By: Keri Anderson

This weekly round-up shares the latest news about what the network is doing to promote state-based solutions that will improve the lives of families, workers, and local communities. If you are an SPN member and have an update you’d like us to include in next week’s round-up, please email us at updates@spn.org (all submissions are subject to SPN approval).

Announcements

Success Stories

  • The Oklahoma Ethics Commission has dropped their proposed regulation of “indirect lobbying,” (a.k.a grassroots activism). The Oklahoma Council for Public Affairs was influential in rallying strong public opposition. The regulation would have effectively labeled almost anyone sharing an opinion about the Legislature as a lobbyist and subjected them to state regulations. Thanks to OCPA and several other organizations, Oklahomans can rest easy knowing their First Amendment rights have been protected.
  • Wisconsin football fans can rejoice! Thanks to the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty‘s quick actions last year, they will still have the freedom to tailgate near Lambeau field.

State Think Tanks in the News

  • The Alabama Policy Institute is dispelling the myths being promoted by critics of Alabama’s Accountability Act, a program that creates more education options for students.
  • Medicaid expansion is unsustainable, but is it also immoral? The Civitas Institute makes the case for why North Carolina needs to hold the line against expansion and seek alternative approaches to solving North Carolina’s healthcare problem.
  • The recent settlement of the Los Angeles teachers strike has the union declaring victory, but there are still many reasons why teachers should be concerned. The California Policy Center points out the “win” was very similar to the pre-strike offer. The Pacific Research Institute outlines how the deal is built on financial commitments the school district may not be able to afford, and teachers should consider leaving the union, not rallying around it.
  • The Commonwealth Foundation weighs in on Pennsylvania’s film tax credits, reminding lawmakers and citizens that “lowering a company’s tax bill to encourage job growth is a sound economic solution,” and it ought to be done for all businesses, not just those in favored industries.
  • The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii details how the Jones Act is failing to deliver on its intended purposes and explains why the stances being taken by its defenders are unreasonable.
  • The Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy points out that a recent New Hampshire editorial intended to debunk “dominant myths of free-market ideology” actually perpetuates them.
  • Unions have been reporting that the Janus decision hasn’t affected their membership rolls. The Mackinac Center shows why it is too early to determine what the impact will be, but they also note that history sides with worker freedom.
  • Mississippi lawmakers are considering reauthorizing administrative forfeiture and it’s making national news. The Mississippi Center for Public Policy appeared on Mississippi talk radio to discuss the issue.
  • “Want to understand how the government shutdown played out? Ask a card shark.” Nevada Policy Research Institute‘s Robert Fellner, a retired poker professional, offers insights.
  • Oregon’s House Bill 2643 may take the prize for the most audacious attempt so far to thwart the Janus decision. The Pacific Research Institute reports the bill would create a state and local government fund to pay the equivalent of each employee’s monthly dues directly to the union.
  • Putting off sales tax reform could bring Utah to the point of a crisis. The Sutherland Institute makes recommendations for reform that will address concerns while avoiding disaster.
  • The Texas Public Policy Foundation reports that over the last four years, residents of Georgetown, Texas, are now paying $1,200 more per household in electricity charges because of the mayor’s decision to shift the city’s municipal utility entirely to renewable power.
  • The Thomas Jefferson Institute points to other cities with $15 minimum wages to illustrate how raising the minimum wage in Virginia will hurt entry-level positions.
  • The Yankee Institute reports two lawmakers in Connecticut have filed a bill to make restrictions in union membership cards state law. The bill would allow an employee to resign from the union, but would only be allow this employee to opt out of paying dues during a designated window, per the terms on their membership card.

Research & Initiatives

  • Ballotpedia is tracking legislation dealing with public-sector employee union policy. So far there have been 35 pieces of legislation this year. See the complete list.
  • Garden State Initiative is publishing a five-part series focused on the true size of New Jersey’s expansive government, its spending in certain categories, and the reforms needed to make it work more efficiently. The first report, “Adding It All Up: An Impartial Look at NJ’s $117 Billion Government,” doesn’t seek to indiscriminately cut spending, but offers practical solutions that will maintain the quality of services offered and save $1 billion tax dollars.  
  • The Idaho state Supreme Court heard oral arguments earlier this week for Idaho Freedom Foundation‘s lawsuit challenging Medicaid expansion.
  • Maine is home to 113,862 regulations according to a recent report by the Maine Heritage Policy Center and Mercatus Center. The report shows which industries in Maine are most targeted by regulations and which government agencies do the most regulating.
  • Earlier this month, New Hampshire state workers filed a lawsuit against the State Employees’ Association of New Hampshire (SEA) asking the union to refund all dues and fees. The plaintiff is represented by the National Right to Work Legal Foundation.
  • Which metropolitan areas have the most economic freedom? The Reason Foundation identifies varying levels of economic freedom within a state, as well as across the country, in Ranking U.S. Metropolitan Areas on the Economic Freedom Index.
  • Sixty-three of the nation’s largest cities do not have enough money to pay their bills. That’s according to Truth in Accounting’s newest Financial State of the Cities report, an annual comprehensive analysis of the financial condition of the nation’s 75 largest cities. 
  • The Washington Policy Center uses a recent pass interference in the NFL to illustrate that Washington’s proposed capital gains tax is an income tax in disguise.
  • The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty has just released their Roadmap to Student Achievement to help improve student outcomes in Wisconsin. After two years in the making, the comprehensive policy toolbox includes proven strategies and specific policy solutions to increase education options and help high-performing schools expand. 
  • Wyoming is seeing proposed legislation that would introduce a corporate income tax and, by extension, a personal income tax. And it’s moving quickly. The Wyoming Liberty Group created a video, as well as a blog post, that outlines the problem and the impact passing such a law would have on the state economy.