interest groups hope to see improvements on Xcel's initial proposal, including:
* Stronger protections against shifting infrastructure costs onto existing customers, which would increase household energy bills;
* Clearer pathways for large loads like data centers to support investments in non-emitting resources that strengthen the grid and deliver direct benefits to Colorado households;
* Greater consideration of customer-sited distributed energy resources, virtual power plants, demand flexibility that can reduce strain on the grid and avoid costly infrastructure expansion; and
* Safeguards to ensure that data center growth does not increase reliance on fossil fuel infrastructure or undermine Colorado's clean energy and affordability goals.
If the groups are granted intervention, they will present arguments in favor of these improvements during the upcoming proceeding.
"Colorado is at a pivotal moment as new large electricity users like data centers come onto the grid," said Rebecca Curry, policy director at Rewiring America. "As energy demand grows, we need policies that protect households from rising costs while making the grid more flexible, resilient, and affordable. Large new energy users should help invest in and drive the kinds of solutions that directly benefit communities - such as home energy upgrades, demand flexibility, and distributed energy resources that can reduce strain on the grid and avoid costly new infrastructure."
"The data center boom is coming to Colorado, but that doesn't mean we can't find innovative ways to work together on the grid," said Courtney Fieldman, director of utility programs at SWEEP. "These large new loads have significant potential for flexibility, and a well-designed tariff can transform that potential into a real asset -- reducing costs for everyone while supporting Colorado's clean energy progress. By looking at new pathways like virtual power plants (VPPs), smart demand response, and clean distributed energy, we believe we can protect families from rising bills and create a stronger, more resilient system that works for us all."
"Coloradans are already feeling the impacts of the data center boom in our state, and it is imperative that we put meaningful protections in place," said Emma Hardy, associate attorney for Earthjustice's Rocky Mountain Office. "Especially on the heels of the legislature's failure to pass data center legislation, the PUC must prevent cost increases for residential utility customers and minimize harmful impacts on our grid."
Earthjustice represents Rewiring America and Southwest Energy Efficiency Project in the intervention.
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About Earthjustice
Earthjustice is the premier nonprofit environmental law organization. We wield the power of law and the strength of partnership to protect people's health, to preserve magnificent places and wildlife, to advance clean energy, and to combat climate change. We are here because the earth needs a good lawyer.
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Original text here: https://earthjustice.org/press/2026/public-interest-groups-seek-intervention-in-xcel-energy-data-center-tariff-proceeding
[Category: Environment]
FFRF Action Fund: 'Secularist' Rep. Huffman and Freethought Caucus Disprove Christian Nation Myth
MADISON, Wisconsin, May 22 -- FFRF Action Fund, an organization that says it develops and advocates for legislation, regulations and government programs to preserve the constitutional principle of separation between state and church, posted the following news on May 21, 2026:* * *
'Secularist' Rep. Huffman and Freethought Caucus disprove Christian nation myth
The FFRF Action Fund salutes Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., as its "Secularist of the Week," alongside the rest of the Congressional Freethought Caucus, for a pointed rebuttal to the Christian nationalist prayer rally that took place on ... Show Full Article MADISON, Wisconsin, May 22 -- FFRF Action Fund, an organization that says it develops and advocates for legislation, regulations and government programs to preserve the constitutional principle of separation between state and church, posted the following news on May 21, 2026: * * * 'Secularist' Rep. Huffman and Freethought Caucus disprove Christian nation myth The FFRF Action Fund salutes Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., as its "Secularist of the Week," alongside the rest of the Congressional Freethought Caucus, for a pointed rebuttal to the Christian nationalist prayer rally that took place onthe National Mall over the weekend.
Officially known as "Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise and Thanksgiving," the past Sunday's rally celebrated the 250th anniversary of our country and its supposed Christian roots, with appearances from high-ranking Trump administration officials and conservative Christian clergy. (President Trump appeared in a reused video clip, reading from the bible.)
Huffman, the Action Fund's "Secularist" pick for the week, was outspoken in his criticism of the Christian nationalist event in the lead-up to the jamboree.
"What should be a broadly unifying celebration has been politically hijacked and wrapped up in this MAGA narrative that tries to rewrite our history and promote the president's agenda," the congressman asserted. "They have narrowly defined what it means both to be American and to be Christian -- and they are wrapping that in the official sanction of the U.S. government."
He also noted that Christian nationalism does not speak for all Christians. The congressman stressed that the theocratic movement resoundingly erases the diversity of America's religious and nonreligious make-up and threatens the constitutional state/church protections that bar government-established religion.
"Trump's religious extremist event this weekend to 'rededicate' our country as a Christian nation would have our founders rolling in their graves. We. Are. NOT," Huffman wrote on Bluesky last week. "And using taxpayer resources and public lands for this kind of event is a gross misuse of power to destroy church-state separation."
Huffman also took to X to denounce the spectacle, writing, "This weekend, Trump is trying to rededicate America as a 'Christian Nation.' How about we rededicate ourselves back to reality?"
The representative attached a video of himself deriding Rededicate 250's Christian nationalist roots alongside narratives detailing factual American state/church history: "This Sunday, Trump is orchestrating another spectacle of Christian nationalist politics, which purports to be part of celebrating America's 250th birthday. It's an official state-sponsored event on the National Mall, where a host of extreme MAGA Christian nationalists, plus one conservative Orthodox rabbi, will ceremonially rededicate America as one nation under God."
"Many of these speakers openly oppose the First Amendment's guarantee of church-state separation," Huffman continued. "And you can bet that the central theme of this spectacle will be the Christian nationalist mantra that America was founded as a Christian nation and must remain officially Christian. This is part of their project to redefine America and what it means to be a real American."
"Under their narrow, exclusionary definition, the only true Americans are those who want a conservative Christian government, with a few conservative Jews allowed in as long as they use the term Judeo-Christian," he further stated. "Everyone else, the moderate and progressive Christians and Jews who support church-state separation, the Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, humanists, agnostics, and atheists who collectively make up the majority of this diverse, pluralistic nation, they're all deemed to be something less than true Americans."
"Not only is the event a gross misuse of our government's public spaces and resources for an overtly religious and deeply political purpose, it also goes against everything the founders fought for," Huffman said. "America was founded as one nation under many religious perspectives, including not only Christians, but also those who did not believe in God and the rationalists and deists like Thomas Jefferson, who rejected the premise of revealed religions."
Huffman underscored: "That's why separation of church and state has always been a pillar of our constitution and of our democracy. And it's why any serious dedication in this 250th year should lift up that pillar, not try to destroy it. But you don't have to just believe me, my colleagues in the Congressional Freethought Caucus have the receipts."
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and co-chair of the caucus with Huffman, then recited a quote from Thomas Jefferson: "I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people would declare that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and state."
Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., and also a member of the Freethought Caucus, appeared, quoting Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, "Those who would renegotiate the boundaries between church and state must therefore answer a difficult question. Why would we trade a system that has served us so well for one that has served others so poorly?" Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., was additionally featured with a quote from John F. Kennedy, alongside more state/church historical tidbits from Huffman and Raskin.
Watch Huffman's full video here (https://x.com/RepHuffman/status/2055352999195623873).
The Congressional Freethought Caucus, co-chaired by Huffman and Raskin, is dedicated to preserving the secular character of government, state/church separation and the rights of Freethinkers. The caucus has 36 members and continues to grow.
State/church separation is deeply rooted in all facets of American history, which the Trump administration and its Christian nationalist base are working tirelessly to discredit. The FFRF Action Fund warmly thanks Huffman and the rest of the Congressional Freethought Caucus for reaffirming the constitutional wall between state and church in the U.S. government and for continuing to genuinely educate the public.
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FFRF Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) organization that develops and advocates for legislation, regulations and government programs to preserve the constitutional principle of separation between state and church. It also advocates for the rights and views of nonbelievers, endorses candidates for political office, and publicizes the views of elected officials concerning religious liberty issues.
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Original text here: https://ffrfaction.org/secularist-rep-huffman-and-freethought-caucus-disprove-christian-nation-myth/
[Category: Sociological]
Deputy Mayor Julie Su, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, Councilmember Harvey Epstein Headline Policy Summit on Affordability in NYC, Hosted by Century Foundation and Protect Borrowers
WASHINGTON, May 22 -- Protect Borrowers (formerly Student Borrower Protection Center) issued the following news release on May 21, 2026 with the Century Foundation:* * *
Deputy Mayor Julie Su, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, Councilmember Harvey Epstein Headline Policy Summit on Affordability in NYC, Hosted by Century Foundation & Protect Borrowers
NEW DATA: Debt in NYC Squeezing Working Class Families as Affordability Crisis Worsens
Event Marks the Launch of "Affordable NYC Now," A Joint Economic Agenda from TCF and Protect Borrowers the Mamdani Administration Can Act on Today
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New York, NY ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, May 22 -- Protect Borrowers (formerly Student Borrower Protection Center) issued the following news release on May 21, 2026 with the Century Foundation: * * * Deputy Mayor Julie Su, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, Councilmember Harvey Epstein Headline Policy Summit on Affordability in NYC, Hosted by Century Foundation & Protect Borrowers NEW DATA: Debt in NYC Squeezing Working Class Families as Affordability Crisis Worsens Event Marks the Launch of "Affordable NYC Now," A Joint Economic Agenda from TCF and Protect Borrowers the Mamdani Administration Can Act on Today * New York, NY-- Today, The Century Foundation and Protect Borrowers convened key policymakers from across New York City to discuss new ideas about how to make New York more affordable for families, workers, and small businesses. Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr., and Councilmember Harvey Epstein were among the leaders from across the city that joined to discuss creative, ready-to-go strategies for the Mamdani administration to tackle the affordability crisis.
"Right now, governments at every level are experiencing a crisis of confidence and for good reason: for too long, our elected leaders have not been responsive to the needs of their constituents," said Julie Morgan, President of The Century Foundation. "The Mamdani administration is taking a new approach to governing and, with the ideas we released today, can deliver an affordable New York in every borough, on every block, and in every home to show people how their leaders can work for them."
"New Yorkers aren't drowning in debt because they made bad decisions. They're drowning because rent keeps rising, groceries keep getting more expensive, and wages don't keep up. Credit cards are how working New Yorkers keep the lights on," said Winston Berkman-Breen, Legal Director of Protect Borrowers. "The City didn't cause this crisis, but it has the power to fight back. The proposals we're releasing today can be implemented right now, without a bigger budget, without new legal authority, and without waiting for Washington or Albany to act."
"As Commissioner of DCWP, I spent years going after junk fees, predatory landlords, wage theft, and more. I know what's possible when city government decides to stand up for people. The proposals we're releasing today are grounded in tools and authority the city already has, and the Mamdani Administration has shown it's ready to use them," said Lorelei Salas, Senior Fellow at Protect Borrowers and Visiting Senior Fellow at The Century Foundation.
The event formally launched Affordable NYC Now, a new project from The Century Foundation and Protect Borrowers that brings together leading experts, advocates, and organizers to build policy solutions to make NYC truly affordable. During the event, the groups released the first seven proposals, which focus on lowering costs. Additional proposals, focused on holding corporations accountable and making government work, will be released in subsequent weeks. A full list of the first proposals is linked below.
Alongside the event, TCF and Protect Borrowers released new zip-code level data that shows just how deep the affordability crisis in New York City goes. The report and visuals tell a story that is all too familiar for New York families--but often overlooked by policymakers.
Between 2018 and 2025, average monthly debt payments soared in working-class, outer-borough neighborhoods. While debt payments increased only moderately across Manhattan, individuals in Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Staten Island on average went from spending roughly $282 per month repaying debt to $344--and in some neighborhoods, surpassing $500 or more. Further, we find that auto loan payments doubled and credit card payments climbed more than 50 percent for New Yorkers in many working-class, outer-borough neighborhoods.
The seven proposals discussed at the event and included in the first report include:
1. The Penny Price Pharmacy Model, which would leverage the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program to offer prescription drugs--sometimes for as little as a penny per dose--to uninsured and underinsured New Yorkers through NYC Health + Hospitals, at no cost to taxpayers. This is especially urgent as federal cuts under H.R. 1 threaten to strip health coverage from up to 1.5 million New York State residents. By Emma Freer, American Economic Liberties Project
2. Preserving Affordable Homeownership, a three-part plan to protect working-class homeowners from foreclosure by fixing the administration of emergency grants, updating outdated income limits for senior and disabled homeowners' property tax exemptions, and ensuring that vacant apartments in affordable HDFC co-ops can be resold after a shareholder's death. By Mackenzie Lew and Shivani Jacelon, Mobilization for Justice
3. A Three-Pronged Plan to Increase Financial and Housing Stability, which would remove credit-score barriers from the housing application process, cap rent increases for subsidized housing residents through a tiered rent model, and create a city-backed loan loss reserve fund enabling credit unions to offer affordable emergency loans of up to $2,500. By Elise Nussbaum, Fitzgerald Restituyo, Tamika Howell, and Ivania Mora,Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners
4. Redirecting Support to Strengthen Small Businesses, calling for an audit of city subsidies that disproportionately benefit large corporations, paired with new tax incentives--modeled on the successful FRESH program--to encourage landlords to offer fair, long-term leases to independent small businesses. By Lindsey Vigoda, Small Business Majority
5. Powering Affordability Through Solar and Bill Relief, a plan to streamline access to underused energy assistance programs, double the city's distributed solar goal to 2 GW by 2035, and extend the Solar and Storage Property Tax Abatement to affordable housing and nonprofits. By Kate Selden, Solar One
6. Community Choice Energy for NYC, a proposal for the city to pursue a community choice program--the mechanism by which nearly every U.S. city that has reached 100 percent renewable electricity did so--giving residents and small businesses an alternative to for-profit utility monopolies that have driven bills up 37 percent in five years. By John Farrell, Institute for Local Self-Reliance
7. Public Homeowners Insurance, which would expand the city's new public insurance program for affordable housing landlords into the homeowners and renters market, where a public option could charge roughly 33 percent less than the private market by cutting insurer profits and overhead. By Brian Shearer, Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator
Contributing authors of Affordable NYC Now's policy proposals are affiliated with the following: American Economic Liberties Project, CAMBA Legal Services, Community Service Society of New York, Fines and Fees Justice Center, Fordham Law School Feerick Center for Social Justice, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Legal Aid Society, Make the Road NY, Mobilization for Justice, National Institute for Workers Rights, Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners, New York Legal Assistance Group, NYU Wagner Labor Initiative, Small Business Majority, Solar One, The Institute for College Access and Success, UC Berkeley Law Center for Consumer Law & Economic Justice, and Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator.
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Original text here: https://protectborrowers.org/julie-su-alvin-bragg-harvey-epstein-headline-affordable-nyc-now-policy-summit/
[Category: Financial Services]
Consumer Reports Applauds Approval of Key Auto Safety and Consumer Protection Measures by the House Energy and Commerce Committee
YONKERS, New York, May 22 -- Consumer Reports posted the following news release on May 21, 2026:* * *
Consumer Reports Applauds Approval of Key Auto Safety and Consumer Protection Measures by the House Energy and Commerce Committee
CR strongly supports consumer safety wins--including fixing deadly electronic door latches, extending automatic emergency braking protections to cyclists and motorcyclists, setting e-bike battery safety standards, addressing misleading automation claims, and studying the safety risks of in-vehicle touchscreens and toxic chemicals
Provisions advance as part of the ... Show Full Article YONKERS, New York, May 22 -- Consumer Reports posted the following news release on May 21, 2026: * * * Consumer Reports Applauds Approval of Key Auto Safety and Consumer Protection Measures by the House Energy and Commerce Committee CR strongly supports consumer safety wins--including fixing deadly electronic door latches, extending automatic emergency braking protections to cyclists and motorcyclists, setting e-bike battery safety standards, addressing misleading automation claims, and studying the safety risks of in-vehicle touchscreens and toxic chemicals Provisions advance as part of theMotor Vehicle Modernization Act of 2026, which is set to be included in Congress's once-in-five-years surface transportation reauthorization
The House Energy and Commerce Committee today passed the Motor Vehicle Modernization Act of 2026--the motor vehicle safety and consumer protection title of Congress's once-in-five-years surface transportation reauthorization. Consumer Reports (CR) applauds the committee's overwhelmingly bipartisan passage of key consumer safety provisions that will make roads and vehicles safer for people across the country.
William Wallace, Director of Safety Advocacy at Consumer Reports, said, "This bill is packed with meaningful steps to make our roads safer. At a time when more than 100 people a day die on U.S. roads, we are grateful to the House members who brought creative ideas to the table, sought out expert perspectives, and worked across party lines to strike a deal that will help address the terrible toll of crashes on our roads. We call on the full House and the Senate to move these provisions forward expeditiously, and to pass them separately if broader funding disagreements keep the surface transportation bill from advancing."
Today's Safety Wins
* The SAFE Exit Act: The Motor Vehicle Modernization Act includes requirements for readily accessible mechanical interior door releases in all new vehicles equipped with electronic door latches. Investigations have linked electronic door latch failures to at least 15 deaths--including people trapped in burning vehicles as first responders struggled to reach them. More than 48,000 consumers have signed CR's petition calling for this fix.
* The Magnus White Safe Streets for Everyone Act: The bill requires NHTSA to ensure that automatic emergency braking systems installed on new vehicles can detect and appropriately respond to bicyclists and motorcyclists--closing a critical gap in current federal safety rules. AEB is one of the most significant auto safety advances of the past two decades, and CR has long called for its protections to extend to everyone who uses our roads. Starting this July, new vehicles in the European Union must already meet a standard requiring AEB systems to detect and appropriately respond to both pedestrians and cyclists.
* The Setting Consumer Standards for Lithium-Ion Batteries Act: The bill requires the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to issue a mandatory safety standard adopting the requirements of UL 2271, UL 2272, and UL 2849, which together set a baseline for the safety of batteries and electrical systems in e-bikes, e-scooters, hoverboards and other small electric personal transportation devices. In New York City alone, lithium-ion batteries have caused more than 1,000 fires since 2019, resulting in 523 injuries and 39 deaths. CR published an investigation into this issue in 2022 and has since joined a coalition of more than 21 organizations calling on Congress to act.
* The Know Before You Drive Act: The bill directs the Federal Trade Commission to take enforcement action against deceptive marketing of driving automation technology--addressing names and portrayals that can lead drivers to dangerously overestimate what their vehicles can do. A 2022 survey by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that 42% of Tesla Autopilot users and 53% of GM Super Cruise users said they were comfortable treating their vehicles as fully self-driving, when in reality these two systems are driver-assist systems requiring diligent, active human supervision.
* The Driver Technology and Pedestrian Safety Act: The bill directs NHTSA to study the impact of in-vehicle touchscreens and the handheld use of smartphones on traffic fatalities and severe injuries. As digital interfaces have increasingly replaced physical controls, and as nearly everyone now carries a smartphone, clearer guidelines are needed to ensure vehicle systems minimize cognitive and visual demand, and completion of this study would be a step toward addressing a growing and underregulated risk to road safety.
* The Motor Vehicle Flammability Standards Study Act: The bill includes the bipartisan Motor Vehicle Flammability Standards Study Act requiring NHTSA to study whether its 1971 flammability standard for the vehicle interior still effectively prevents fires, and to understand what health risks the chemicals used to meet that standard may pose. Currently, to meet this decades-old standard, manufacturers add flame retardant chemicals--including known and suspected carcinogens--to seat foam and other vehicle interior materials. A peer-reviewed study found harmful flame retardants in the air inside virtually all vehicles tested. More than 44,000 consumers have signed a CR petition calling for an updated standard that would not expose people to these harms.
What's Next
The Motor Vehicle Modernization Act provisions passed today are expected to be consolidated with a broader five-year surface transportation reauthorization bill and move toward a House floor vote.
CR also submitted a letter to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee today raising serious concerns about aspects of the BUILD America 250 Act pertaining to highway funding--including a proposed annual fee on electric vehicle owners that significantly exceeds what gasoline vehicle drivers pay, and the elimination of $7.5 billion in EV charging infrastructure funding that consumers, particularly those in rural communities, depend on. CR urged the committee to reconsider these provisions, as well as the bill's overall unsustainable and unbalanced approach toward road funding, before the legislation advances.
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Original text here: https://advocacy.consumerreports.org/press_release/consumer-reports-applauds-approval-of-key-auto-safety-and-consumer-protection-measures-by-the-house-energy-and-commerce-committee/
[Category: Business]
Bluegrass Institute Issues Commentary: Certificate-of-Need Laws in Kentucky - Current Status and Opportunities for Evidence-Based Reforms
LEXINGTON, Kentucky, May 22 -- The Bluegrass Institute issued the following commentary on May 21, 2026, by Liam Sigaud, research analyst at the Knee Regulatory Research Center, and Edgar Orozco, student in economics at West Virginia University:* * *
Certificate-of-Need Laws in Kentucky: Current Status and Opportunities for Evidence-Based Reforms
Kentuckians struggle to receive timely, high-quality care. This policy brief examines Kentucky's current certificate of need laws, summarizes relevant empirical research, and discusses several evidence-based CON reforms that would improve access and ... Show Full Article LEXINGTON, Kentucky, May 22 -- The Bluegrass Institute issued the following commentary on May 21, 2026, by Liam Sigaud, research analyst at the Knee Regulatory Research Center, and Edgar Orozco, student in economics at West Virginia University: * * * Certificate-of-Need Laws in Kentucky: Current Status and Opportunities for Evidence-Based Reforms Kentuckians struggle to receive timely, high-quality care. This policy brief examines Kentucky's current certificate of need laws, summarizes relevant empirical research, and discusses several evidence-based CON reforms that would improve access andcompetition in Kentucky's health care system.
Liam Sigaud
Table of Contents
1. Executive Summary
2. Kentucky's Health Care Landscape: Shortages, Affordability Challenges, and Infrastructure Needs
3. Certificate-of-Need (CON) Laws in Kentucky
4. How CON Laws Affect Patients' Access to Health Care
5. How CON Laws Affect Health Care Quality
6. How CON Laws Affect Health System Capacity and Costs
7. How CON Laws Affect Cost-Shifting and Rural Hospital Stability
8. Evidence-Based Reforms to Kentucky's CON Laws
1. Raise project review thresholds.
2. Streamline the review, hearing, and appeal process.
3. Prevent conflicts of interest in the CON review process.
4. Exempt high-need services from CON regulations.
5. Eliminate CON laws for lower-cost alternatives to hospital care.
6. Codify emergency flexibility.
9. Conclusion
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Executive Summary
Certificate of need (CON) laws artificially restrict the supply of health care services, causing shortages, reducing quality, and increasing prices by stifling competition. These laws require health care providers to obtain state approval before initiating certain projects. CON regulations were intended to decrease health care costs by preventing the unnecessary duplication of medical services and ensuring equitable access to care. While these policies were well-intentioned, the evidence overwhelmingly indicates that CON laws have not achieved their goals.
Informed by decades of research and practical experience, many states are rolling back their CON laws or repealing them altogether. Yet, despite the growing recognition that these laws are counterproductive, Kentucky retains some of the country's most restrictive CON rules.
This policy brief describes Kentucky's health care challenges, examines its current CON laws, summarizes relevant empirical research, and discusses evidence-based CON reforms that would improve access and competition in Kentucky's health care system.
Kentucky's Health Care Landscape: Shortages, Affordability Challenges, and Infrastructure Needs
While health insurance coverage in the commonwealth has reached historic highs over the past decade, Kentuckians still struggle to receive timely, high-quality care. Shortages of critical health care providers, exacerbated by CON laws that make it costly to expand services, have lengthened wait times for routine appointments and forced patients to drive long distances for specialty care. Low levels of competition in the health-care sector have also led existing providers to raise prices, exacerbating access problems for people with low incomes.
These shortages are such a critical problem--and not just in Kentucky--that the federal government has labeled and studied them. Health professional shortage areas (HPSAs) are areas that lack the health care infrastructure to provide adequate services to the local population. Of Kentucky's 120 counties, 114 are classified as primary care HPSAs and 115 are classified as mental health HPSAs. Shortages are particularly common in rural counties. Kentucky needs more than 420 additional primary care and mental health professionals to resolve these shortages. Figure 1 shows Kentucky's HSPAs.
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Figure 1: Kentucky Counties Designated as Health Professional Shortage Areas
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Making care inaccessible does not reduce Medicaid spending. Kentucky's Medicaid budget is one of the fastest-growing components of state spending, with these dollars often spent on expensive, late-stage interventions in traditional hospital settings rather than less-costly preventive and earlier-stage care. Without a regulatory environment that encourages primary care clinics and lower-cost surgical centers to open, Kentuckians will continue to face a health care system that is difficult to access, expensive for both patients and taxpayers, and increasingly unable to meet the needs of an aging population.
On average, states with CON programs have 8% higher premature mortality than states without these regulations. Premature mortality quantifies the gap between a person's age at death and their life expectancy. As such, it reflects early deaths from causes such as unmanaged chronic diseases, certain infectious diseases, and drug overdoses that could have been prevented through better access to health services and supports. On this measure, Kentucky ranks seventh worst in the United States.
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Figure 2. State Rankings of Population-Adjusted Premature Mortality
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There are many real-world examples of Kentucky's CON laws undermining access to care. Here are three that illustrate the laws' care-denying consequences.
In 2017, a pair of Nepali immigrants attempted to open a home health agency in Louisville to provide services to Nepali-speaking residents who could not find services in their native language. The entrepreneurs' CON application was opposed by one of Kentucky's largest providers of home health care. Because Louisville's existing supply of home care services already met the state's standard of "need" based purely on number of patients, state officials rejected the CON application. The importance of customized services to accommodate language-specific communities had not been contemplated in the state health plan, so officials deemed this critical aspect of the project irrelevant in deciding whether to grant a CON.
In 2019, an effort to obtain a CON to build a $24 million ambulatory surgical center in Fort Mitchell was derailed after more than two years of litigation initiated by a rival hospital system. This action, which deprived about 170,000 residents of the surrounding Kenton County of additional outpatient surgical options, was taken despite the fact that Kentucky, on a population-adjusted basis, has less than half as many ambulatory surgical centers as the U.S. average.
In 2022, Kentucky denied a CON application by UofL Health to convert 33 acute care beds into 33 adult psychiatric beds, despite the hearing officer acknowledging that the arbitrary formulas used to determine community need were likely flawed.
These incidents reveal how well-intentioned regulations can be manipulated to serve corporate interests rather than advance the common good.
Certificate-of-Need (CON) Laws in Kentucky
Kentucky's CON laws constitute one of the most extensive regulatory gatekeeping systems in the nation. They cover 19 specific types of facilities, from hospitals and psychiatric facilities to highly specialized facilities like kidney disease centers, hospices, and even home health agencies (see table 1).
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Table 1. Facility Types Covered by CON in Kentucky
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Depending on the proposed project's capital expenditure, CON application fees can reach $25,000. In addition, Kentucky's CON process is so bureaucratic and convoluted that applicants often find it necessary to partner with expensive law firms specializing in CON law.
A recent analysis examined every CON application submitted in Kentucky from 2019 to mid-2023. During that time, 98 complete applications underwent substantive (formal) review, of which 71% were approved. However, incumbent providers are given broad latitude to challenge CON applications from potential competitors or to demand additional hearings to delay entry. When would-be competitors opposed the CON application, the approval rate plummeted to 43% and the average time to reach a final decision nearly doubled, from 5.4 months for unopposed applications to 10.2 months for opposed applications. Still more applications were likely never submitted due to the costly and time-consuming process.
Further, Kentucky does not merely require CON approval to open a new health care facility. Existing providers must obtain a new CON for a wide variety of activities, including capital expenditures that exceed certain thresholds, substantially increasing bed capacity or health services, acquiring major medical equipment, or altering a location designated on a previous CON.
Figure 3 compares Kentucky's CON restrictions to those in its seven bordering states. Kentucky's score of 100 out of 100 indicates CON barriers in every category measured. Only two bordering states received the same maximum score for CON stringency. By contrast, Indiana and Ohio have eliminated most of their CON regulations and received the lowest (best) scores.
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Figure 3. Stringency of CON Laws among Kentucky and its neighbors
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How CON Laws Affect Patients' Access to Health Care
Research consistently concludes that CON laws restrict supply and protect existing providers. It offers little evidence that CON laws expand access. Rather, states that repealed hospital CON laws saw an increase in hospital facilities of approximately 3.8% in rural areas and 3.9% in urban areas over the ensuing two decades. This pattern is consistent with stronger competition and broader choices for patients.
Research also suggests that CON laws can be consequential in high-need areas such as behavioral health. CON restrictions on substance use disorder treatment facilities are associated with higher emergency department use and worse health outcomes for vulnerable populations. Other work finds that substance abuse CON laws impact how treatment facilities structure payment, including reduced acceptance of private insurance, which may shape who can access care.
In Kentucky, behavioral health capacity remains a central policy concern. The state has about 70 residential substance use disorder treatment beds per 100,000 residents, one of the highest rates in the country and well above the national average, highlighting the scale of treatment demand and infrastructure in the state. This translates to roughly 3 to 4 treatment beds in a community of 5,000 residents, emphasizing both the importance of treatment infrastructure and the challenges small rural areas face in maintaining access to care. While this reflects substantial treatment capacity, policymakers continue to debate whether existing regulatory structures, including CON requirements, help maintain this capacity or instead limit how quickly providers can expand services when demand increases.
How CON Laws Affect Health Care Quality
Another longstanding claim is that CON laws improve health care quality by preventing "excess capacity" and concentrating services in high-volume facilities, The argument is that when providers perform certain procedures more frequently, they gain experience and achieve better patient outcomes, so limiting the number of providers may help ensure that services are delivered by higher volume facilities. However, the empirical evidence offers little support for this argument.
Analyses comparing hospitals in CON and non-CON states find that several mortality measures are worse in CON states. The 30-day mortality rate for heart failure is about 0.2 percentage points higher, meaning that for every 1,000 heart-failure patients discharged from the hospital, an additional two die in CON states. For pneumonia patients, the 30- day mortality rate is approximately 0.38 percentage points higher in CON states, implying four additional deaths per 1,000 discharges.
Mortality among surgical inpatients with serious treatable complications is also higher in CON states, averaging about six more deaths per 1,000 discharges. In short, the research does not show consistent quality improvements attributable to CON regulations, and in some cases it suggests the opposite.
How CON Laws Affect Health System Capacity and Costs
During the COVID pandemic, states with bed-specific CON requirements experienced higher hospital bed utilization rates and were more likely to operate near or at full capacity, suggesting tighter supply conditions. Separate research finds that in states with high hospital bed utilization, temporary CON reforms during the pandemic were associated with reductions of approximately 20 COVID-19 deaths and 30 deaths from natural causes per 100,000 residents, along with roughly 3 fewer deaths per 100,000 from other respiratory-related conditions requiring similar hospital resources. Kentucky issued temporary emergency orders that eased certain regulatory requirements to expand hospital capacity in response to surging demand.
These temporary waivers highlight that existing regulatory requirements can limit flexibility during sudden surges in demand and may require emergency intervention to allow providers to expand capacity quickly. More broadly, the literature concludes that CON laws have not reliably reduced health care spending and may instead limit competition without delivering clear cost savings.
How CON Laws Affect Cost-Shifting and Rural Hospital Stability
Many states, including Kentucky, face hospital closures that have significant community impact. CON supporters argue that limiting entry helps protect small rural hospitals from competition that may threaten already thin operating margins and reduce their ability to sustain essential services. The concern is that if new providers enter the market and concentrate on higher-margin services, rural hospitals may struggle to operate profitably.
A frequent concern among policymakers is that repealing CON laws may encourage new entrants to focus on the most profitable service lines, such as cardiac, orthopedic, or imaging services, while leaving full-service hospitals responsible for treating uninsured patients and providing less profitable services such as emergency or trauma care. Under this view, CON laws help preserve hospitals' ability to cross-subsidize uncompensated care and to maintain broader service offerings.
However, empirical evidence on whether CON laws effectively prevent cost shifting or strengthen financial stability is mixed, and the broader literature does not clearly demonstrate that these regulations reliably protect access to care for vulnerable populations. Empirical research also does not consistently support the claim that CON laws improve rural access or stability. Evidence from states that repealed CON laws shows increases in the number of hospitals in both rural and urban areas, suggesting that entry restrictions may not be necessary to preserve rural facilities.
Evidence-Based Reforms to Kentucky's CON Laws
Kentucky's CON laws represent barriers to entry that prioritize the protection of incumbent businesses over patient access and market innovation. The commonwealth has an opportunity to modernize Kentucky's approach while preserving appropriate health and safety oversight. The reforms below would ensure the state's health system can expand and respond when and where patients need care. Many of these changes have been successfully implemented in other states. None of these reforms requires an immediate, full repeal of Kentucky's CON program.
1. Raise project review thresholds.
Kentucky should reserve intensive CON reviews for high-dollar projects most likely to affect regional capacity planning and public spending. Raising the capital expenditure and major medical equipment expenditure thresholds that trigger CON review would reduce red tape for routine expansions, renovations, and upgrades that can improve access and reduce wait times--especially in underserved communities.
2. Streamline the review, hearing, and appeal process.
Clear guidance, accessible advisory opinions, and firm timelines for review would reduce administrative burdens and encourage investment. When providers do not know how rules will be applied--or fear that projects will be stalled in extended hearings or appeals-- many choose not to proceed. Improving predictability and transparency can help restore confidence in the process.
3. Prevent conflicts of interest in the CON review process.
Reforms should limit who can trigger hearings and prolong proceedings. Instead of allowing existing providers to formally oppose new applicants, decisions should be based on clear evidence and consistent rules that focus on the needs of patients and communities rather than protecting the market share of existing providers.
4. Exempt high-need services from CON regulations.
Exempting mental health and substance use treatment services from CON regulations would help ease Kentucky's persistent shortages in psychiatric hospital care and chemical dependency programs. Similarly, exempting rural providers from CON review would help direct investment to underserved communities. Kentucky has already taken an important step in this direction by easing CON restrictions on birth centers.
5. Eliminate CON laws for lower-cost alternatives to hospital care.
Kentucky should eliminate CON requirements for services that are unlikely to be overused and that frequently provide lower-cost alternatives to hospital care. This includes ambulatory surgical centers, dialysis centers, home health agencies, hospice care, and other specialized treatments. Access to these services is already constrained by insurance oversight and medical standards, making additional entry barriers unnecessary.
6. Codify emergency flexibility.
Introduce greater CON flexibility to improve health system resilience during public health emergencies. Kentucky's ad hoc CON policy changes during the pandemic allowed providers to expand services and capacity more rapidly than usual but also created significant uncertainty for providers. Establishing a statutory automatic suspension of CON requirements during declared public health emergencies would help ensure that providers can scale capacity quickly when it is needed most.
Conclusion
Kentucky's CON laws are among the most restrictive in the nation and have reduced access to vital health care services. The real impact of these laws is not just inconvenience or increased costs, but a lower quality of life for Kentuckians.
A large body of evidence indicates that straightforward reforms to Kentucky's CON laws would yield tangible benefits for patients. Modest, incremental changes can reduce the power of entrenched interests, empower entrepreneurship, attract investment to the health care sector, and better align Kentucky's health care regulations with the current needs of its population--all while maintaining safety oversight.
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Liam Sigaud is a Research Analyst with the Knee Regulatory Research Center working within the fields of health and labor economics.
Edgar Orozco is a third-year Ph.D. student in economics at West Virginia University concentrating in health and urban economics.
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Original text here: https://www.bluegrassinstitute.org/certificate-of-need-laws-sigaud-orozco/
[Category: Sociological]