The Cicero Institute is a public policy organization drawing on extensive experience in government, legislation and the law, technology, and entrepreneurship.
We develop and advocate for bold state-level policies in challenging issue areas to restore liberty through accountability and innovation in American governance.
We do this because government bureaucrats shouldn’t come between you and your American Dream.
From day one, the Cicero Institute has been tearing down bureaucratic roadblocks, ripping up the red tape, and introducing bold solutions to our nation’s most challenging problems.
This year alone, 116 pieces of legislation were informed by Cicero research, and 40 of those were signed into law.
pieces of legislation have been informed by Cicero research Since our founding.
bills containing Cicero recommendations have been signed into law.
The number of states with a Cicero presence has tripled to 24 since 2021.
Healthcare costs in America are the highest in the world, and increases have outpaced all other goods and services by 35% since 2000. And medical debt continues to be the number one cause of bankruptcy.
Driven by bad policy, special interests, and arbitrary rules, this trend is making our country sicker and poorer.
Americans and their families deserve better.
Our bold solutions alleviate system pressures, open the sector to competition, and create new markets for innovative and affordable care that improves patient outcomes.
Prison and parole systems in America should ensure public safety and responsibly use taxpayer dollars to rehabilitate those in the justice system—but they have failed. We can change that by implementing outcome-based programs and accountability measures that strengthen communities and families.
The U.S. primarily responds to crime with incarceration and correctional supervision—with little to no focus on rehabilitation.
While these methods are important short-term tools, in the absence of rehabilitation programs, they have demonstrably failed. As the nation with the highest violent crime rate in the developed world, we must do better.
Our focus must shift to outcome-based solutions that strengthen communities, improve lives, and increase public safety.
Homelessness is increasing in record numbers across the nation as the most vulnerable in our communities are marginalized and forgotten.
For two decades, misaligned policies that forsake rehabilitation have gotten in the way of human flourishing and put public safety at risk.
Outcomes-based approaches to homelessness alleviation encourage programs to offer services that help individuals achieve independence and escape life on the streets.
Instead of doubling down on failed Housing First policies, states must take bold steps to demand transparency and accountability when it comes to homelessness funding.
In the 1960s, it took about 13 students to pay their classroom teacher’s salary. Today, it only takes about four students, but the cost of education has risen dramatically. Where does the rest of the money go? Taxpayers deserve to know.
Meanwhile, student results have stagnated. Students deserve options that will achieve results.
There must be transparency and accountability in education spending with an emphasis on student outcomes.
School board members and administrators should be properly prepared and ready to share high-quality information on school finance and academic achievements at least once per year.
At the same time, more options in curriculum will allow students to succeed academically and in the workforce.
The American bureaucracy is broken, running layers of red tape over businesses big and small—costing the American economy nearly $2 trillion every year.
Under the current system, unelected bureaucrats create rules with limited input from those impacted, making it easy to push political agendas.
Agency-imposed regulations should be thoughtfully developed and focused on increasing opportunity rather than hindering it.
States should rein in the over-burdensome regulatory system to give entrepreneurs more freedom to innovate and grow the economy.
Work is not merely a source of income; it also provides dignity and is crucial for the flourishing of individuals and society.
Policies that discourage work or make employment more difficult to obtain stifle opportunity for everyone.
States must create pathways for workers to gain the skills needed for success and remove barriers that hinder innovation and learning.
States should remove unnecessary degree and licensing requirements that create barriers to work and demand transparency and accountability when it comes to educational spending and outcomes.
Policymakers must also tear down the unnecessary roadblocks that prevent entrepreneurs from innovating and building. Instead, they should encourage growth and success.
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