While a lot of the attention these days is on Washington, DC, state legislative sessions are debating critical issues that will influence the direction of the country. As the new administration signals its intent to restore the balance of power between Washington and the states, state lawmakers have an opportunity to determine the outcome of key policy battles in education, fiscal policy, energy independence, healthcare, and more.
On a recent episode of America at Its Best, SPN experts shared insights into the states poised to pass critical reforms and how SPN works alongside state affiliates to support their efforts.
Empowering families to choose how to educate their children remains one of the most transformative reforms underway in states across the country and builds off of years of progress made by this Network. Twelve states have already passed universal education choice programs, which give K-12 students the funding, regardless of family income, to pursue an education that best suits their needs. States like New Hampshire, Georgia, Mississippi, and Montana have some form of an Education Savings Account (ESA), such as an education choice tax credit or education tax scholarship for qualifying students, and lawmakers are working alongside SPN affiliates to expand their existing choice programs. Others like Idaho, Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota will potentially see brand new education choice programs passed for the first time.
In 2025, key legislative battles in Tennessee and Texas, with the Beacon Center of Tennessee and the Texas Public Policy Foundation leading the charge, will determine if existing choice programs will become universal. Texas recently elected a new House Speaker, who is a committed champion of school choice, and the Texas Public Policy Foundation is leading a coalition to ensure that families throughout the state are aware of opportunities. Tennessee’s Governor Bill Lee called for a special session in January, and the Beacon Center is working to make the Volunteer State’s existing, geographically limited ESA universal so that all families can benefit. The bill passed the Tennessee General Assembly and awaits the governor’s signature.
While expansion of school choice programs remains a key issue, implementation of these programs and ensuring a robust supply of diverse education options are of equal importance. Last year, the Libertas Institute in Utah helped repeal burdensome zoning regulations that prevented microschools from starting or expanding existing models, allowing families to apply the Utah Fits All Scholarship Program funding to attend microschools. SPN’s Velinda Jonson Family Education Fellow and contributing Forbes columnist Kerry McDonald continues to work alongside education entrepreneurs, like microschool founders, to help them build new, creative models and increase the supply.
SPN affiliates are also working to move the needle on reforms inside the public school system. The Mississippi Center for Public Policy has tirelessly advocated for improvements to open enrollment in the state to ensure students aren’t prevented from attending a high-performing public school solely based on their zip code. In Massachusetts, the Pioneer Institute is advocating for increased access to the state’s vocational schools for students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds or non-English language learners. Pioneer is putting together a toolkit of resources to spread these types of career and technical education programs to other states. “Our affiliates communicate with each other, whether it’s facilitated by SPN’s 50 state viewpoint and perspective where we convene leaders from all over the country or if they’re just reaching out on their own,” said Jane McEnaney, SPN’s director of education initiatives. “SPN helps facilitate these conversations so ideas and lessons learned in one state can be shared with another, and we see that all the time among affiliates.”
With the soaring cost of living, many Americans are asking the question, “Will things be cheaper in 2025?” Ben Wilterdink, SPN’s director of policy initiatives, thinks it could be possible, thanks in part to SPN affiliates. “There are definitely some positive initiatives in the pipeline that states are leading on to make things cheaper,” said Ben.
In Ohio, The Buckeye Institute is working on tax reforms to index state tax brackets so that when inflation happens, those brackets move with inflation, and taxpayers won’t see stealth tax increases year after year.
Legislators in Kansas and Nebraska, thanks to the Kansas Policy Institute and the Platte Institute, will consider reforms that cap property taxes as they increase with home values. “The housing market has limited inventory and is experiencing recording breaking pricing, and these very large jumps in house valuations are increasing the rate that a lot of people are paying for their property taxes. This is not because the rates are increasing, but because the assessments of their home values are going up so much,” said Ben. “That’s really putting a strain on folks, especially our seniors in these communities, who are often on fixed incomes. SPN affiliates are looking at these types of reforms to ease the burden on homeowners and taxpayers.”
Growing regulations at both the state and federal levels are another factor that often inhibits economic growth. Through efforts like the REINS Act, which seeks to bring more legislative oversight to regulations, states are hoping to curb regulations that burden businesses, drive up costs, and limit job opportunities. Nebraska’s Platte Institute and the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs are leading on these types of reforms at the state level, advancing policies to ensure state legislatures have a say in regulations proposed by state agencies or governors that could significantly impact the economy. For example, when a proposed regulation reaches a certain economic threshold—such as $5 million in costs to businesses—it triggers legislative review, preventing unelected bureaucrats or federal agencies from unilaterally imposing burdensome rules.
SPN’s Center for Practical Federalism is working to create transparency about the strings federal regulations impose on states, empowering state lawmakers to advocate for repealing these restrictions and returning power to state governments. With the federal government seeking to streamline through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), states like Maine, New Hampshire, and Alabama are considering a state-level version of DOGE. The Alabama Policy Institute launched its ALDOGE initiative in December 2024 to address issues in Alabama’s state government, including, “regulatory overreach, lack of transparency, and inefficiency in government expenditures.”
Energy independence, reliability, and affordability are at the forefront of legislative agendas this year. “Energy is in everything and in the cost of everything,” said Ben. “Everyone is very worried about the cost of living, but energy prices affect things that are built, products that are made, and how those products are transported. Energy is not some siloed issue. It really does affect everything that we touch every single day.”
SPN’s Energy Working Group convenes energy and environmental policy experts from across the nation to share solutions that will bring reliable, secure, affordable energy that is as clean as possible. These experts and the Network at large have long advocated for energy solutions that prioritize citizens. Energy systems exist to serve people, and as the 2021 blizzard in Texas demonstrated, failing to provide reliable energy can have dire, life-threatening consequences. Reliability must remain the cornerstone of energy policy, which means ensuring an adequate supply of baseload power sources—those that run continuously, are unaffected by weather, and can meet demand whenever needed. In contrast, heavily subsidized wind and solar energy, while widely promoted, are weather dependent, compromise grid reliability, and drive up costs for ratepayers and consumers.
One of the biggest debates the states will face on energy is grid reliability and affordability. States must prioritize replacing retiring baseload energy sources with equally reliable alternatives, like natural gas or nuclear energy, rather than relying solely on intermittent energy sources to maintain a stable and affordable grid. Nuclear energy is a clean and reliable source of power; however, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the federal agency overseeing nuclear energy, has not approved a new nuclear power plant since its inception in the 1970s. There is now an opportunity to advance nuclear energy, with groups like the Caesar Rodney Institute in Delaware working with federal officials to ease regulations for new nuclear energy sites.
In states like Ohio, the tech sector is increasingly driving demand for energy, particularly with large data centers seeking to expand their operations. As a result, some of these companies are in discussions with utilities to secure grid connections, with some even being asked to pay upfront for up to 10 years of energy use. The Buckeye Institute has published research on the energy needs of these data centers and alternative energy sources, such as small modular reactors, to meet the intensive energy requirements. This emerging dynamic is unfolding in several states, highlighting the need to address the energy infrastructure and the explosion of growth in the tech industry.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Network leaders rallied together to roll back regulations and remove red tape, which saved American lives and changed policy in at least 40 states. These efforts continue post-pandemic, with the goal of improving healthcare access and affordability. One reform includes expanding the scope of practice for healthcare providers, such as pharmacists and nurse practitioners, who interact with a wide range of patients, yet their ability to provide healthcare services is often restricted. The Beacon Center of Tennessee supported the passage of Senate Bill 869 / House Bill 282 in May of 2024, which allows pharmacists to prescribe certain medications without needing approval from a doctor for specific types of medications and health conditions. This year, the Virginia Institute for Public Policy is championing similar reforms.
Another key focus in healthcare policy is tackling certificate of need (CON) laws, which restrict the development of new or expanded healthcare services or facilities. These laws require state approval for facilities to open or expand, often leaving rural communities without critical healthcare services. In Alabama, for example, expecting mothers in rural areas must sometimes drive hours for prenatal care. The Alabama Policy Institute is working to address this urgent issue to reform or repeal these restrictive laws to better meet patients’ needs. “SPN’s focus on healthcare is increasing access and affordability —those are our guiding lights,” said Ben. “We want better health outcomes for all Americans, and we see better health outcomes when people are able to access care at an affordable rate.”
SPN’s unique 30,000-foot view of the policy landscape allows us to see the immediate impact of state-level reforms and the long-term strategic efforts needed to secure wins that will last beyond one legislative cycle. We are actively invested in supporting our partners and their policy priorities in the states, ensuring they have the resources and guidance needed to secure wins that will change American lives. SPN’s strategic approach allows us to respond quickly to emerging policy issues and address challenges, equipping the Network with the tools to move the needle on policies that prioritize citizens whenever and wherever opportunities arise.
Todd Davidson, SPN’s vice president of programs, said, “At SPN, we believe in local solutions led by local leaders bring about lasting policy change. To do that, we need something we call the ‘durable freedom infrastructure.’ This infrastructure is comprised of state think tanks, legal power, investigative journalism centers, and candidate and recruitment training. All of these pieces of infrastructure at the state level are there to fight for policy reform today, defend policy reform against the opposition, and advocate for future policy reforms, leading to national impact.”
