The new decade in North Carolina opens with 10 million-plus residents reaping the benefits of multiyear policy victories tied to John Locke Foundation recommendations, as well as a new CEO for JLF—Amy O. Cooke, who joined JLF from Colorado’s Independence Institute. In 2020, North Carolinians are keeping more of what they earn, spending has been restrained, savings are growing, parents have more power over how and where their kids are educated, and work has begun on criminal law reform.

Moving into the new legislative session, JLF’s strategy is to capitalize on this momentum by reminding lawmakers of the catalyst ideas for North Carolina’s economic renaissance and the potential to eliminate more barriers and unleash more opportunities.

JLF’s team, led by Becki Gray, will urge lawmakers to take critical next steps on overcriminalization by adopting more of JLF’s recommendations for criminal law reform. Crimes exist in more than 140 chapters of North Carolina’s general statutes. Agencies, boards, and commissions have created other crimes by rule and scattered them across the Administrative Code. Countless additional crimes can be found in county, city, and town ordinances. JLF will also press for constitutional protection of property owners from eminent domain abuse and an amendment to ensure rules dictate how election districts are drawn, no matter which political party is in charge of drawing them.

To guide lawmakers on a freedom-forward path, JLF has released a comprehensive resource guide, Policy Solutions 2020, with background, key facts, and action items for reforms in budget and taxation, regulation and law, education, and healthcare.