State Policy Network
Week in Review: June 17, 2022

Announcements

The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief with the US Supreme Court in Glacier Northwest v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, calling on the court to protect employers’ property rights from union vandalism and sabotage and uphold the high court’s recent decision in Cedar Point Nursery v. National Labor Relations Board.

The Mackinac Center’s Michael Van Beek testified in front of the Michigan House Oversight Committee on bills that would limit bureaucrats’ emergency powers. 

The Maryland Public Policy Institute supported a new, bipartisan coalition of citizens called Renew Baltimore, which aims to revive Baltimore City’s struggling economy by taking tax reform directly to voters. Renew Baltimore proposes a referendum in the current election cycle to carefully lower the property tax rate over six years and cap it at a more competitive level.

This Week on SPN.org

Success Stories

The Commonwealth Foundation commended the Pennsylvania Senate’s passage of two bills that would reduce Pennsylvania’s corporate net income (CNI) tax. With the second-highest CNI tax rate in the nation at 9.99 percent, Pennsylvania’s business tax climate stifles opportunity and job creation.

The Goldwater Institute highlighted how the Arizona Legislature is considering a bill that expands eligibility for the Arizona Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program to every family in the state.

Former Mackinac Center President Larry Reed will be honored with the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland.

The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, prevailed on behalf of the three middle-school aged boys in Kiel, Wisconsin, who were charged with sexual harassment under Title IX for ‘mispronouncing’ a fellow classmate.

The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty had a win for small business, farm, and property owners when Outagamie County Circuit Court Judge Mark McGinnis struck down the Town of Buchanan’s transportation utility fee holding that the fee violates strict levy limits imposed on counties and municipalities in state law. WILL sued the Town of Buchanan in September 2021, on behalf of Wisconsin Property Taxpayers, Inc. 

Solutions from the states: This week’s policy briefs

Americans for Fair Treatment released the latest “Where do your dues go?” report, which analyzes how AFT spends their members’ dues.

The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty issued the fourth edition of the Apples to Apples report, a definitive and objective analysis of Wisconsin school performance across sectors.

Policy News from the States

Education

Historic Victory for Alaska’s Children

Alaska Policy Forum

Parents Don’t Have To Settle For A Race To Mediocrity

Badger Institute

With Education ‘On The Wrong Track,’ Oklahomans Support Parental Choice

Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs

School Officials Move To Cancel Learning Assessments And Automatically Pass Every Student

Washington Policy Center

Energy

Rolling Blackouts May Be Coming to Upper Midwest—Including Iowa

Center of the American Experiment

Government Accountability

The Culture Of Government Secrecy Undermines Democratic Accountability

Washington Policy Center

Housing

Portland Needs More Than Zoning Changes to Increase Housing Supply

Cascade Policy Institute

Inflation/Gas Prices

Inflation Cost the Average Minnesota Household Over $700 In April

Center of the American Experiment

For Higher Gas Prices, First Do No Harm

Center of the American Experiment

May CPI Set A New Recent Record For Inflation

Georgia Center for Opportunity

High Fuel Taxes Worsen Illinois Families’ Pain From Inflation

Illinois Policy Institute

Federal Reserve Increases Interest Rate by .75%, Largest Since 1994

John Locke Foundation

Prices Are Still Going Up, Up, Up

John Locke Foundation

Salt into the Wound: Nevada Gas Tax Among Highest in U.S.

Nevada Policy Research Institute

Inflation Crisis Is Vexing, But Tax Cuts Can Help

Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs

Lawmakers Pass a Budget Bill, But No Deal Yet on Gas Price Relief

Pacific Research Institute

Jobs And State Economies

Shampooers Don’t Need 1,000 Hours Of Training

Empower Mississippi

GSI Analysis: May ’22 Jobs Report—Jobs Recovery Slows As Unemployment Rate Declines

Garden State Initiative

Why One Woman Turned Down A $70k Job Due To The Benefits Cliffs

Georgia Center for Opportunity

Illinois Adds Jobs In April, Still Missing 146,300 From Pandemic

Illinois Policy Institute

Economic Fallout From Covid Shutdowns

John Locke Foundation

Deadlines and Licensing Are a Recipe for Disaster

Libertas Institute

Universal Licensing Recognition: Why Not Michigan?

Mackinac Center

Real Reform Needed To Address Maine’s Struggling Economy

Maine Policy Institute

State Budgets and Spending

5 Ways WV Can Spend Its Covid Relief Funds

Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy

Tracking Kansas ARPA Funds

Kansas Policy Institute

Tax Reform Continues

Pelican Institute

Will A Good June Revenue Forecast Finally Lead To Tax Relief For Inflation-Hammered Washingtonians?

Washington Policy Center

Workplace Freedom

What Is A Labor Union, And What Could Unions Mean For Alabama?

Alabama Policy Institute

Divisive, Political Randi Weingarten

Americans for Fair Treatment

PSEA Pressures Members To Oppose Workplace Rights Bills

Americans for Fair Treatment

Those Who Can’t Teach Math: California Teachers Association’s Massive Drop In Membership

California Policy Center

Other

The Dignity Of Work

Empower Mississippi

2022 Legislative Viewpoints Wrap-Up

Frontier Institute

The Solution To Gun Violence Isn’t Public Policy

Texas Public Policy Foundation

Think Tanks in the News

State Government On Pace For Another Record Surplus; Will It Give Alabamians A Break?

Alabama Policy Institute at Alabama Today

Quarter Of Spending By Powerful Teachers Union Went To Political Causes: Report

Americans for Fair Treatment cited in the Washington Examiner

Teachers Union Boss Raked In Massive Six-Figure Salary While Fighting To Close Schools

Americans for Fair Treatment cited at The Daily Caller

The Baby Formula Shortage Is Government Made

Center of the American Experiment  in the St. Paul Pioneer Press

Biden’s Plan For Fighting Inflation Offers Little Hope

Center of the American Experiment in the Star Tribune

Good Luck Taxing The Rich When They’re Gone

Commonwealth Foundation in The Philadelphia Inquirer

Excellent Education Shouldn’t Be For The Select Few

Commonwealth Foundation at The Philadelphia Citizen

Upstate New York Will Foot The Bill For Downstate’s Clean Energy Costs

Empire Center in the Buffalo News

Albany’s Latest Gift To The Teachers Union Will Shackle NYC Schools — And Their Budgets

Empire Center in The New York Post

Rather Than Forgiving Student Debt, Hold The Education Establishment Accountable

Foundation for Government Accountability in the Washington Examiner

New State Election Laws Result In Larger Turnout

Georgia Public Policy Foundation in the Dalton Daily Citizen

University Toxicity: America Should Stop Nursing the Viper

Independence Institute in The Epoch Times

The Cost Of Compliance

Independence Institute in The Gazette

Policymakers Should Help Students Achieve, Not Lower The Bar

Mackinac Center in The Hill

Stabenow’s Out of Touch Quip About Her Electric Car

Mackinac Center at RealClearPolicy

Smuggled Smokes: More Potential Profit For Organized Crime

Mackinac Center in The Hill

Just Where Are All Of Michigan’s Jobs?

Mackinac Center in the Alpena News

Inflation A Cause For Government Spending Caution

Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs in the Journal Record

Telehealth Is Critical To Our Healthier Future

Pacific Research Institute in the Washington Examiner

Veterans’ Health System Must Be Replaced — Period

Pacific Research Institute in Newsmax

Even In Blue California, Leftism Has Its Limits

Pacific Research Institute in The Daily Caller

Misguided Antitrust Proposal Handcuffs U.S. Tech Companies And Gives China The Edge

The James Madison Institute in the Miami Herald

Reject Harmful Budget Cut To Help Students In Need

Thomas Jefferson Institute in the Richmond Times-Dispatch

WILL Represented Students In A Title IX Investigation By The Kiel School District. We Didn’t Use The ‘Chaos’ To Bully Anybody.

Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Anti-price Gouging Rules are a Harmful, Knee-Jerk Response to Baby Formula Crisis

Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty at RealClearPolicy

Events and Opportunities

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

Organization: