September 27, 2024
Week in Review: September 27, 2024
Listen to the highlights here!
Bluegrass Institute’s Jim Waters discussed the importance of the amendment on the ballot in Kentucky this November that would clarify that school choice legislation is constitutional. The Institute also released a new video on empowering parents through this amendment.
Commonwealth Foundation named Andrew Lewis, a former Pennsylvania state representative, as their new president and CEO. Lewis replaces Charles Mitchell, who served in the role for eight years.
Empower Mississippi launched Mississippi Ready. Focused on ensuring every child has access to quality, personalized K-12 education, the initiative aims to break down barriers and prepare Mississippi students for success.
John Locke Foundation announced the addition of David Hogg to its Board of Directors. A seasoned entrepreneur and real estate developer, Mr. Hogg brings valuable experience and a deep commitment to free-market principles.
Kansas Policy Institute published a report showing that many Kansas superintendents will not permit school board members to conduct needs assessments in each school in contradiction of state law. In addition, the Institute’s investigative journalists found that a county election officer helped a Washington, DC group send 43,000 advance ballot applications despite being told not to do so by the Secretary of State.
Mackinac Center announced that its president, Joseph Lehman, has joined the Institute for the American Worker’s board of directors.
Mountain States Policy Center analyzed Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories recently released 2024 Index of Freedom report which highlights potential advantages or challenges that exist when doing business in each state. The report ranked Idaho third, finding the state “an attractive place to do business.”
Texas Public Policy Foundation released For the Sake of Kids, a new report which focuses on family dynamics in Texas, identifies barriers to marriage and family formation in the Lone Star State, and proposes a pro-family policy agenda for the state.
Washington Policy Center hosted its Annual Dinner in Spokane, featuring Dennis Prager and a panel on solutions to homelessness with Dr. Robert Marbut and William Baldwin. The night was well attended and full of energy, with Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Let’s Go Washington founder Brian Heywood receiving the Center’s “Champion of Freedom” awards. The Center also released a guide to help parents understand the Seattle Public School Budget and published their 2024 fall magazine, which gives insights into the state’s economy and much more.
Bluegrass Institute filed an amicus brief in support of expanding education opportunities in Kentucky. The brief urges the state Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that legislation funding public charter schools is unconstitutional.
The Buckeye Institute called on Ohio’s Eighth District Court of Appeals to hold the city of Cleveland accountable in Buckeye’s Wos v. Cleveland, a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of all nonresidents of Cleveland who filed a municipal income tax return with the city and received their refund more than 90 days after filing their return. In addition, the Newark Advocate featured Ream v. U.S. Department of Treasury—The Buckeye Institute’s case to overturn the federal ban on home distilling.
Goldwater Institute is helping homeschool moms Velia Aguirre and Rosemary McAtee in a lawsuit fighting back against Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes’ attempts to twist state law to block parents from using funds from the state’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program to buy materials such as pencils, erasers, flashcards, etc.… Over the summer, AG Mayes conjured up an illegal new rule requiring that to qualify for reimbursement, each ESA purchase must be explicitly called for in a curriculum—a burden that blocks purchases of everything from kids’ books to the Constitution.
Institute for Free Speech filed an amicus brief in Americans for Prosperity v. Meyer, urging the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to reverse the district court’s decision dismissing a First Amendment challenge to Arizona’s Proposition 211, which imposes unprecedented donor disclosure rules and is being sold as model legislation in states all around the country.
Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty filed a lawsuit against the village of Sister Bay for an irrational rule that limits the number of bedrooms vacationers can use in a rental home and restricts where they can sleep. The Institute also filed an amicus brief in the Wisconsin Supreme Court on behalf of the Brown County Taxpayers Association in response to Governor Evers attempts to alter a bill that authorized increases to the property tax levy limit for school districts.
Ohio: A successful strategic outreach campaign resulted in helping 450 teachers and public school employees opt out of their union, despite unreasonable opt-out window periods imposed by the Ohio Education Association and Ohio Association of Public School Employees which restricted workers exercise of their First Amendment rights to a few days every year in the state (Freedom Foundation).
New Jersey: The New Jersey Education Association lost at least 3 percent of its members from 2022 to 2023—proof that outreach efforts in the state are empowering public workers with the freedom to choose and power to act (Freedom Foundation).
Bluegrass Institute issued a brief which reveals the flaws in a report that opponents of school choice use to argue that education freedom would decimate public education funding in Kentucky. Bluegrass points out that these arguments ignore the savings and academic achievement being produced in a multitude of states where parents have such options.
The Buckeye Institute outlined a two-pronged approach that Ohio policymakers should adopt to ensure a dependable, affordable, and dispatchable energy supply. Affordable, reliable energy remains vital for the state, especially as the state adds cutting-edge technology and data centers to its economic and manufacturing portfolio.
Idaho Freedom Foundation posted briefs which detail how recent tax cuts in the state are not nearly enough, mapping a path to ending property taxes in the state, and call for state surpluses to be refunded back to the taxpayer while the tax rates are reduced.
Mountain States Policy Center released briefs which argue that that local and state broadband agencies must prioritize reforms that empower the market—not bureaucracy—to drive broadband expansion forward and provide an in-depth review of the important ballot measures before Mountain States voters this Fall.
Pacific Research Institute published a brief which analyzes Gov. Newsom’s special session proposal on gas prices and storage, finding that the plan would cause California’s economy to lose $1.4 billion in potential growth in the first year and $18.5 billion compounded by the 10th year,
Washington Policy Center issued briefs which break down the concerning reading and math proficiency scores for public school students, highlight cost overruns with the South Lake Union Streetcar, expose false claims from opponents of the initiative to repeal the capital gains income tax, reveal the flaws with proposed price controls in healthcare, and analyze the costs associated with the Federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program.
Ohio: The Office for Civil Rights in the Department of Health and Human Services announced it will initiate a federal investigation into Cleveland Clinic concerning racially discriminatory patient care — an incremental step that will hopefully lead to the confirmation that patients of all races and ethnicities are now welcome for treatment at all Cleveland Clinic programs (Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty).
Topics:
Rochester District Threatens School Closings if Voters Reject Referendum Again
Center of the American Experiment
Education Tax Credits Work
Commonwealth Foundation
Education Democracy vs. Education Freedom
Frontier Institute
Rethinking Transportation for Georgia’s K-12 Schools
Georgia Public Policy Foundation
No More Pencils, No More Books in Arizona
Goldwater Institute
What Are Empowerment Scholarship Accounts?
Goldwater Institute
Candidate Survey: Who Is Running for Chicago School Board?
Illinois Policy
Tracker: Who Chicago Teachers Union Is Funding in Chicago’s School Board Race
Illinois Policy
Fact-Checking Gov. Cooper’s Veto of School Choice Bill
John Locke Foundation
Tracking Wisconsin’s Recent Public School Budget Scandals
MacIver Institute
Homeschool Parents Support ESAS, Tax Credits
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
Vitamin Parents Part 2: Twin Moms Converting a Decent Traditional School Experience Into a “Wow” Homeschool One
Pioneer Institute
New School Options in the Heartland: Hybrid and Micro Schools
Show-Me Institute
Utah’s 2025 Education Policy Agenda
Sutherland Institute
AB 460 Hands Water Bureaucrats Even More Power
California Policy Center
Congress Comes to Santa Nella to Talk About Water
California Policy Center
Newsom’s “Special Session” on Gasoline Prices
California Policy Center
More Humility Needed
Cascade Policy Institute
Minnesota Power Planning Two Utility-Scale Solar Farms
Center of the American Experiment
WSJ: ‘Good Luck’ Holding Renewables Grid Together
Center of the American Experiment
‘Really Tough’ for U.S. Solar Industry to Compete with China
Center of the American Experiment
A Roadmap for Energy Reform
Palmetto Promise Institute
The Future of AI in Healthcare Depends on Patient Trust
James Madison Institute
Caregiver Bills Will Hurt Caregivers
Mackinac Center
Michigan House Should Reject SEIU’s Grotesque Scheme
Mackinac Center
Minneapolis to Convert Deserted Downtown Offices into Apartments
Center of the American Experiment
Milwaukee’s Proposed Budget Includes Property Tax, Fee Increases
MacIver Institute
Minnesotans Cite Taxes, Rules as They Flee to Wisconsin
Badger Institute
Fall into Financial Freedom
Cardinal Institute
Misleading ‘Fact Check’ on Inflation Gets a ‘D’
Center of the American Experiment
Downtown Minneapolis Office Space Sells for $10.25 Per Square Foot
Center of the American Experiment
Three Mile Island to Reopen for Microsoft Data Centers
Center of the American Experiment
Gov. Shapiro’s Permitting Reforms Not Enough
Commonwealth Foundation
Pennsylvania Workers Cannot Afford to Lose US Steel
Commonwealth Foundation
David Bahnsen: Author of “Full-Time: Work and the Meaning of Life”
Empower Mississippi
Will New Legal Theory Save Hawaii from the Jones Act?
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Illinois Had 1,183 Mass Layoffs in August, More Than 9-in-10 Stemming from Business Closures
Illinois Policy
Young Voters Will Not Settle for Today’s Unattainable Economy
James Madison Institute
Regulatory Smoke: The Economic Impacts of Proposed FDA Tobacco Regulations
John Locke Foundation
Michigan Is Falling Behind
Mackinac Center
Price Gouging Bills Miss the Mark
Mackinac Center
Oklahoma Needs to Cut Red Tape
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
Alabama Too Heavily Dependent on Federal Funds and Government Employment
Alabama Policy Institute
Fargo Credit Outlook Takes Hit, Increasing Pressure for Budget Cuts
Center of the American Experiment
IRG Preliminary Analysis: Governor Evers’ Agencies Request $5.88 Billion in New Funding
Institute for Reforming Government
State Budget Picture: Structural Imbalance or Propaganda?
John Locke Foundation
WMATA Needs Anthony Williams
Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy
The Case for CT’s Fiscal Guardrails
Yankee Institute
How Much Will Teachers’ Union Spend on Politics This Year?
Center of the American Experiment
PSEA Admits Key Allegations from Freedom Foundation Complaints
Freedom Foundation
WFSE Can’t Even Remember Who It Isn’t Representing
Freedom Foundation
Report: Chicago Teachers Union New Chicago Political Machine
Illinois Policy
Albert Gallatin, Renaissance Man
Frontier Institute
Floridians Fear Data Insecurity
James Madison Institute
The Ambiguity of Care
Pelican Institute
Edward Achorn on Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War, & Slavery
Pioneer Institute
Bob Griffin, board member at the Alaska Policy Forum, in an op-ed for Must Read Alaska says that residents should be holding the district accountable for ‘unneeded school buildings,’ especially as student population shrinks.
In The Highland County Press, The Buckeye Institute highlights how government regulations, zoning requirements, and other bureaucratic restrictions make housing more expensive and criticizes the Biden-Harris administration’s “strategy to ‘fix’ these government-made problems with government-mandated rent control.”
Rachel Langan, senior education policy analyst at the Commonwealth Foundation, in an op-ed for Inside Sources says two schools within seven minutes of each other have vastly different student outcomes—and that ‘arbitrary caps still waitlist’ many students from the comparatively successful school.
David Osborne, senior fellow on labor policy with the Commonwealth Foundation, in an op-ed for The Daily Signal says that, if elected, Harris will carry Biden’s torch as ‘most pro-union president.’
Andrew J. Lewis, president of the Commonwealth Foundation, in an op-ed for Newsweek says ‘lowering the cost of living’ is key to winning in the Keystone state.
Stacy Stankey, staff attorney at the Goldwater Institute, in an op-ed for the Herald-Review says ‘Don’t invent illegal taxes to pay for pickle ball.’
Jon Caldera, president of the Independence Institute, in an op-ed for the Denver Gazette says ‘CDOT’s malfeasance disregards Coloradans’ true transit needs.’
In The Hill, the Independent Institute’s Benjamin Powell reveals what is driving up prices and decreasing housing supply.
In The Hill, the Independent Institute’s Christopher Calton points out that Federal down payment assistance promises to recreate the student-debt spiral in the mortgage and housing markets.
Madi Clark, senior policy analyst for Mountain States Policy Center, in an op-ed for The Center Square says promoting energy choice will protect natural gas for homes and businesses.
In the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Pacific Research Institute’s Wayne Winegarden and Kerry Jackson document how state and local climate change lawsuits increase energy burdens for consumers.
William Smith, senior fellow at Pioneer Institute, in an op-ed for Town Hall says federal price controls will cause crashing domino effect of drug availability.
