Announcements
- Archbridge Institute released the “Flourishing in Action” video series from their Human Flourishing Lab, a venture that invites an exploration of how a meaning mindset lays the foundation for individuals to improve their own wellbeing and build a flourishing society.
- Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) announced that it will be hosting a conversation on June 6, 2023, with Pacific Legal Foundation Attorney, Charles Yates, and CEI President Kent Lassmen to explain the implications of SCOTUS’ much-anticipated opinion on Sackett v. EPA.
- Foundation for Government Accountability released results of a “de-banking” poll which found that Americans disapprove of these behaviors by banking elites and place very little trust in financial institutions that politicize banking services.
- Love Your School launched the Innovation Hub, which connects passionate education entrepreneurs with the resources, expert help, and insight they need to launch their new education business better and connect with Arizona families.
- Maine Policy Institute provided testimony protecting homebuilders from overregulation in their state.
- People United for Privacy announced a virtual event on June 6 with the Arizona Capitol Times where legal experts will discuss the effect on free speech of Arizona’s so-called “Voters’ Right to Know Act” and the efforts to strike it down in the courts.
Freedom through the Courts: The Latest Litigation Efforts across the Network
- Goldwater Institute filed a brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to protect the NRA’s First Amendment freedoms.
Success Stories
- The Pacific Legal Foundation won two Supreme Court cases this week. In Sackett v. EPA, the Court significantly narrowed the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Water Act authority. In Tyler v. Hennepin County, all nine Justices agreed with PLF that the government cannot take more than it is owed when settling tax debt. The Buckeye Institute, Mackinac Center, and National Taxpayers Union submitted an amicus brief in the Tyler case and was joined by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Manhattan Institute, Platte Institute, National Federation of Independent Business, and Illinois Policy Institute.
- Nebraska: The Legislature passed a bill which would grant taxpayers an opportunity to use an “Opportunity Scholarship,” a form of school choice.
- Oklahoma: The Governor signed into law a bill which creates a refundable income-tax credit for parents who incur private-school tuition expenses or homeschool expenses. Student eligibility is universal, meaning it extends to any Oklahoma resident who is “eligible to enroll in a public school in this state” (Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs).
- Texas: A school district backed down from demanding more than $7,000 from a concerned Texas mom who wanted the records of bullying, incident, assault, police, and grievance reports filed with the district between 2015 and 2022 (Goldwater Institute).
Solutions from the States: This Week’s Policy Briefs
- The Buckeye Institute outlined how Ohio can move to a flat 2.75% state income tax in a new policy memo. Doing so would “result in a $2.5 billion boost to GDP, thousands of new jobs, and $800 million in increased investment in 2024.”
- Ethan Allen Institute examined how Massachusetts legislators are prescribing a 100% increase in salary for themselves and how the state might hold down legislative expenses.
- Foundation for Government Accountability released a brief which found that food stamp waivers have “gone wild”, resulting in millions of able-bodied adults relegated to government dependency.
- Frontier Institute examined forest management policy and made recommendations on how to fix Montana forests through a federal farm bill. The Institute also released a brief which sets the path for Montana to develop a responsible rare earth element mining supply chain, which would be an economic boon for the state.
- MacIver Institute broke down the proposed budget in Milwaukee and explained the concept of “Shared Revenue.”
- Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs shared how the state’s spending discipline is fueling savings growth.
- Pacific Research Institute revealed a path for how central planning can work if implemented on a limited scale with the free participation of all.
- Pelican Institute broke down the Louisiana budget, separating lawmakers into two camps: “Big Spenders” and “Smart Savers.”
- Platte Institute made its case for why states should compete within America’s highly progressive tax and redistribution system.
- Show-Me Institute explained licensing regulations in Missouri through an analogy that included a classic film, Back to the Future.
Tracking Positive Reforms in the States: Updates from Network Affiliates
- California: Lawmakers advanced legislation which would make it possible to charge serial thieves with a felony for repeat offenses (Pacific Research Institute).
- North Carolina: The Senate passed a “clean energy” bill which includes nuclear energy, replacing current language that was exclusive to renewables (John Locke Foundation).
- Texas: The Senate Education Council voted out a bill which would improve teacher pay, increase public school funding, codify open enrollment practices, and introduce an ESA program eligible to 5.7 million Texas children (Texas Public Policy Foundation).
- Wisconsin: Lawmakers are advancing a universal recognition licensure bill and nearly a dozen more narrowly targeted reforms that would finally help remedy longtime bureaucratic dysfunction and over-regulation (Badger Institute).
Policy News from the States
K-12 Education
Alaska’s Historical Public School Performance
Alaska Policy Forum
School Choice is the Future of West Virginia
Cardinal Institute
Majority Of Minnesotans Support Expanding Educational Freedom
Center of the American Experiment
Education is Going to Change
Georgia Public Policy Foundation
What You Need to Know about Picking All Those Chicago School Board Members
Illinois Policy Institute
Brandon Johnson Appoints Chicago Teachers Union Leader to Transition Team
Illinois Policy Institute
Montana Special Needs Families Now Have More Choices for Education
Mountain States Policy Center
Oklahoma Bill Could Mandate Pursuit of Biden Federal School Grants
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
It’s Time to Get Out of the Comfort Zone
Show-Me Institute
Overcoming Dyslexia Through Home Schooling
Sutherland Institute
Healthcare
Medicaid Eligibility Matters
Commonwealth Foundation
Politically Active Medical Group Gains Access to Funds for “Distressed” Providers
Empire Center
Energy and Environment
Wisconsin Electric Companies Raise Electricity Prices… Again
Center of the American Experiment
America Utterly Dominated Global Natural Gas Production in 2021
Center of the American Experiment
Most of the US Faces Elevated Risks of Blackouts During Heatwaves this Summer
Center of the American Experiment
Green Projects Hit Iron Wall
Empire Center
United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Cyclone Error
Ethan Allen Institute
North Carolina Outer Banks Residents Rightly Concerned about Spoiled Views from Offshore Wind
John Locke Foundation
Renewables of Fossil Fuels? Voters Want Both
Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy
Jobs and State Economies
Mississippi’s Secret to Economic Success
Mississippi Center for Public Policy
Permit Montana to Build
Frontier Institute
Business Fleeing Cities Over Crime is a Warning Sign we Can’t Ignore
Georgia Center for Opportunity
Making Iowa More Competitive Through Occupational Licensing Reform
Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation
North Carolina’s April Jobs Report Explained
John Locke Foundation
Moving Truck Prices Tell Policy Story
Mountain States Policy Center
San Diego Offers Pragmatic Model to Restore Downtown Life
Pacific Research Institute
More are Fleeing California Due to Progressive Policies
Pacific Research Institute
How Could Connecticut Lose Jobs and Have a Lower Unemployment Rate?
Yankee Institute
State Budgets
Minnesota Taxpayers Taken For a Ride as the Legislature Passes $1,500 Subsidy for Electric Bikes
Center of the American Experiment
There is Absolutely Nothing for the Middle Class in the New Minnesota Budget
Center of the American Experiment
The Economic Measure No One is Talking About at the Minnesota Capitol
Freedom Foundation of Minnesota
Are Three Georgia Cities Still Guilty of Taxation by Citation?
Georgia Public Policy Foundation
Idaho Government Spending Far Outstrips Tax Cuts
Idaho Freedom Foundation
Fact Check: What Really Happened to Firefighter Pensions After Detroit’s Bankruptcy
MacIver Institute
Traverse City Fiber Network Spiking in Costs, Lacking in Customers
Mackinac Center
OKPOP Museum Becoming a Money Pit
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
Don’t Look Now! “Fiscal Cliff” Scare Tactics Are Back
Pelican Institute
Washington State’s Office of Financial Management Fined for Withholding Public Documents
Washington Policy Center
Washington State Transportation Budget Highlights
Washing Policy Center
“The Kansas City Royals of North Kansas City”?
Show-Me Institute
Prioritizing 880 Underprivileged Kids Over the CT Film Industry
Yankee Institute
Workplace Freedom
More Mayo Healthcare Workers Set to Decertify Union in Mankato
Center of the American Experiment
Other
Would Rent Control Make Housing More Affordable?
Nevada Policy Research Institute
In Free-Speech Win, Oklahoma House Sustains Governor’s Veto
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
The Network in the News
- In the Star News Network, the California Policy Center highlights the corruption of climate science.
- In WisPolitics. Center of the American Experiment points out the electricity rate hikes will continue until Wisconsin’s policy improves.
- In the Colorado Springs Gazette, the Independence Institute notes climate change lawsuits could cause tremendous harm.
- In his recent column, John Hood notes most voters agree with work requirements for welfare programs.
- A RealClearPolicy, the Mississippi Center for Public Policy considers criminal justice reform efforts in America.
- In the Alaska Watchman, the Alaska Policy Forum notes the Alaska Legislature’s ‘irresponsible’ $8 billion budget exacerbates financial woes.
- In The Hill, the Libertas Institute points out Europe’s new AI law threatens US firms.
- At National Review, the Washington Policy Center argues Washington’s new climate curriculum attacks ‘rational thinking.’
- In a piece for The Hill, Steve Johnson notes the debt ceiling debate is a wakeup call for the states to be less dependent on the federal government.
- At Fox News Digital, Freedom Foundation examines an analysis that shows Randi Weingarten accrued tax-payer pension for time spent outside school classroom.
- At Townhall, Freedom Foundation continues its series of articles on the Colorado teachers’ unions.
- At RealClear Markets, Randolph May from the Free State Foundation sees an opportunity to check the expansion of the Administrative State with the potential fall of Chevron deference.
