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March 14, 2024 10:51AM

On the final day of the 2016 legislative session, lawmakers voted to repeal the Hall Tax. Jon and Linda remain engaged in Beacon’s work to this day. Thanks to their willingness to speak out about their challenges with the Hall Tax, they helped return more than $300 million a year to taxpayers and make Tennessee truly income tax-free for the first time in nearly a century. READ MORE

February 15, 2024 1:30PM

Typically, proposed laws at the local level rarely get any attention, let alone make national news. But here in Tennessee, we’re anything but typical. Recently, several zoning reform proposals were introduced in Nashville’s Metro Council garnering considerable local and even some national media attention. Some of these proposed policies include eliminating the requirement that lots... READ MORE

February 7, 2024 3:04PM

During his State of the State address earlier this week, Governor Bill Lee outlined his proposed program to offer every Tennessee family a voice in their child’s education. The program, dubbed Education Freedom Scholarships, would provide around $7,000 for a student to attend a school of their choice as well as pay for other approved... READ MORE

January 3, 2024 8:05PM

Today, we released our third quarterly Beacon Poll, a statewide poll of 1,302 registered Tennessee voters comprised of questions about political races, policy issues, and more. READ MORE

October 25, 2023 10:35AM

Today, we released our second quarterly Beacon Poll, a statewide poll of 1,181 registered Tennessee voters comprised of questions about political races, policy issues, sports questions and more. In one of the country’s most watched 2024 Senate races, the poll results find incumbent Senator Marsha Blackburn with leads over her two potential Democratic rivals, Gloria Johnson and... READ MORE

September 25, 2023 1:15PM

Today, the Beacon Center filed a First Amendment lawsuit against the state of Tennessee. Beacon is representing Will McLemore and other online auctioneers in a challenge to a Tennessee law that requires online auctioneers to be licensed. This law threatens the livelihoods of Will, his employees, and other online auctioneers across the state, many of... READ MORE

September 14, 2023 11:28AM

Mark and Taylor’s big takeaways on this episode of Decaf: – If you think Nashville property tax rates are bad, it could be worse (and it is in another big city in Tennessee). – If you are going to make a career of trying to take down school choice, maybe don’t send your kids to... READ MORE

September 8, 2023 11:27AM

✅ Knoxville residents are making moves toward more affordable housing. ✅ Should politicians have age limits? ✅ SEC teams were not looking great in week 1 of college football… ✅ Taylor has some controversial pizza-topping opinions. Get it all this week on Decaf! READ MORE

July 6, 2023 5:50AM

This morning the Beacon Center released our first non-partisan statewide poll which will be the first poll to be released quarterly throughout the state. The focus of this poll was to gain insight into what Tennesseans truly think about what’s going on in the state, and in the country. The poll examined nationally relevant issues... READ MORE

July 6, 2023 5:00AM

There is no consistent statewide survey that accurately assesses where Tennesseans stand on matters impacting their lives on an ongoing basis. Until now.  READ MORE

July 6, 2023 3:00AM

  Today, Beacon released the Beacon Poll, the first of many quarterly surveys asking Tennessee voters how they feel about a variety of issues. Groups and politicians conduct polls all the time, giving us a glimpse into voters’ perspectives on elections and pressing issues. But there is no consistent statewide survey that accurately assesses where Tennesseans... READ MORE

May 10, 2023 5:43PM

Today, the Beacon Center won an appeal in the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals which will protect property rights in Nashville. The Court ruled that the city of Nashville cannot avoid constitutional protections for private property simply by taking individuals’ property through legislative action. This was an enormous win for our plaintiffs and a reminder... READ MORE

February 21, 2023 12:51PM

Predicting how the Supreme Court will rule is usually a fool’s errand. But if you’re interested in animal welfare or really love bacon (or both!), you’re interested in the Dormant Commerce Clause. READ MORE

December 14, 2022 5:00AM

Today, the Beacon Center released its most famous annual publication, the Pork Report. As always the report shed light on hundreds of millions of dollars of wasteful spending in Tennessee. Examples in this year’s report range from the state’s no-bid contract for contact tracing given to a company with no previous experience to the unused homeless pods the city of... READ MORE

November 1, 2022 10:59AM

This data gives a clear choice for prospective students, university leadership, and state lawmakers. For prospective students, they can now see what they can reasonably expect to earn—and pay—for a degree. READ MORE

July 28, 2022 4:45PM

Tennessee has another tax-free holiday coming up this weekend, followed by a month-long sales tax holiday on groceries in August. In addition to the traditional annual sales tax holiday to coincide with the start of school, Gov. Lee and the legislature chose to return this year’s surplus revenue to taxpayers by also suspending the grocery... READ MORE

January 19, 2022 1:27PM

Entering the third year of the pandemic, one would hope public schools would have learned to adjust to the new normal and remain open for in-person learning. After all, schools received billions of dollars from the federal government to do just that. Even President Biden said, “I believe schools should remain open. They have what... READ MORE

May 27, 2021 10:35AM

We are pleased to announce a new addition to the Beacon Center team. Jason Coleman joined us recently as General Counsel & Director of Legal Affairs. “I have been a fan of Beacon for as long as I’ve known about them,” Jason said. “I’m very passionate about economic freedom and the right to earn a... READ MORE

March 3, 2021 11:22AM

Today, the Beacon Center announced that Vice President of Legal Affairs Braden Boucek will be leaving his full-time role at Beacon. He will remain on as a senior fellow for Beacon beginning April 1. Beacon CEO Justin Owen said, “While we are sad to lose his incredible talents in a full-time capacity, we are proud... READ MORE

February 4, 2021 11:59AM

This morning the Tennessee Supreme Court accepted the appeal to hear the Education Savings Account (ESA) case. Beacon appealed the ruling of lower courts that the ESA program violates the state’s home rule provision. Beacon Vice President of Legal Affairs Braden Boucek stated, “Not only is the ESA program constitutional, but it is also necessary... READ MORE

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