Week in Review: April 8, 2022

Announcements

Illinois Policy announced the promotion of Amy Korte to executive vice president (formerly leading the policy team) and Adam Schuster to vice president of policy (formerly budget and tax director).
The Liberty Justice Center filed a federal lawsuit challenging Alaska’s reporting requirements for independent expenditure groups and their donors. The measures adopted in Ballot Measure 2 violate the First Amendment and will be in effect for upcoming statewide elections.
The week that Elon Musk waded into the debate about free speech and social media, Mississippi Center for Public Policy launched a video showing why more federal regulation is not the answer.

This Week on SPN.org

Voters want education transparency and accountability

Success Stories

Ohio is one step closer to The Buckeye Institute-inspired adopting universal occupational license recognition which would lower existing barriers to employment and attract new workers and businesses to the state. House Bill 203 was passed out of committee and heads to the House floor.
Mississippi’s governor signed into law the largest tax cut in state history—the final step in fully adopting income tax reform that will give families and taxpayers immediate relief and simplify the state’s tax code. Empower Mississippi and the Mississippi Center for Public Policy celebrated the reform, which will eliminate the four-percent tax bracket—the first $10,000 of taxable income—and reduce the top rate to a flat four percent, giving Mississippi a much more competitive income tax rate.
Georgia’s House and Senate passed a bill that will gradually reduce the state income tax by 2029 and institute a flat tax. Georgia Public Policy Foundation praised the reform as a significant step to ensure Georgia remains an economic leader and a place families, businesses, and individuals can prosper.
Thanks to a first-in-the-nation policy solution crafted by the Goldwater Institute, Arizona has passed legislation to address a common source of corruption in American states and cities: union release time. Through release time, public employees at the local, state, and federal levels are allowed time away from their government responsibilities to work for a private union, but they are still given their full government pay and benefits—all of which are paid for by taxpayers. Goldwater’s Release Time Reform Act ensures these taxpayer funds are devoted to projects and expenses that serve the public’s needs and are not coopted to pay for the political and lobbying activities of private labor unions.
Several Educations Savings Accounts bills passed out of the House Education Committee in Louisiana this week. Daniel Erspamer, CEO of the Pelican Institute for Public Policy, noted the importance of this step for Louisiana families: “ESAs give kids in Louisiana the ability to receive a tailored education that best fits his or her needs regardless of what zip code they live in. It’s time to build on this momentum and ensure every Louisiana kid has a bright future.”

Solutions from the States: This Week’s Policy Briefs

Regulatory Sandboxes: Bringing Innovation to Montana
Montana is a state well worth visiting for the scenery, but what if it could be a destination for innovative businesses, too? This new report from the Frontier Institute explores how regulatory sandboxes could be a helpful mechanism for attracting new ideas and enterprises to the state.

Why indexing unemployment is the natural next step for Arkansas
Arkansas has an opportunity to build one of the most financially sound unemployment trust funds in the country and help recipients find work and independence faster. The Foundation for Government Accountability’s latest policy brief explains how Arkansas can make progress by indexing unemployment benefits to economic conditions.

The 2021 A-F grading report card for Kansas public and private schools

It’s back! After pandemic-related absences in 2020, Kansas Policy Institute has once again released the A-F Grading report card for Kansas schools, based on 2021 state assessment scores. The report card is a tool for parents and other concerned citizens to understand how schools are truly performing.

FAQ: Lower taxes, better Texas plan

Increasing property taxes have caused many Texas families to struggle to keep their homes and make ends meet. Texas Public Policy Foundation’s recent FAQs break down TPPF’s proposed solution to eliminate maintenance and operation property taxes, which would ease tax burdens on Texans while keeping critical public services funded.