Updates on State Legislatures: Feb. 3, 2023

Announcements

Stephanie Smith has been named the Alabama Policy Institute’s third president and CEO.
The Badger Institute expanded with a new office near the Wisconsin state Capitol.
In Ohio, Governor DeWine delivered his State of the State speech and released his proposed budget this past week. The Buckeye Institute reacted and offered praise for the governor’s proposals to expand school choice and improve higher education but cautioned lawmakers about spending billions on new proposals that would foreclose the ability to enact meaningful, pro-growth tax reform.
Center of the American Experiment facilitated the delivery of 30,000 emails to the Minnesota Governor and members of the Minnesota Legislature opposing the Blackout Bill, legislation that would significantly increase electricity costs and cause deadly blackouts.
The Institute for Reforming Government released an interactive database for taxpayers to see how Wisconsin school districts are allocating the unprecedented $1.49 billion of federal relief funding they received during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The James Madison Institute welcomed Lindsay Killen as their new Vice President of National Strategy.
On the latest episode of the John Locke Foundation’s Policy Pizza, Foundation CEO Amy O. Cooke shared what she does as a think tank leader and how think tanks bring lasting change to their communities.
The Palmetto Promise Institute announced a new podcast, Beyond Policy.

Freedom through the Courts: The Latest Litigation Efforts across the Network

The Buckeye Institute filed a lawsuit against Columbus City Schools for the release of records that are subject to Ohio’s Public Records Act. The records are a part of Darling v. AFSCME, Buckeye’s case on behalf of ten public employees who have had money illegally taken out of their paychecks by their employers and given to a government union.
The Center for Growth and Opportunity (CGO) and a group of state-based think tanks filed an amicus brief in Gonzalez v. Google, a case that will determine the future of free expression on the internet.
The Institute for Justice (IJ) teamed with a group of Alaska families to defend the state’s Correspondence School Allotment Program (CSAP) against an NEA-funded lawsuit that seeks to end parents’ ability to use their correspondence school allotments for private educational services.
The city of Neenah failed to comply with a demand letter sent by the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty on behalf of residents Tim and Megan Florek. Now WILL is challenging the constitutionality of the city’s sign ordinance in a federal lawsuit.

This Week on SPN.org

Utah Adopts School Choice Program to Increase Education Options For Students

Success Stories

The Goldwater Institute scored a major victory for residents and business owners in downtown Phoenix when an Arizona trial court judge ruled that the city’s Super Bowl Censorship Ordinance violated their free speech rights and unconstitutionally delegated power to the NFL and Super Bowl Host Committee.
The South Carolina Senate passed a bill that would create Education Scholarship Accounts. The state Senate also passed a bill to repeal certificate-of-need (CON laws). The Palmetto Promise Institute pioneered both of these issues in South Carolina.

Solutions from the States: This Week’s Policy Briefs

The Caesar Rodney Institutereleased its 2023 Legislative Priorities.
The Commonwealth Foundation provided a backgrounder on a Pennsylvania constitutional amendment that would allow the Legislature to reject a proposed regulation by passing a concurrent resolution with a simple majority vote of both House and Senate.
Empire Center published an overview of the New York Governor’s FY 2024 state budget proposal.
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii released a policy brief explaining why medical services should be exempted from the state’s general excise tax.
A new report from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy shows that reforms to Michigan’s civil asset forfeiture laws over the past decade have resulted in fewer people losing their property. Unfortunately, these changes have still fallen short of their goals.
The Palmetto Promise Institute released the Palmetto Freedom Agenda—23 policies for building a better South Carolina.
The latest jobs report from the Pelican Institute highlights how Louisiana lost 36,857 residents from 2021-2022, ranking third worst in the nation.
The Platte Institute released a study about some of these new ways of voting we’re seeing around the country.
Reason Foundation released a policy brief and accompanying data visualization highlighting the excessive use of fines and fees within our criminal justice system and opportunities for reform.
The Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy released five reasons for supporting the Virginia Governor’s tax plan.

Policy News from the States

Tracking Positive Reforms in the States: Updates from State Think Tanks

Georgia: Georgia legislators are considering a proposal to increase the cap for Georgia’s tax credit scholarship program (Georgia Center for Opportunity and Georgia Public Policy Foundation).
Hawaii: Hawaii is considering a bill that would streamline licensing for physicians (Grassroot Institute of Hawaii).
Minnesota: The Minnesota House Health Finance and Policy committee heard three bills aimed at increasing price transparency across Minnesota’s healthcare system (Center of the American Experiment).
Mississippi: The Mississippi Legislature is considering a bill that would dissolve the Boards of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners and move the operations to the Department of Health. The bill would also provide a pathway to licensure through apprenticeship programs. Mississippi is also considering a bill that would require state agencies to report deficits in a timely manner (Mississippi Center for Public Policy).
Montana: The Montana Legislature is considering legislation that creates a framework for state and local governments to speed up permits for housing Montana is also considering two school choice bills: First, lawmakers are considering a bill that expands the ability of students to attend a public school outside the district where they live; and second, lawmakers are reviewing legislation that would expand tax credit scholarships (Frontier Institute).
North Carolina: The North Carolina Legislature is considering a “Parents’ Bill of Rights” (John Locke Foundation).
Texas: The Texas Governor noted his support for Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) (Texas Public Policy Foundation).
Washington: The Washington Legislature is considering a bill that would create ESAs (Washington Policy Center).

The Network in the News

In the Anchorage Daily News, the Alaska Policy Forum noted personal taxes on Alaskans would be harmful.
In the Ledger Independent, the Bluegrass Institute argued eliminating the occupational tax is the key to local tax reform.
In the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Badger Institute argued lowering taxes for everyone makes it easier for Wisconsinites to stay in the state they love.
In the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Commonwealth Foundation noted people are fleeing Pennsylvania at an alarming rate.
In the Vermont Daily Chronicle, the Ethan Allen Institute highlighted the top seven legislative issues in 2023.
In the Miles City Star, the Freedom Foundation considered support for labor unions in Montana.
In a piece for RealClearMarkets, the Free State Foundation argued Wes Moore should follow Glenn Youngkin’s regulatory reform model.
In the Dalton Daily Citizen, Georgia Public Policy Foundation’s Kyle Wingfield noted the importance of school choice in Georgia.
In an op-ed for RealClearPolicy, Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation noted the school choice movement should be prepared to view ESAs as the starting point for determining what comes next.
Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation discussed how to achieve meaningful property tax reform in a piece for The Gazette.
Parents will be the winners with proposed school choice assistance legislation—writes The James Madison Institute in the Tallahassee Democrat.
In his recent column, the John Locke Foundation’s John Hood considered rising deaths of despair in North Carolina.
In his recent column, the John Locke Foundation’s John Hood highlighted how North Carolina’s economy continues to excel.
In The Topeka Capital-Journal, the Kansas Policy Institute argues income tax relief will help families much more than eliminating the food sales tax.
In an op-ed in The Detroit News, the Mackinac Center called out lawmaker who want to backfill corporate welfare programs in order to avoid an automatic tax cut trigger.
In the Bangor Daily News, the Maine Policy Institute noted lawmakers should alter their rules to improve transparency, public confidence
In Nevada Business, the Nevada Policy Research Institute considered the 2022 Nevada election results.
In the Journal Record, the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs noted it’s encouraging that lawmakers want to focus the school system on basics – particularly reading.
In the Dallas Morning News, the Pacific Research Institute explains how a bad law leads to hospital consolidation and high health care costs.
The South Carolina Policy Council highlighted their new poll on support for Trump and Biden in an op-ed for RealClearPolicy.
In The Salt Lake Tribune, the Sutherland Institute noted Utah’s new school choice program is proof of the state’s intent and habit of rising above political and ideological divisions to enact policy solutions that serve the common good.

Events and Opportunities

Please see SPN’s Network Calendar for a full list of events.

Categories: News

Organization: State Policy Network

Announcements

Freedom through the Courts: The Latest Litigation Efforts across the Network

This Week on SPN.org

Success Stories

Solutions from the States: This Week’s Policy Briefs

Policy News from the States

Tracking Positive Reforms in the States: Updates from State Think Tanks

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The Network in the News

Events and Opportunities

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