Announcements
The Center of the American Experiment returned to the Minnesota State Fair to discuss the concerning state of third-grade reading proficiency.
The Grassroot Institute shows how Hawaiian property tax relief applications can be submitted through Hawaii’s county websites.
The Illinois Policy Institute reported that Illinois added only 20,300 jobs over the past year— maintaining a rank of 46th in post-pandemic job recovery.
The Mountain States Policy Center highlighted how opponents of parental choice in education are reviving their favorite scare tactic: the “voucher” boogeyman.
Open the Books announced the Adam Andrzejewski Memorial Scholarship, a $25,000 annual award supporting young leaders in transparency and accountability.
The Rhode Island Center for Freedom & Prosperity co-signed a letter supporting Seafreeze’s petition to suspend Vineyard Wind construction.
A new analysis from the Washington Policy Center shows how much Washington squanders environmental funding.
Success Stories
Florida: Two decades of reforms have made Florida the “Gold Standard” for election integrity, with secure systems, high turnout, and timely results setting the model for other states(The James Madison Institute).
Oklahoma: The Reason Foundation hailed Oklahoma’s pension reforms as a national model, with the state’s system now over 100 percent funded(Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs).
Freedom through the Courts: The Latest Litigation Efforts across the Network
The Buckeye Institute won another legal victory, this time against the education union for Buckeye’s client in Queen v. NEA. Immediately after Buckeye filed the case, the Ohio Education Association agreed to settle.
Solutions from the States: This Week’s Policy Briefs
Cascade Policy Institute pointed out the Oregon Department of Transportation’s funding crisis stems from spending choices and debt, not revenue.
Public employees are leaving their unions—the Freedom Foundation shows a remarkable 63 percent increase in opt-outs in New York.
The Goldwater Institute challenged the University of Kentucky over its ongoing noncompliance with the state’s new DEI ban.
Testimony submitted by Grassroot Institute of Hawaii urged the Honolulu City Council to allow homeowners below age 65 to benefit from lowered property taxes.
Indiana Policy released a white paper aimed at improving access to scholarly research on healthcare financing issues in Indiana.
Kansas Policy Institute published research showing the State General Fund will go from a $3 billion surplus to a $400 million deficit in four years due to excessive spending.
Mississippi Center for Public Policy identified key steps necessary for the state to embrace school choice.
Pacific Research Institute examined failures in wildfire prevention and response, calling for common-sense reforms to protect Californians.
The Show-Me Institute notes that while nuclear power provides nearly 20% of electricity, new construction has stalled despite rising demand.
Policy News from the States
Topics:
K-12 Education
Will recent new legislation end Minnesota’s substitute teacher crisis?
American Experiment
MN teacher pension fails to meet assumed rate of return, again
American Experiment
Despite fully budgeted positions, districts face teacher shortages and low salaries
American Experiment
As Math and Reading Proficiency Went Up, ‘Cut Scores’ Went Down
Empire Center
Mike Hurst: School Choice Showdown
Empower Mississippi
Back to school in Chicago: fewer than 1-in-3 students read at grade level
Illinois Policy Institute
Injecting social justice into math doesn’t add up
John Locke Foundation
Report Ranks Oklahoma 50th in Education, Warns Money No Cure-All
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
Amid State and National Backlash, OSSAA Still Touts DEI
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
LNH Reform Opens Doors for More Special-Needs Children
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
OCPA Condemns OSSAA Defiance of Open-Transfer Law
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
How Massachusetts Let School Accountability Slip—and Student Achievement with It
Pioneer Institute
Nebraska’s State Funding for K-12 Education Has Doubled Since 2020
Platte Institute
Missouri’s Stagnant Reading Scores
Show-Me Institute
Faith-Based Charter Schools and the Future of School Choice with Andy Smarick
Show-Me Institute
Energy and Environment
Independence Institute Tells the Public Utilities Commission to Reconsider Forced Electrification Rulemaking
Independence Institute
Progressive press blames Colorado voters for state budget hole
Independence Institute
Will climate alarmists dump their dogs?
John Locke Foundation
Let the Line 5 Tunnel project go ahead
Mackinac Center
Ohio’s energy policy outshines Michigan’s
Mackinac Center
Idaho landowners fight federal power grab
Mountain States Policy Center
California’s Counterproductive Approach to Reducing GHG Emissions
Pacific Research Institute
Newsom: Green For Some, Not For All
Texas Public Policy Foundation
State AG Sues Trump Administration For Doing What WA State Also Does
Washington Policy Institute
Healthcare
West Virginia’s Certificate of Need Laws Are Failing You
Cardinal Institute
COVID lockdowns had negative impact on personalities
John Locke Foundation
The Trump Administration Is Reviving Its Worst Drug Pricing Policies
Pacific Research Institute
Housing Affordability
Help homeowners over age 65 cope with higher property assessments
Grassroot Institute
Numerous red flags in Bill 53 put affordable housing growth at risk
Grassroot Institute
Here Come the Democratic Socialists
Pacific Research Institute
What’s at stake in Albuquerque’s City Elections?
Rio Grande Foundation
Historic Preservation Commissions Tread on Property Rights
Texas Public Policy Foundation
When Newsom’s Lips Move On California Crime And Homelessness, You Know He’s Lying
Texas Public Policy Foundation
Jobs and State Economies
Montana Data Centers: Separating Fact From Fiction
Frontier Institute
‘New’ HTA board taking off with same old baggage
Grassroot Institute
Chicago printer LSC cuts 180 jobs of 444 statewide losses in July
Illinois Policy Institute
Chicago businesses fall to 10-year low, Mag Mile down by half
Illinois Policy Institute
Snow: An Avian Parable on Polarization
Indiana Policy
The Great Smoot-Hawley Myth Persists
ITR Foundation
Blockchain on the farm: Boosting NC’s agricultural future
John Locke Foundation
Trump artificial intelligence plan a good start
Mackinac Center
When Raising the Wage Means Shrinking the Workforce
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
Never Gonna Give You Up: Will High-Speed Rail Ever Be Scrapped?
Pacific Research Institute
BU Law’s Keith Hylton on Intellectual Property, Patents, & the Law
Pioneer Institute
“It cost what?” —KC Streetcar Announces Opening of New Extension
Show-Me Institute
Newsom: Lies, Damn Lies, And Statistics
Texas Public Policy Foundation
State Budgets
Walz’s Omnibus Ruled UNCONSTITUTIONAL
American Experiment
Updated Revenue Numbers Expose Idaho’s Spending Problem
Idaho Freedom Foundation
Idaho’s DOGE wants efficiency? This proposal checks all the boxes
Idaho Freedom Foundation
Red state institutions infected by the left, too
John Locke Foundation
Deficits on the horizon as state spending explodes
Kansas Policy Institute
OSSAA Generates Millions Annually
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
The Taxman Cometh: City of Burleson
Texas Public Policy Foundation
Workplace Freedom
WASHINGTON: Helping workers gain independence in record numbers
Freedom Foundation
It’s been 1,805 days since Chicago Teachers Union’s last “annual audit”
Illinois Policy Institute
Connecticut Union Raises. Incompetence or Worse?
Yankee Institute
Other
Minnesota Man grabs life by the throat
American Experiment
KING NEWSOM DRAWS HIS DISTRICTS
California Policy Center
The Character of Montana
Frontier Institute
The Outstater
Indiana Policy
Florida: The Gold Standard in Elections Administration From Bush v. Gore to Present 2000-2025
James Madison Institute
Hammill’s anti-Trump musings hold no Force … er, force
John Locke Foundation
Lawsuit claims DC cops misclassified murders as accidents
John Locke Foundation
Shenna Bellows’ Response to DOJ Misses the Mark on Election Law
Maine Policy Institute
Former Wisconsin Democrats Push Back on President’s Mail-in Ballot Focus
MacIver Institute
WILL Asks Trump DOJ to Look into Wisconsin Voter Roll Red Flags
MacIver Institute
Albuquerque Mayoral candidate information: surveys and conversations
Rio Grande Foundation
From Warsaw to Washington: The Battle for Sovereignty
Texas Public Policy Foundation
WILL Calls on USDOJ to Probe Wisconsin Election Integrity
Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty
The Network in the News
In the Bay to Bay News, the Caesar Rodney Institute’s David T. Stevenson points out the nuclear energy revolution is upon us.
At RealClear, the Commonwealth Foundation’s Megan Martin points out Pennsylvania’s bad energy policies are to blame for high electricity costs.
At RealClearPolitics, the Illinois Policy Institute’s Micky Horstman highlights the results of Chicago’s experiment with progressive governance.
Independence Institute’s Vanessa Rutledge authored an op-ed for Complete Colorado on the issues with Colorado’s SB24-205, a bill aimed at regulating AI.
In Quillette, the Independent Institute‘s Christopher Calton argues that San Francisco’s harm reduction policies have failed, turning the city into a cautionary tale of misguided progressive drug policy.
In the Laconia Daily Sun, the Josiah Bartlett Center’s Andrew Cline points out competition in education is an opportunity, not a crisis.
In the Washington Examiner, the Free State Foundation’s Randolph May notes our constitution was made for capitalism, not socialism.
A Mackinac Center client (and Detroit Free Press reporter) authored an op-ed featured in USA Today highlighting Mackinac’s recent lawsuit challenging a government FOIA violation.
In The OC Register, the Pacific Research Institute’s Steve Smith considers the rise of juvenile crime in California.
In National Review, the Rio Grande Foundation’s Paul Gessing points out that whatever happens to the future of EVs, they should compete on an even playing field with other vehicles..In The Hill, the Washington Policy Center’s Todd Myers points out politics won’t help the planet.
