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 state think tank 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

  • After twenty-five years of leadership, Gary Beckner, the longtime executive director of the Association of American Educators, is retiring from his full-time role at the national, non-union, professional teachers association he founded. Effective January 1, Colin Sharkey will be elevated to executive director of AAE and AAE Foundation. 
  • Jamie McPherson has joined the Beacon Center of Tennessee as Vice President of Development. She previously served as Vice President at USA Today Network Tennessee/ The Tennessean, the state’s largest newspaper network, and as Publisher of the Nashville Post. 
  • SPN member organizations are invited to apply for inclusion in Policy Circle‘s State Resource page, which allows organizations to collaborate and display themselves as a resource for discussion groups.
  • Kelly Smith has joined Yankee Institute as Development Director. Kelly previously held a development role at Bluegrass Institute in Kentucky. 

Success Stories

  • The Alabama Policy Institute helped drive meaningful reform in Alabama, resulting in decreased taxes and the freedom for ride share companies to operate state-wide.
  • The Commonwealth Foundation‘s research and advocacy motivated lawmakers to enact a $25 million increase to the state’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit program, enabling 15,000 additional students each year to attend the school of their choice.
  • Two years after the Freedom Foundation first broached the idea with Spokane county officials to increase government transparency, the Spokane County Commission defied union opposition and voted to make collective bargaining negotiations with labor unions open to the public.
  • Thanks support from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Institute for Free Speech, Philanthropy Roundtable, and several other organizations, the Michigan Legislature passed legislation that protects donors from having to disclose their personal information, contributions, volunteer time, or other charitable to the government and public agencies. 
  • The efforts of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs were critical in stopping a new capital gains tax in Oklahoma. Combatting union executives’ claims that raising personal income taxes and imposing a capital gains tax was the only way to stop school shutdowns, the OCPA successfully educated the public and lawmakers on the negative impacts of such a policy.
  • Nebraska is already experiencing the results of the occupational licensing reform achieved by the Platte Institute earlier this year. Less than six months after the licensing requirements were repealed, new small businesses offering massage services for horses, dogs, and cats are starting and growing across the state.
  • Utah saw a win for both criminal justice reform and taxpayer relief thanks to the Sutherland Institute. The Institute guided the passage of state legislation eliminating regulatory obstacles to the conduct and expansion of The Other Side Academy. TOSA is a residential, vocational program that equips ex-felons for productive citizenship by earning its revenue in the free market instead of burdening taxpayers.
  • This week included two major wins for the Texas Public Policy Foundation. The Foundation’s 20-state lawsuit challenging the Affordable Care Act won! A US District Judge ruled last week that the ACA is unconstitutional. After putting Texas on the map as a criminal justice reform leader in 2007, TPPF’s state-based prison reform ideas are creating national impact. On December 18, 2018, the US Senate passed the First Step Act, a set of Texas-inspired criminal justice reforms that will improve the ways we help criminals re-enter society and reduce the likelihood of these individuals returning to prison. The Act represents the most sweeping criminal justice reform in the last 30 years and over a decade of diligent leadership on the part of Texas Public Policy Foundation. 
  • The Ohio Senate passed occupational licensing reforms that will allow for a review of existing and new licensing laws. The Buckeye Institute has been a leading voice on this issue in Ohio, recommending that lawmakers take important steps like this one to remove barriers to jobs, especially for young and minority workers. 
  • Virginia lawmakers were about to allow an automatic $4.5 billion tax increase over five years until the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy sounded the alarm and came up with a tax plan to address the problem, components of which are contained in many of the proposals this year. 
  • The Washington Policy Center‘s opposition to the state-wide carbon tax was instrumental in having it defeated at the ballot box. In addition to blog posts, formal publications, social media, and digital and print advertising efforts, the Center developed a “carbon tax calculator” to estimate individual household costs that was used by more than 15,000 people.
  • Earlier this year the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty won an important victory for academic freedom and free speech when the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that Marquette University’s termination of Professor John McAdams violated their contractual guarantee of academic freedom.

State Think Tanks in the News

  • In a recent Wall Street Journal article, The James Madison Institute highlighted the pivotal role education reform played in Florida’s hotly contested governor’s race. Approximately 100,000 African-American women voted for DeSantis, who supports school choice, over black Democratic candidate Gillum.
  • The Texas Public Policy Foundation‘s initiatives on healthcare, criminal justice reform, and even environmental regulations are, gaining increasing recognition and support from the White House.

Research & Initiatives

  • The Beacon Center of Tennessee released its 13th annual Tennessee Pork Report, which sheds light on the amount of government waste and fraud happening in the state. And for those who have ever considered policy reports boring, Beacon’s latest release may have you doing a double-take. The final report plays on holiday visuals, themes, and humor to talk about government mismanagement in a relatable — and dare we say — enjoyable way.
  • North Carolina lawmakers just passed a bill expanding corporate welfare in the state. In response, the Civitas Institute has been actively publishing articles and conducting media interviews to ensure a fiscally conservative perspective is still being heard. 
  • A new Competitive Enterprise Institute report, Fear Profiteers: How E-cigarette Panic Benefits Health Activists, reveals how health activist groups and state and federal agencies jeopardize public health by promoting the unfounded notion that e-cigarettes are as harmful – or more harmful – than cigarettes.
  • The Freedom Center of Missouri is launching a new initiative to defend Americans’ freedom to give and receive private charity. The Center is preparing to launch twin lawsuits in federal court in cases where government officials cracked down on citizens helping the needy because they didn’t have prior government permission to do so. 
  • In preparation for 2019, the Maine Heritage Policy Center helped enact crucial reforms to the Maine ballot referendum process this year to guarantee greater transparency in signature gathering. 
  • A new report released by the Pacific Research Institute, concludes shows that the big government approach to fighting ‘global warming’ taken by California and New York hits working class and minority communities the hardest.
  • How can school choice and federal aid work together to improve education opportunities and outcomes for low-income students? Show-Me Institute’s latest paper explores the possibilities for evolving the Title I program to meet students’ needs.  

State Policy Commentary

  • A recent report found 91% of Mississippi parents are satisfied with the Special Needs Education Scholarship Account (ESA) Program and recommends the state remove the lottery requirement to allow those on the waitlist to progress without being subjected to the random selection process. Empower Mississippi notes that more than 200 families are currently on the ESA waitlist.
  • The Philanthropy Roundtable points out Michigan’s proposed Personal Privacy Protection Act will not impact campaign contribution disclosures or inhibit investigations of nonprofit fraud but it will prevent local officials from abusing their power and protect donors’ personal information.