The Beacon Center publicizes its views through publications,
press releases, media interviews, and guest columns. Its publications include the annual "Tennessee Pork Report" (co-published with
Citizens Against Government Waste) and a
Legislators’ Guide to the Issues.
Fiscal issues Beacon supports reductions in state government spending and the elimination or reduction of several Tennessee state taxes. The organization supports an amendment to the
Tennessee Constitution to ban a
state income tax in order to "quash...attempts to pass such a tax once and for all." In 2012, the Beacon Center was involved in repealing Tennessee's
Death tax. Beacon has advocated reducing or eliminating Tennessee's
sales taxes on
groceries,
cigarettes, and
gasoline. The Beacon Center and the Tennessee branch of the
American Civil Liberties Union have worked together to try to end
civil forfeiture in Tennessee. The Beacon Center testified before Senate and House committees and took credit for defeating the bill. Following the defeat of the Medicaid expansion, the Beacon Center advocated for
direct primary care, a program in which patients could avoid purchasing health insurance and contract directly with their
primary care physicians.
Transparency In 2008, the organization accounted for 16 percent of all open records requests to the Tennessee executive branch. In 2008, state officials responded to a TCPR open-records request for
email messages from the
Tennessee Department of Revenue by telling TCPR that it would have to pay $3,201 for each day of email messages it sought.
Environment TCPR operated a website entitled "Carnival of Climate Change" which was skeptical of the
scientific consensus on climate change. TCPR was one of the most significant organizations and individuals spreading
climate disinformation, according to a 2009 report in
Mother Jones magazine.
Report on Al Gore's house In 2007 TCPR issued a report asserting that Al Gore's residence in the Nashville area used more than 20 times the energy of a typical home in the United States. Reporters who followed up on the allegations found that Gore's house did use more
electricity than a typical home, but they also found that it was about 12 times the average for Nashville (20 times not including power from solar panels at the property), pointed out that the building functioned both as a residence and a business office for both Al and
Tipper Gore, it was much larger than a typical home, and that Gore made substantial improvements to the home during 2007 that reduced its electricity consumption. ==References==