Announcements

• The Mackinac Center for Public Policy announced the hiring of James David Dickson as managing editor of its impact news service, Michigan Capitol Confidential.
• The Mississippi Center for Public Policy hired Tyler B. Jones as its new Communications Director.

Success Stories

• Nine years after Alaska Policy Forum began calling attention to Alaska’s poor student outcomes, and proposed adopting “the Florida reading reforms” as a remedy, legislators have finally passed Read by Nine legislation. This initiative will help all students, but particularly those who need the most assistance with reading.
• The Missouri General Assembly passed a bill equalizing funding for charter school students with their district school peers. The American Federation for Children noted the legislation will ensure that all public school students are on an equal playing field with regard to state spending on education.
• In a victory for school choice, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that a scholarship program for children from low-income families is constitutional and may go into effect. The Education Savings Account pilot program provides approximately $7,000 in funds for students to attend the independent school of their choice. Attorneys from the Liberty Justice Center represented a coalition of parents and schools and successfully argued to reverse a lower-court order blocking the program alongside attorneys from the Beacon Center and Institute for Justice.
• The Louisiana Senate passed universal licensure recognition. The Pelican Institute applauded the Louisiana Senate for passing legislation to ensure that people moving to Louisiana don’t have to face redundant occupational licensure requirements for work they are already safely doing in another state”

Solutions from the states: This week’s policy briefs

The Game of Life: How Changing Licensing Requirements Impacts Tennesseans’ Career Choices
In a new report, the Beacon Center of Tennessee tracked the requirements of several licenses over several decades and whether those changes impacted the ability of Tennesseans to enter that profession. 

Expand Ohio ACE & Adopt a “Students First” Approach to Education Funding
In a new policy memo, The Buckeye Institute urged Ohio lawmakers to transition to a “students first” approach to education funding and expand the Ohio Afterschool Child Enrichment program for students who lost classroom time during the pandemic. This memo is part of a series of commonsense recommendations The Buckeye Institute has made on how Ohio can wisely spend the additional $2.6 billion in American Rescue Plan Act funding it will receive.

US Offshore Wind Jobs are Highly Exaggerated
A new Caesar Rodney Institute analysis finds US offshore wind jobs are highly exaggerated.

Are Hybrid Schools the Future of School Choice?
New John Locke Foundation research considers if hybrid schools are the future of school choice.

Counterproductive: Why State And Municipal Climate Lawsuits Are Anti-Growth, Anti-Innovation, And Anti-Environment
A new analysis by the Pacific Research Institute finds city and state climate change lawsuits drive up gas prices and discourage clean energy innovation.

The MBTA’s Automated Fare Collection Modernization Contract: Over-Budget And Behind Schedule, But Now Back On Track
A new study by the Pioneer Institute documents the design challenges, contracting issues, snd delays facing new MBTA fare collection system.

Tax Burden in Missouri’s 20 Largest Cities
The Show-Me Institute considers the tax burden in Missouri’s 20 largest cities.

Baltimore City’s K-12 Education Crisis
The Maryland Public Policy Institute published a new, comprehensive study on the performance of Baltimore City Public School’s (BCPS) since the pandemic began, which finds a worsening of already extreme academic underachievement among students.

Voting with Their Feet: Economic Freedom and Migration in Wisconsin
A new study from the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) finds that economic policy is a key driver of migration flows; with Wisconsin gaining 65,000 new residents from states that rank low for economic freedom, while losing nearly 38,000 to states that rank high for economic freedom. The study examines state-level migration during a five-year period from 2015-19, and metro area migration from 2010-15.

Policy News from the States

Criminal Justice Reform

Killers and Thieves Walking Free
Badger Institute

Prison Work Initiatives Alone Aren’t Enough
Empower Mississippi

Education

Private School, State Reimbursement: Family Choice
Alaska Policy Forum

Next Time, Listen To Parents
Badger Institute

California’s Schools Are Burning Down, And Teachers Union Leaders Bring The Gasoline
California Policy Center

Public Schools Concerned Over Pandemic’s Long-Term Impact On Enrollment
Center of the American Experiment

NY’s pandemic-punctuated school spending topped US average by 89%
Empire Center

Inflation-adjusted school funding +52%, teacher pay down 9%
Kansas Policy Institute

The Diversity We Need in Education
Libertas Institute

Record School Spending Decried As Insufficient
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs

Election Integrity

It’s Election Night: Do You Know Where Your Ballot Is?
Cascade Policy Institute

New Voting Trends Show The Strength Of Utah’s Approach To Vote By Mail
Sutherland Institute

Energy and Environment

California, Sunny With A Near-100% Chance Of Blackouts
Pacific Research Institute

Government Accountability

‘Transparency Is For Government And Privacy Is For People’
Mackinac Center

Healthcare

The Promising Pathway Act Hits Close To Home For The Senate
Foundation for Government Accountability

Montana’s Struggle With Naturopathic Health Care Red Tape
Frontier Institute

Why Right to Try 2.0 Is Necessary for Families Like Mine
Goldwater Institute

Jobs And State Economies

Alaska’s Unemployment Insurance Taxes, Ranked
Alaska Policy Forum

An Opportunity For Relief The Pump
Garden State Initiative

April ’22 Jobs Report – New Jersey’s Labor Market Continues Its Rebound
Garden State Initiative

Raising Corporate Taxes Would Make Inflation Worse
Center of the American Experiment

Mississippi’s Occupational Regulation Burden
Empower Mississippi

Reality Is Likely To Be Far Less Rosy
Georgia Center for Opportunity

Gov. Ige Urged To Review New Research Before Deciding On Minimum-Wage Hike
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii

Cooper Administration Doled Out $1.2 Billion Worth of Corporate Welfare in 2021
John Locke Foundation

Reduce Licensing, Reduce Inflation
Libertas Institute

Where Are All the Jobs?
Mackinac Center

Louisianans Deserve A Fair Chance At An Occupational License
Pelican Institute

State Budgets and Spending

The Best, and the Worst, of Tennessee’s Legislative Session
Badger Institute

Kentucky’s Big Move In The Rainy Day Fund Rankings
Bluegrass Institute

A Surplus Of Nonsense In The Governor’s Latest Budget
California Policy Center

Voters Reject a Pair of Tax Cap-Breaching School Budgets
Empire Center

State Budget Writers Should Resist Temptation to Spend Surplus Funds
John Locke Foundation

2021 Kansas Payrolls: $2.26 billion
Kansas Policy Institute

Local Officials Must Radically Reduce Tax Rates
Texas Public Policy Foundation

Workplace Freedom

Unions Aren’t the Answer to Public and Private Sector Employment Concerns
Americans for Fair Treatment

House passes staffer unionization resolution
Americans for Fair Treatment

UFT President Michael Mulgrew wins 5th Term
Americans for Fair Treatment

How Chicago Teachers Union sold $8.1M high-rise, hid cash from oversight
Illinois Policy Institute

Illinois voters put just 1 proposed constitutional amendment on ballot in 52 years
Illinois Policy Institute

Other

Beware Empty Political Language
Cardinal Institute

Sine Die: Initial Recap Of The 2021-22 Sc Legislative Session
Palmetto Promise Institute

A Commonsense Approach to Addressing Homelessness
Pegasus Institute

End of the Legislative Session, Fines for Home Renovations, and The Loop Trolley Returns
Show-Me Institute

California Doubles Down On Failed Homeless Policies
Texas Public Policy Foundation

Think Tanks in the News

C-SPAN recently devoted four hours of coverage to Steamboat Institute’s March Energy and Climate Summit. 

Pelosi lines vote allowing house staff unionize
Americans for Fair Treatment cited in the Washington Examiner

New York’s Climate Plan Will Cost Hundreds Of Billions —And Albany Is Trying To Hide It
Empire Center in The New York Post

Bad Policy Begets Worse: Repealing The GWSA Is The Solution
Ethan Allen Institute in the Caledonian Record

Authorizing Congressional Unions Won’t End Democrats’ Labor Troubles
Freedom Foundation in The Hill

Democrats Say Secret Ballot for Me, Card Check for Thee
Freedom Foundation in The Wall Street Journal

Time To Reshuffle The System?
Georgia Public Policy Foundation in the Dalton Daily Citizen

The Fight To Preserve Iowa’s Voice
Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation in The Iowa Torch

Utah Should Be The Next State To Allow Psychologists To Prescribe Medication
Libertas Institute in The Salt Lake Tribune

Three Ways States Can Reduce Health Care Costs For Businesses And Consumers
Mackinac Center in The Hill

Mom Suing School District For Ignoring FOIA Of Gender, Ethnic Curriculum Calls On Schools To Work With Parents
Mackinac Center featured at Fox News Online

The Problem With Baltimore’s ‘TIF’ Strategy
Maryland Public Policy Institute in The Baltimore Sun

With Vaccine IP Waiver, Wave Goodbye To Future Treatments
Pacific Research Institute in the Washington Examiner

California Doubles Down On Failed Homeless Policies
Texas Public Policy Foundation at Fox News Online

DeSantis to Fight Litigation Driving Homeowners Insurance Crisis
The James Madison Institute in Newsmax

Left Should Let Voters Decide On Tax
Washington Policy Center in The Spokesman-Review

Events and Opportunities

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