This weekly round-up shares the latest news about what the Network is doing to promote state-based solutions that will improve the lives of families, workers, and local communities. If you are an SPN member and have an update you’d like us to include in next week’s round-up, please email us at updates@spn.org (all submissions are subject to SPN approval).

Announcements

  • Congratulations to Patricia Benner, Mackinac Center for Public Policy‘s vice president of operations, on being named among the 2019 “notable women in HR” by Crain’s Detroit Business magazine!
  • Texas State Representative Ron Simmons has joined the Texas Public Policy Foundation as a distinguished senior fellow and head of their Right on Work initiative.

Success Stories

  • Months spent educating the public about the truth of Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit scholarship program on behalf of Pennsylvania children has finally paid off for the Commonwealth Foundation. Eleven state senators have co-sponsored a bill that accomplishes the goals the Foundation outlined. Their multi-faceted campaign kicked off with a bombshell report that exposed the rejection of more than 50,000 scholarship applications due to arbitrary tax credit caps and continued relentlessly with op-eds, TV interviews, letters to the editor, social media advertising, and mailers.

Research & Initiatives

  • Arkansas lawmakers filed governor-backed legislation to create a five-year pilot private school voucher program in the state’s most populous county. The Arkansas Policy Foundation‘s research has been an important part of this policy debate.
  • In Oregon “land-use planners and affordable housing advocates now are blaming the Great Recession for many of the people living on the streets — and the even larger number struggling to keep their homes.” Cascade Policy Institute’s recent study suggests the state’s anti-sprawl policies may be to blame.
  • Citizens Against Government Waste released its “Critical Waste Issues for the 116th Congress,” outlining important proposals for smaller and more efficient government and identifying 18 policy areas that require immediate attention.
  • The Empire Center‘s report, “Hospital Revenue surge creates haves and have-nots,” finds revenue is increasing at hospitals across the state. Yet more and more are operating in the red. In a related Wall Street Journal op-ed, the Center examines what eliminating for-profit hospitals would look like, a policy included in the Medicare for All bill at the federal level. 
  • “Being born with a disability should not mean you have to pay more for basic education.” Empower Mississippi‘s “Waitlisted” series highlights the obstacles and sacrifices faced by more than 200
    Mississippi families on a waitlist for the state’s Education Scholarship Accounts.
  • Which states offer the fewest barriers to investment in oil and gas exploration and production facilities? The Fraser Institute‘s 12th annual Global Petroleum Survey considers how US states compare to countries across the world.
  • As the legislative session in Missouri heats up, lawmakers are discussing several ideas that the Freedom Center of Missouri has been promoting, including reforms that would protect citizens’ ability make changes to the state constitution while avoiding spurious proposals. 
  • Minnesota’s governor has decided to temporarily block a major infrastructure project critical to the state’s economy, a move the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota poses greater risk to the environment and undermines his pledge to create “One Minnesota”
  • The Georgia Center for Opportunity offers three reasons why Medicaid expansion is bad for Georgia.
  • The Goldwater Institute‘s investigative report, “Gagged: Feds Use Criminal Charges, Threats to Silence Drugmakers,” shows the harmful effect of stringent FDA rules aimed at medical device and drug manufacturers. The restrictions limit the ability of companies to communicate truthfully with doctors, which means patients are left without the information they need to make treatment decisions. 
  • In Missouri, the government can fine someone simply for talking to state legislators. The Institute for Free Speech and the Freedom Center of Missouri are seeking to change that and are appealing the recent Calzone v. Missouri Ethics Commission ruling, which upheld a Missouri law requiring unpaid citizens to follow the same registration and reporting laws as paid lobbyists.
  • The Institute for Free Speech has released a first-of-its-kind 50-state survey examining campaign finance and lobbying laws across 12 broad issue areas. US laws regulating speech about government are enormously complex, especially when considering state and local regulations. This survey determines how much of a regulatory burden each state imposes on this First Amendment activity.
  • The Kansas Policy Institute has released its A through F grades for Kansas schools, based on 2017-18 test score data. The report takes the Department of Education’s four levels and turns them into letter grades to make it easy for people to understand what’s being achieved.
  • Michigan’s governor is moving toward greater government transparency. The Mackinac Center recommends collective bargaining be included in that transparency.
  • The Mississippi Center for Public Policy has added a journalism capability. MCPP hired veteran journalist Steve Wilson as its first investigative editor, and his reporting on administrative forfeiture in Mississippi led to a very public debate on the issue. 
  • The Nevada Research Policy Institute has joined a bipartisan and diverse coalition of government transparency advocates and news organizations supporting a bill in Nevada that would “add some bite to Nevada’s toothless public records laws.”
  • Your shirt or your vote? Pacific Legal Foundation filed a federal lawsuit at the end of February to overturn a polling place dress code in Texas that forces voters to choose between their freedom of expression and their ability to vote.
  • The Policy Circle is partnering with the Georgia Center for Opportunity to engage Georgia women on state-specific issues via the state resources on the Policy Circle website. Organizations interested in partnering with the Policy Circle should contact Nicole Cline at
    ncline@thepolicycircle.org for more information.
  • Government financial reports can be long and tedious documents! Truth in Accounting has released a new webinar that walks you through the most important parts of a government’s comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR).
  • On the eve of the Connecticut legislature’s vote to install 82 toll gantry across the Nutmeg State, the Yankee Institute staged an educational demonstration to fight back against the measure, which would tax people for driving to work. This is the second year Yankee has installed its toll trolls on the lawn of the Connecticut State Capitol. 

The Institute has also been blanketing the state with edgy “Bring Democracy Back to the Union!” propaganda-style billboards to continue building momentum and support for legislation that would allow for recertification elections.

Think Tanks in the News

  • Looking back at examples from Arkansas history, the Arkansas Policy Foundation highlights the positive impact citizen involvement can have on government efficiency.
  • Did you know? HIPAA is not a privacy rule. For two decades, the Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom has been actively educating Americans how the HIPAA disclosure rule gives outsiders legal license to share, use, analyze, link, and sell confidential patient records without patient consent. It recently published a new book, “Big Brother in the Exam Room: The Dangerous Truth About Electronic Health Records,” detailing the truth.
  • Knowledge is power. And if the stories of Francisco Molina and other government workers is any indication, the Commonwealth Foundation reports unions are intent on making sure government employees are kept from accessing that power.
  • New Jersey decreased expected 2019 revenue, a move the Garden State Initiative warns is indicative of weakness in the state’s economy.
  • Many lawmakers have accepted the high cost of healthcare, but the John Locke Foundation points out they are focusing on the wrong things. Instead of figuring out who will bear the high costs, lawmakers should explore policies that will lower healthcare costs, and subsequently health insurance costs.
  • The budget proposed by Maine’s governor doesn’t raise taxes, but if the goal is to reduce taxes and make it easier to live in Maine, the Maine Heritage Policy Center recommends the governor scale back spending.
  • Mississippi is one of three states holding statewide elections this year, and candidates from both sides of the aisle have been promoting policies that will only expand the size of government. Mississippi Center for Public Policy penned an op-ed for the Clarion Ledger highlighting six free-market policy proposals every candidate for statewide office and the legislature should support. 
  • The Montana Policy Institute points out that good intentions and well wishes don’t count for much when politicians’ decisions cause harm to Montanans. The need to fight opioid abuse does not excuse bad policymaking in the form of taxing prescriptions.
  • Supporters claim Medicare for All will “save lives” and “end the disgrace” of Americans dying from preventable deaths. The Pacific Research Institute observes the statistics don’t support those assertions and reducing Americans’ choices does not improve their health.
  • The recent flooding in Nebraska has put 53 of 93 counties under water. Some of the Platte Institute‘s flood relief efforts were featured by the local media. In addition to rallying community support and donations, Platte’s staff are out helping wherever they’re needed. For updates on how you can help from afar, follow the Platte Institute on Facebook.
  • The Wyoming Liberty Group was interviewed on talk radio about the poor ROI Wyoming is getting on its education investments: “since the 1990s teacher salaries have remained more or less flat, but administrator salaries ‘have gone up ten-fold.”

Events & Opportunities

  • Arthur Brooks’ latest book, Love Your Enemies, offers an unconventional guide on how decent people can save America from the culture of contempt. Interested? The American Enterprise Institute is offering a complimentary copy to think tanks. In conjunction with the book release, The Buckeye Institute is hosting a luncheon on April 1 and the Sutherland Institute is hosting an advance screening of Brooks’ new documentary, THE PURSUIT, on April 25.
  • Interested in the laws governing campaign finance and free speech? Ballotpedia‘s weekly newsletter The Disclosure Digest features noteworthy legislation, pending lawsuits, and major activity by advocacy and spending groups. Sign up now to stay informed of state-level legislation around topics such as donor disclosure policy and campaign finance requirements.
  • The Benjamin Rush Institute is offering full scholarships for medical students to attend the 2019 FMMA Annual Conference in April, where BRI’s own Annual Leadership Conference will also take place.
  • The Free State Foundation is holding its Eleventh Annual Telecom Policy Conference on Tuesday, March 26, 2019, at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. The theme of this year’s conference is: “Internet Providers and Platforms: Getting Law and Policy Right.”