Tennessee Center for Policy Research
From Sunshine Review
| Tennessee Center for Policy Research | |
| 501(c)(3) | |
 | |
| Leadership: | Drew Johnson |
| Political party | Nonpartisan |
| Website | Tennessee Center for Policy Research |
| Transparency Focus | |
| Tennessee Votes | |
Contents |
The Tennessee Center for Policy Research (TCPR) is a 501(c)(3) free market think tank in Tennessee that focuses on promoting libertarian policies in that state, including government transparency. The Center recently gained widespread notoriety when it exposed Al Gore's energy usage by obtaining a information using a public records request to the Nashville Electric Service.
[edit] Policy areas
TCPR focuses on four primary policy areas - tax and budgetary issues, education, healthcare and property rights. They also address other areas from time to time, including government transparency and technology policy.[1]
[edit] Education
TCPR seeks policies that empower parents, students, and teachers. To this end they aim to answer questions such as: "How can we encourage teachers in the classroom? Who should be the decision-makers for a school? What incentives would lead to better school performance? How can parents gain more control over their children's education?"[2]
[edit] Healthcare
The Center seeks "healthcare solutions that restore dignity and encourage personal responsibility through empowering consumers and medical professionals, restoring competition and reducing government’s role in the business of healthcare."[2]
[edit] Tax and Budget
TCPR promotes "economic growth through reduced tax and regulatory burdens on individuals and business while identifying opportunities to reduce cost and increase efficiency in all levels of government."[2]
[edit] Property rights/other
"TCPR supports research that reflects the Founding Fathers’ vision of a free society grounded in property rights and individual liberty based in personal responsibility."[2]
[edit] Transparency
The Tennessee Center for Policy research is particularly devoted to transparency in government, and considers itself a "watchdog" group for wasteful government spending. On their website they have a "Pork Report" which presents research findings about how the government of Tennessee, at both the state and local level, wastes taxpayer money.
[edit] Tennessee Votes
Tennessee Votes is a transparency project sponsored by TCPR. The site "provides concise, non-partisan, plain-English descriptions of every bill and vote in the Tennessee House and Senate. You can search these by legislator, category, keyword and more. Citizens can also post comments about bills and discuss other state policy issues on the Forums."[3]
[edit] Climate change
TCPR facilitates Carnival of Climate Change, a website taking a "skeptical look at climate change alarmism."
