The new Republican-led General Assembly is understandably focused on the state’s $2.4 billion budget hole for next year. But will legislators deal with other issues? John Locke Foundation Vice President for Research Roy Cordato discusses why the legislature should repeal bad energy and environmental policy that was signed into law several years ago. Senate Bill 3 requires utilities to produce a certain percentage of their power with so-called renewable sources, which Cordato says are costly and unreliable. Then we turn to politics and candidates for office. North Carolina maintains some of the nation’s tightest restrictions on third-party and independent candidate access to the electoral ballot. A group called the Free the Vote Coalition hopes to loosen those restrictions. Founder Jordon Greene explains the group’s goals, and you’ll hear highlights from a recent news conference featuring Libertarian Brian Irving and Rep. Stephen LaRoque, R-Lenoir. Next we turn to a controversial new state law. Critics have raised red flags about the possible misuse of a government-run DNA database, but Attorney General Roy Cooper recently defended the database in a presentation to state lawmakers. Cooper calls the database an important tool in identifying suspects and clearing those who are innocent. That’s followed by a look at the continuing debate over health insurance and health reform. A year after its passage, critics continue to raise concerns about the federal health care reform law. Sally Pipes, president of the Pacific Research Institute, has written an entire book on the topic called The Truth About Obamacare. Pipes shares some key points from that book. And finally, John Locke Foundation Director of Education Studies Terry Stoops reviews the growth in K-12 courses over the past few years in North Carolina public schools. Stoops says the courses merit an audit. He talks about some of them and why so many courses raise costs and put greater demands on teaching resources, particularly for very specialized courses.