Announcements

• Three state think tanks—the Beacon Center, Kansas Policy Institute, and Yankee Institute—have collectively received seven finalist accolades in Campaigns & Elections 2021 Reed Awards. The Reed Awards embody excellence in political campaigning, campaign management, political consulting and political design, grassroots, and advocacy.
• Filing briefs in Ohio v. Yellen and in Arizona v. Yellen, The Buckeye Institute is urging the courts to protect taxpayers and overturn the Biden administration’s tax mandate included in the American Rescue Plan Act. Not only does Congress lack the authority to usurp state taxing authority as it did in the ARPA, Buckeye notes that without clear and unambiguous language of what the states are permitted and what they are forbidden, the Biden administration’s sweeping disregard for the principle of federalism must be overturned.
• The Freedom Foundation, in concert with Seattle law firm Lane Powell, PC, filed suit in Douglas County Superior Court on behalf of eight Washington residents seeking to overturn the capital gains income tax recently passed by the Washington State Legislature.
• The Institute for Reforming Government shared the stories of three Wisconsin residents who benefit from school choice. IRG is encouraging lawmakers to expand school choice and provide more Wisconsin families with the great educational benefits that come with freedom and choice.
• The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the unconstitutional race discrimination in the American Rescue Plan’s provision to offer loan forgiveness based on racial categories. WILL filed the lawsuit, Thursday, in the Eastern District of Wisconsin on behalf of five plaintiffs from Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Ohio. Each plaintiff would be eligible for the federal loan forgiveness program, but for their race.

This week on SPN.org

SPN State Job Report: 49 states gain payroll jobs in March

Treasury statement opens the door to pro-growth state tax reforms

States adopt coronavirus liability protections for businesses to accelerate economic recovery

Success stories

• The Alabama Senate approved a measure that would reform the state’s civil asset forfeiture system by which law enforcement actually charges property with being involved in a crime. The Alabama Policy Institute noted the changes include disallowing the seizure of any money less than $250 or vehicles worth less than $5,000. 
• The Alabama Legislature passed a bill that will require hospitals and nursing home facilities to allow at least one visitor during emergencies to be with loved ones.
• Students in the Desert Sands Unified School District in California will get to return to school four days a week after parent protests forced the board of education to reconsider a recent decision that would have kept them locked out of the classroom. Last week, the board of education met and rejected a proposal to get children back into the classroom four days a week. Days after the school board meeting, members of California Policy Center’s Parent Union organized a rally on a busy street corner near the district calling on the board to stand up to the union, put kids first, and open schools. 
• West Virginia created a “regulatory sandbox” for the insurance industry. The Cardinal Institute encouraged lawmakers to pass this reform. As the Libertas Institute notes, a regulatory sandbox allows for businesses, under the observation of regulators, to develop and offer new products, services, and business models while bypassing regulations unsuited for their innovative idea. West Virginia now joins several other states that have created industry-specific sandboxes, helping innovative businesses avoid problematic or outdated regulations.
• Empower Mississippi celebrated the Mississippi Governor signing parole reform legislation that will help the state save taxpayer dollars while providing second chances to those that have earned it. 
• Thanks to the Goldwater Institute and a broad coalition of partners, the Arizona Legislature passed legislation that requires the government get a criminal conviction before taking someone’s property. Goldwater noted the bill addresses civil asset forfeiture, a practice that allows police and prosecutors in states across the country to take, keep, and profit from someone’s property without even charging them with a crime—much less convicting them of one. 
• The James Madison Institute applauded the Florida Legislature for the passage of a major education scholarship proposal that will improve Florida’s school choice scholarship programs and simplify the application process for thousands of Florida families. JMI noted it will enable more than 60,000 Florida families to gain access to K-12 scholarship programs. The Institute has been working vigorously to expand learning options for all Florida students.

Solutions from the states: This week’s policy briefs

Students Bear Brunt of COVID-19 Inequality
A new analysis from the Badger Institute points out Wisconsin families are turning to private schools as the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) ignores federal entreaties and keeps classrooms shut.

Clear the Red Tape to Rebuild a Stronger Pennsylvania
At the beginning of the pandemic, the Pennsylvania Governor repealed regulations to allow our healthcare sector to respond to the evolving crisis. Nonmedical regulatory restrictions—such as permitting cocktails to-go—were also lifted to help small businesses. A new report by the Commonwealth Foundation highlights how Pennsylvania currently has over 163,000 rules, which disproportionately harm small businesses. Many of these regulatory repeals should be made permanent, and additional reforms should be passed.

Ten Opportunities for Welfare Reform States Can Pursue No Matter Who is in The White House
The Foundation for Government Accountability has identified 10 reforms that states can and should exercise to reduce waste and dependency across welfare programs in their states.  

The Pandemic’s Silver Lining: The Growing Popularity of School Choice, Part 2
The John Locke Foundation discusses two more ways to expand school choice in North Carolina.

For Cleaner Voting Rolls, North Carolina Should Join Interstate Data-Sharing Group
Keeping voter rolls clean is a crucial part of maintaining election security. The North Carolina State Board of Elections (SBE) currently does that alone. A new policy brief by the John Locke Foundation notes there is an interstate system that would allow the state board to share and use data to make our elections more secure.

“The 2021 Texas Power Crisis: What Happened and What Can Be Done to Avoid Another One?” 
 A new report by the Reason Foundation focuses on Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and the electric power system because the power outages were the proximate cause of many hardships suffered during the failures.

Sketching a New Conservative Education Agenda
Seeking to imagine what a robust conservative education agenda might look like, American Enterprise Institute director of education policy studies, Rick Hess, invited a collection of education thinkers to sketch 23 brief proposals that go beyond the traditional conservative litany. Sketching a New Conservative Education Agenda explores an array of topics, from hybrid homeschooling to the creation of nonprofit school safety auditors to competency-based federal student lending. 

Guiding Tech Principles
The Mississippi Center for Public Policy‘s Technology Institute released its Guiding Tech Principles, a document meant to help outline and promote a vision for free market-inspired tech policy changes.

A Grim Distinction: Massachusetts Would Have Top Marginal Short-Term Capital Gains Tax Rate in the US Under the Proposed Graduated Income Tax
A state constitutional amendment promoted by the Massachusetts Teachers Association and the Service Employees International Union adding a 4 percent surtax to all annual income above $1 million could devastate innovative startups dependent on Boston’s financial services industry for funding, ultimately hampering the region’s recovery from the COVID-19 economic recession, according to a new study published by Pioneer Institute.

Policy news from the states

Checking in on legislative sessions

Legislative Session: Week Ten at the State House
Alabama Policy Institute

Phil Williams Speaks on SB97 Before House Health Committee
Alabama Policy Institute

How to Tell Which Bills to Veto
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii

“Lowest Cost Generation Available”: Legislators Seek to Help NC’s Electricity Consumers
John Locke Foundation

The Legislature Can Help Support Skilled Trades
Texas Public Policy Foundation

The Good, the Bad, And the ‘What Do We Do Now’ From the Legislative Session
Washington Policy Center

Lawmakers Wanted an Income Tax Lawsuit – They’ll Get Two
Washington Policy Center

Census

2020 Census Results Show That Americans Vote With Their Feet
Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy

Surprising Upside in NY Census Total Points to Bigger Shift in Albany
Empire Center for Public Policy

While the South Grows, Mississippi Loses Population
Empower Mississippi

What’s Behind New Jersey’s Surprising Census Results?
Garden State Initiative

Illinois loses 1 seat in Congress after 2020 Census shows first population drop in 200 years
Illinois Policy Institute

Illinois Lawmakers Tackle Balloons, Pitchfork Fishing, But Keep Residents in Dark on Ethics Reforms
Illinois Policy Institute

States Gaining and Losing US House Seats: How Does Nebraska Compare?
Platte Institute

Education

School Choice Stories: Becky Griffin
Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy

Gov. Walz Should Fully Reopen Minnesota
Center of the American Experiment

No, Education Savings Accounts Are Not the Same as Vouchers
Center of the American Experiment

Illinois Teachers Unions Push Bill For New Health Rules on All In-Person Schooling
Illinois Policy Institute

Must Watch Video: Democrat Legislator’s Impassioned Speech For School Choice
Nevada Policy Research Institute

Poll Shows Overwhelming Majority of Louisianans Want Fiscal Transparency in Schools
Pelican Institute for Public Policy

Election integrity

Georgia Voters Support Election Reforms That Restore Trust in Election Process and Protects Voters
Ethan Allen Institute

House Passes Bill to End Outside Partisan Takeover of Election Administration
Texas Public Policy Foundation

Government Accountability

COVID-19 ‘Vax Pass’ May Be Needed to See Chicago Summer Concerts, Events
Illinois Policy Institute

Maine Policy Statement on Mask Mandate, Economic Reopening
Maine Policy Institute

Governor McKee Mis-informed About Mask Mandates
Rhode Island Center for Freedom & Prosperity

Healthcare

Ten Reasons to Oppose ‘Albanycare’
Empire Center for Public Policy

Auto Insurance Provides A Model For Health Insurance Reform
Georgia Public Policy Foundation

Vaccinations Killed the Mask Mandate, and Now Show the Way Forward
Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy

Medicare for All Would Put Even More Strain on Doctors
Pacific Research Institute

Expand Access To Quality Health Care in Louisiana
Pelican Institute for Public Policy

Jobs and state economies

The Number of Minnesotans Not Working is On the Rise
Center of the American Experiment

‘Enhanced’ Unemployment Insurance is Paying Minnesotans $26 an Hour
Center of the American Experiment

Empire Downward: Pandemic Policy Responses are Hindering NY’s Recovery
Empire Center for Public Policy

7 Reasons to Reject the Graduated Tax and Instead Focus on Growing Jobs
Pioneer Institute

How Are We Recovering? (Part 1)
Show-Me Institute

Lawsuits Led to Licensing Reform, But More Work is Needed
Mississippi Center for Public Policy

Review Shows Film Subsidies a Net Drain on State Government
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs

State budgets and spending

Truth in Taxation is a Model for Legislative Change
Kansas Policy Institute

How Basic Income Could Promote Economic Advancement Rather Than Government Dependency
Pacific Research Institute

Policy Corner: Finance Committee Makes Leaving Connecticut Pay with Second Income Tax
Yankee Institute for Public Policy

Other

To Beat Poverty, Start by Measuring it Better
Foundation for Government Accountability

Opportunities for Greater Bipartisanship
Frontier Institute

Guaranteed Income Subsidizes Poverty And Trivializes Those In Need
Georgia Center for Opportunity

Guaranteed Income Subsidizes Poverty and Trivializes Those in Need
Georgia Center for Opportunity

Giving to Charities Should Not Put You at Risk of Harm
John Locke Foundation

Court-Packing Would Ruin the Republic
Mississippi Center for Public Policy

Paycom CEO Vowed to ‘Come after the OCPA’
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs

President Biden’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Ideas
Texas Public Policy Foundation

Time to Re-Imagine “Enabling” Policies
Maryland Public Policy Institute

Think tanks in the news

Incompetence on the Loose in Frankfort
Bluegrass Institute in Wave 3 News

Legislators Move to Gut Charter Schools Further to Appease Teachers Unions
California Policy Center in The OC Register

A New Unemployment Problem: It Pays Too Well
Center of the American Experiment in the Star Tribune

School Closures Highlight The Need For Parental Choice
Commonwealth Foundation at The Daily Caller 

Biden Takes Aim at the Judiciary
Foundation for Government Accountability in the Washington Examiner

Big Labor Wants to Salt the Earth
Freedom Foundation at RealClearPolicy

New Jersey’s Self-Inflicted Fiscal Woes May Bring Statewide Property Tax
Garden State Initiative in RealClearPolicy

Why the District of Columbia Should Not Be a State
Independence Institute in The Epoch Times

Gov. Tony Evers Would Leave the Next Budget Upside Down
Institute for Reforming Government in the Wisconsin State Journal

Tax Policy Shapes Migration Flows
John Locke Foundation in The Laurinburg Exchange

The Heartland Property-Tax Rebellion
Kansas Policy Institute at National Review

The PRO Act Would Hurt Independent Contractors in Utah
Libertas Institute in The Salt Lake Tribune

Federal Funding is a Poor Plan to Improve Infrastructure
Mackinac Center in The Hill 

What Health-Care Affordability Crisis?
Pacific Research Institute in National Review

Medicare for All Would Put Even More Strain on Doctors
Pacific Research Institute in Newsweek

City of Las Cruces Should Reject Bag Ban
Rio Grande Foundation in the Las Cruces Sun News