Environment
Commentary
Will EV market survive without subsidies?
Sept. 30 was the last day of the generous, sales-boosting federal subsidies for electric-vehicle purchases. It was also the final day that EVs could access carpool lanes with only the driver in the car. For years, various low- and zero-emission automobiles have been the darlings of policymakers, such as Gov. ...
Agriculture
Read the latest on how tariffs hurt employers and workers
Soybean squabble points to larger ag problems to come
During the first Trump Administration Americans were asked to adopt the motto, “short term pain for long term gain.” During the current Trump Administration, the tariff war was kicked off with “Liberation Day.” With harvest season upon ag country, soybeans are taking center stage in the current trade war. China ...
Blog
Learn about the impact of the latest refinery fire
How Much Will Gas Prices Rise After So Cal Refinery Fire?
Producing 269,000 barrels a day of useful fossil fuels, the El Segundo facility is second in the state only to Marathon’s Los Angeles refinery, which puts out 365,000 barrels a day, good for 22.5% of state’s capacity. The Chevron site provides 20% of motor vehicle fuel in California and 40% of the ...
Agriculture
Ag labor myths persist, posing challenges to reform
The national average for the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) is $17.33/hr., with individual states being held to a fluctuating rate. California’s current federally mandated AEWR is $19.75/hr., making it one of the top five highest in the nation. However, wage rates are not the only cost associated with the ...
Agriculture
Livestock showing, public policy are more similar than it seems
As a veteran livestock exhibitor – rabbits, market lambs, and cattle – and as someone now involved in public policy, drawing parallels between the two was easy. Here are three things required in livestock showing and public policy: Patience If you’ve ever tried to train a wild animal, you know ...
AI
Read the latest from PRI's Free Cities Center
Cities should rethink their zeal for subsidizing AI data centers
Kate Gallego has had it. In her 2025 State of the City address, Phoenix’s mayor called on lawmakers to eliminate Arizona’s special tax treatment for “new data centers.” Calling it “a holdover from a time before our economy was the magnet for job growth that it is today,” Gallego declared ...
Blog
Not Even Jay Leno Can Get Lawmakers to Update State’s Antiquated Classic Car Rules
California requires all cars built from 1976 on to pass a smog inspection every two years. A bill introduced in the current session would have moved that date to 1990, “making it easier to own and maintain classic cars,” says Car Buzz. But the legislation, Senate Bill 712, introduced by Sen. Shannon ...
Blog
YIMBYs win political victories, but where are the new houses?
Gov. Gavin Newsom even held up passage of the state budget until lawmakers approved two reforms to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Assembly Bill 130 exempts a broader number of environmentally friendly infill housing projects from CEQA. Senate Bill 131 exempts nine types of projects from CEQA. These include ...
Agriculture
New World Screwworms arrive in the U.S. Now what?
Given the global environment we live and work in today, New World Screwworms have always been a threat to the U.S. cattle herd. The confirmation of New World Screwworms being found in a person in Maryland who had traveled from Guatemala should put livestock raisers on alert. Complacency in a ...
Agriculture
Wage regulation roll back is a step in the right direction for the H-2A program
The Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) is the de facto minimum wage for H-2A workers in the United States. It is set annually and differs from state-to-state depending upon the prevailing wage of the local agricultural workforce. Because all H-2A workers are in the United States temporarily to work in ...
Will EV market survive without subsidies?
Sept. 30 was the last day of the generous, sales-boosting federal subsidies for electric-vehicle purchases. It was also the final day that EVs could access carpool lanes with only the driver in the car. For years, various low- and zero-emission automobiles have been the darlings of policymakers, such as Gov. ...
Read the latest on how tariffs hurt employers and workers
Soybean squabble points to larger ag problems to come
During the first Trump Administration Americans were asked to adopt the motto, “short term pain for long term gain.” During the current Trump Administration, the tariff war was kicked off with “Liberation Day.” With harvest season upon ag country, soybeans are taking center stage in the current trade war. China ...
Learn about the impact of the latest refinery fire
How Much Will Gas Prices Rise After So Cal Refinery Fire?
Producing 269,000 barrels a day of useful fossil fuels, the El Segundo facility is second in the state only to Marathon’s Los Angeles refinery, which puts out 365,000 barrels a day, good for 22.5% of state’s capacity. The Chevron site provides 20% of motor vehicle fuel in California and 40% of the ...
Ag labor myths persist, posing challenges to reform
The national average for the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) is $17.33/hr., with individual states being held to a fluctuating rate. California’s current federally mandated AEWR is $19.75/hr., making it one of the top five highest in the nation. However, wage rates are not the only cost associated with the ...
Livestock showing, public policy are more similar than it seems
As a veteran livestock exhibitor – rabbits, market lambs, and cattle – and as someone now involved in public policy, drawing parallels between the two was easy. Here are three things required in livestock showing and public policy: Patience If you’ve ever tried to train a wild animal, you know ...
Read the latest from PRI's Free Cities Center
Cities should rethink their zeal for subsidizing AI data centers
Kate Gallego has had it. In her 2025 State of the City address, Phoenix’s mayor called on lawmakers to eliminate Arizona’s special tax treatment for “new data centers.” Calling it “a holdover from a time before our economy was the magnet for job growth that it is today,” Gallego declared ...
Not Even Jay Leno Can Get Lawmakers to Update State’s Antiquated Classic Car Rules
California requires all cars built from 1976 on to pass a smog inspection every two years. A bill introduced in the current session would have moved that date to 1990, “making it easier to own and maintain classic cars,” says Car Buzz. But the legislation, Senate Bill 712, introduced by Sen. Shannon ...
YIMBYs win political victories, but where are the new houses?
Gov. Gavin Newsom even held up passage of the state budget until lawmakers approved two reforms to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Assembly Bill 130 exempts a broader number of environmentally friendly infill housing projects from CEQA. Senate Bill 131 exempts nine types of projects from CEQA. These include ...
New World Screwworms arrive in the U.S. Now what?
Given the global environment we live and work in today, New World Screwworms have always been a threat to the U.S. cattle herd. The confirmation of New World Screwworms being found in a person in Maryland who had traveled from Guatemala should put livestock raisers on alert. Complacency in a ...
Wage regulation roll back is a step in the right direction for the H-2A program
The Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) is the de facto minimum wage for H-2A workers in the United States. It is set annually and differs from state-to-state depending upon the prevailing wage of the local agricultural workforce. Because all H-2A workers are in the United States temporarily to work in ...
