The Capital Research Center is Minnesota's comprehensive website for free-market public policy solutions. Interested citizens and policymakers can utilize the research below to learn more about free-market “best practices” on some of the most important public policy initiatives around the country.

I. CRIMINAL JUSTICE

   CRIME

1. Crime Statistics in Minnesota
2. Determinate Sentencing in Minnesota
3. Juvenile Justice
4. Faith-based Initiatives
5. Prisoner Reentry
6. Drug Courts
7. Private Prisons
8. Illegal Immigration

II. EDUCATION

   K - 12 EDUCATION

1. Pre-K / Early Childhood Education
2. School Choice
   1. Charter Schools
   2. Open Enrollment
   3. Vouchers
      1. Scholarships for Students with Disabilities
      2. Scholarships for Students in Foster Care
   4. Tuition Tax Credits
3. K-12 Finance
   1. Performance-Based Budgeting
   2. Class Size
   3. Outsourcing of Ancillary Services
4. Special Education
5. Education Standards
6. No Child Left Behind
7. Teacher Quality & Compensation
   1. Q COMP
   2. Alternative Teacher Certification
8. Citizenship Education
   1. Bilingual Education

   HIGHER EDUCATION

1. College Student-Grant System
2. Free Speech on Campus

III. GOVERNMENT REFORM

   ELECTIONS

1. Judicial Endorsement by Political Parties
2. Campaign Finance Reform
3. Minnesota Primary Election Reform

IV. COMMERCE, GOVERNMENT REGULATION, and ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

   REGULATION

1. Insurance
2. Public Pension Modernization
3. Regulatory Flexibility
4. Telecommunications Regulation
5. Wine in Minnesota Grocery Stores
6. Statewide Smoking Ban

   LABOR & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Entrepreneurship
2. Unemployment Insurance
3. Minimum wage
4. Paycheck Protection
5. Rural Development
   1. Digital Divide
   2. Rural Economic Development

V. NATURAL RESOURCES

   AGRICULTURE

1. Ethanol & E-85
2. Renewable fuels
3. Biomass

   ENERGY AND OUR RESOURCES

1. Resource Management
2. Air Quality
3. Renewable Energy
4. Nuclear Energy

   LAND USE

1. Smart Growth
2. Transit Oriented Development
3. Wi-Fi
4. “Big Box” regulations

VI. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

   HEALTHCARE

1. Health Insurance Mandates in Minnesota
   1. Council for Affordable Health Insurance State by State report for 2006
2. Health Information Technology
3. Health Insurance Coverage
   1. Health Insurance Regulation
   2. Health Insurance Reform
4. Health Insurance Portability
5. Long-Term Care
6. Minnesota Care
7. Medicaid Reform
8. Medicare
9. Prescription Drugs
10. State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)
11. Public Health
    1. Infectious Disease Control

   SOCIAL SERVICES

1. Foster Care
2. Welfare Reform
3. Affordable Housing

VII. TAX AND FISCAL POLICY TAXES, BUDGET & SPENDING

1. State and Local Government Debt
   1. Unfunded State and Local Health Costs
      CATO Institute: Tax & Budget Bulletin Number 40, October 2006
   2. Government Accounting Standards Board
      (GASB) Statement 45: Post-employment benefits for retirees
2. TABOR
3. Gambling as a source of state revenue
4. Minnesota Property Taxes
5. Local Government Aid

VIII. TRANSPORTATION

1. Highway Funding
   1. Leasing Toll Roads
      1. Indiana
      2. New Jersey
2. Public Transit
   1. Light Rail/Central Corridor
   2. Heavy Rail/Northstar Rail
3. Cellular Phones and Driving
4. Gas tax