Announcements
The American Experiment noted that states with the lowest taxes gained a net of 157,000 domestic residents in 2025, while those with the highest taxes lost 447,600.
The Georgia Center for Opportunity welcomed Travis Thorne to its team, aiming to strengthen families and promote generational change.
Independence Institute held its 40th anniversary gala celebrating four decades of advancing personal and economic liberty in Colorado.
The MacIver Institute highlighted the debate in Wisconsin over two bills regarding wake surfing regulations, emphasizing the importance of local control and property rights.
A recent analysis from the Mackinac Center highlighted that Michigan enacted only 74 laws in 2025, emphasizing the importance of killing bad bills.
The Pacific Research Institute reported that a High-Speed Rail Authority official admitted the federal government is not a reliable partner in advancing California’s rail initiatives.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation found that the rollout of Texas’s Education Freedom Accounts generated unprecedented demand, with over 20,000 applications submitted.
Freedom through the Courts: The Latest Litigation Efforts across the Network
The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in Hedgepeth v. Britton, calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case and protect the First Amendment rights of government employees arguing that the government cannot punish them for exercising their constitutional rights.
The Liberty Justice Center has filed a lawsuit on behalf of a Penn State University professor repeatedly denied a promotion despite evidence of her qualifications. The case Kelly v. Pennsylvania State University Extension challenges Penn State’s use of DEI as a condition for promotion.
Solutions from the States: This Week’s Policy Briefs
The Buckeye Institute called on lawmakers to continue advancing energy reforms that will further the state’s effort to supply low-cost, reliable electricity.
The Independence Institute highlighted concerns regarding Senate Bill 42, which seeks to bypass Colorado’s TABOR limitations, potentially reducing taxpayer refund.
The Kansas Policy Institute noted that higher property taxes and assessed value increases are making it difficult for homeowners to budget for necessities.
The Maine Policy Institute urged Gov. Janet Mills to veto LD 1666, citing constitutional concerns regarding the expansion of ranked-choice voting for state elections.
The Mountain States Policy Center raised concerns about Washington’s proposed “Millionaire Tax,” arguing it’s a deceptive way to introduce a permanent state income tax.
The Pacific Research Institute released an issue brief detailing how corporate “practice of medicine” laws are consolidating healthcare and driving up costs for patients.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty released a new model policy that emphasizes the legality and necessity of sex-separated bathrooms in schools.
Tracking Positive Reforms: Updates from Network Affiliates
Wisconsin: The state Senate voted in favor of the “Red Tape Reset,” moving the legislative package closer to becoming law and aiming to streamline regulatory processes within the state (Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty).
Wisconsin: The Wisconsin State Assembly and state Senate acted on AB 614 / SB 611, known as the Teacher Bill of Rights, that would create protections for teachers and students while enhancing classroom accountability (Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty).
Jobs in the Network
Free Enterprise Project Associate — National Center for Public Policy Research (Washington, DC)
North and South Carolina State Director — American Conservation Coalition (Virtual in North Carolina)
Senior Operations Manager — Foundation for Excellence in Education (Virtual)
Policy News from the States
Topics:
K-12 Education
New phase-out rules for Minnesota’s K-12 Education Credit
American Experiment
Examining Minnesota’s 2025 Blue Ribbon school nominees
American Experiment
Keith Ellison takes credit for doing nothing
American Experiment
Akina reminds Hawaii radio listeners there’s no such thing as free lunch
Grassroot Institute
House Bill 588 — Virtual Public Education (0)
Idaho Freedom Foundation
5 Ways state law empowers Chicago Teachers Union and how it can change
Illinois Policy Institute
Florida Politics: Florida’s A+ Plan To Help ‘Plan B’ Families
James Madison Institute
House bill a shot in the arm for Schools of Choice law
Mackinac Center
CLIMBING: 215 families per day are signing up for Idaho parental choice tax credit
Mountain States Policy Center
“May hurt somebody” – Lawmakers who opposed Idaho’s parental choice tax credit advance new attack
Mountain States Policy Center
More Evidence on Grade Inflation in Our Schools
Show-Me Institute
Mind the Body
Texas Public Policy Foundation
IRG: DPI’s Refusal to Explain $368,885 Secret Waterpark Meeting Risks Invalidation of New Exam Standards
The Institute for Reforming Government
Meghan Portfolio and Frank Ricci Appear in The Daily Caller
Yankee Institute
Energy and Environment
New, updated climate action plan!
American Experiment
Join our team as an Energy Policy Fellow!
American Experiment
Governor Newsom: Turn Up the Delta Pumps!
California Policy Center
Large Scale Desalination Belongs in California’s Water Strategy
California Policy Center
The Outstater
Indiana Policy
Another sign that climate alarmism is winding down
John Locke Foundation
Trump to dump key piece of climate alarmism’s foundation
John Locke Foundation
Water law: Stopping the leaks in the Montana Constitution
Mountain States Policy Center
Wolf plan needs to develop more quickly
Pacific Research Institute
Keep an Eye on the DATA Act in Washington, D.C.
Show-Me Institute
Fool Me Twice: Why the Texas Grid is Still Vulnerable to Winter Storms | Part 3: How Texas Can Solve Its Winter Reliability Problem
Texas Public Policy Foundation
The sun is stronger than our electric grid — and we are defenseless against it
Texas Public Policy Foundation
Legislators Not Curious About Cost, Safety or Efficiency As Massive Battery Mandate Rushes Toward Approval
Thomas Jefferson Institute
Healthcare
Minneapolis Yoga Karens Have an Anti-ICE MELTDOWN
American Experiment
A rare state fraud conviction
American Experiment
Hammond Calls for Restraint on Medicaid Spending
Empire Center
Testimony of Bill Hammond on the Health and Medicaid Budget for FY 2027
Empire Center
Join compact for psychology to improve mental health treatment
Grassroot Institute
House Bill 611 — Insurance, prior authorization (-4)
Idaho Freedom Foundation
Senate Bill 1264 — Rural health transformation (-3)
Idaho Freedom Foundation
Florida’s CHINA Prevention Unit Is a Needed Step To Safeguard Health Data
James Madison Institute
Arizona Republicans should stop trying to ban mRNA vaccines
Pacific Research Institute
Facing Medicaid Fraud Allegations, California Changes The Subject
Pacific Research Institute
Chocolate cake is real food, too
Pacific Research Institute
When a Landmark Trial Misses the Mark
The Pelican Institute for Public Policy
Housing Affordability
Fraud tourists plead guilty
American Experiment
California Forever Stagnating
California Policy Center
Allow two ADUs per residential lot in all of Maui County
Grassroot Institute
The kind of playbook Hawaii lawmakers need
Grassroot Institute
House Bill 610 — Homestead exempt, religious mission (-1)
Idaho Freedom Foundation
House Bill 583 — Short-term rentals, regulations (+1)
Idaho Freedom Foundation
Illinois county updated tax sale, participation dropped
Illinois Policy Institute
Senior discount won’t solve Michigan’s property tax problem
Mackinac Center
Nine More Massachusetts Towns Subject of State Litigation over MBTA Communities Act Noncompliance
Pioneer Institute
Put a Ring on It!
Texas Public Policy Foundation
Connecticut’s “Emergency” Housing Law: Fair Share Returns, Deadlines Start Slipping
Yankee Institute
Jobs and State Economies
College degrees no longer guarantee an edge in the job market
American Experiment
House Bill 609 — Tax exemptions, data centers (+1)
Idaho Freedom Foundation
Waste watch: Illinois gives $45M to select business groups
Illinois Policy Institute
Illinois has 8th–largest racial wealth gap in the nation
Illinois Policy Institute
Illinois improves on one company’s list for people leaving
Illinois Policy Institute
Chicago Peace Initiative: Reducing violence with jobs
Illinois Policy Institute
Chicago business activity growing for first time since November 2023
Illinois Policy Institute
Emancipator and Economic Nationalist
ITR Foundation
Interest rates should be left to the private market
Mackinac Center
Proposed Patent Tax Threatens the Research That Powers Growth
Pacific Research Institute
Domestic Outmigration is Hollowing Out Massachusetts’ Workforce and Economy
Pioneer Institute
Ayotte: Maximize economic freedom, and New Hampshire will thrive
The Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy
On Lincoln’s Birthday, Remember the Right to Rise
The Pelican Institute for Public Policy
State Budgets
After hiking property taxes, Minneapolis raids fire department funds to ramp up spending on legal aid for immigrants
American Experiment
Why the 2026 legislature must avoid a massive bonding bill
American Experiment
Automatically abolish state positions that remain vacant for 48 months
Grassroot Institute
Abolish state jobs after five years of vacancy to reallocate funds
Grassroot Institute
House Bill 498 — Legislature, private counsel (0)
Idaho Freedom Foundation
Waste watch: Illinois gives $1.5M to ICE opponents
Illinois Policy Institute
Did Jefferson Raid Its Water Fund? Lawsuit Puts City Finances Under Scrutiny
ITR Foundation
ITR Foundation Brings the Property Tax Conversation Directly to Iowans
ITR Foundation
Fox News: Gradually, Then Suddenly, Blue State America Is Heading for Financial Disaster
James Madison Institute
Idaho considers an amendments convention
Mountain States Policy Center
Cowboy State needs to protect itself from shifting federal priorities
Mountain States Policy Center
Despite Newsom’s Claims, California is One of America’s Least Fiscally Stable States
Pacific Research Institute
A Super Bowl of an Episode
Pacific Research Institute
RGF talks to KOAT TV about roads
Rio Grande Foundation
Two Presidents. Two Paid Days Off. One Taxpayer
Yankee Institute
YI President Carol Platt Liebau Featured in The Hartford Courant
Yankee Institute
Accountability? Oversight Requests Go Unanswered at the Capitol
Yankee Institute
YI President Carol Platt Liebau Appears on Capitol Report: After Hours
Yankee Institute
Workplace Freedom
Approvals for Minnesota’s Paid Family and Medical Leave scheme are running 26% above forecast
American Experiment
The $921M Special Interest Machine That Controls California
California Policy Center
It’s Time for Arizona’s Supreme Court to Protect ‘The Most Precious Liberty Man Possesses’
Goldwater Institute
House Bill 601 — Government unions (+3)
Idaho Freedom Foundation
Other
Alabama Senate passes App Store age verification requirement
Alabama Policy Institute
Alabama Senate unanimously passes App Store Accountability Act
Alabama Policy Institute
‘Metro Surge’ winds down
American Experiment
Habeas and squatter’s rights
American Experiment
Man charged with online anti-ICE threats
American Experiment
Habeas 800
American Experiment
American Experiment will lead 250th anniversary celebration
American Experiment
Require criminal convictions before law enforcement can seize assets
Grassroot Institute
Clarify definitions to improve emergency management law
Grassroot Institute
House Bill 602 — Idaho courts, foreign law (+1)
Idaho Freedom Foundation
Senate Bill 1258 — Distilleries, liquor license (-1)
Idaho Freedom Foundation
Senate Bill 1251 — Attorney general, duty (0)
Idaho Freedom Foundation
House Bill 607 — Privacy & safety in public buildings (0)
Idaho Freedom Foundation
House Bill 581 — Idaho Supreme Court Rules, Legislative Review (+1)
Idaho Freedom Foundation
House Bill 570 — Reckless driving (0)
Idaho Freedom Foundation
Book: ‘Decade of Disunion’
Indiana Policy
Wisconsin Is Ripping and Replacing What Already Works
James Madison Institute
National Review: Thirty Candles for the Internet’s Foundation
James Madison Institute
Congress hears concerns about foreigners bankrolling left-wing groups
John Locke Foundation
Dems’ demands could bring immigration enforcement to halt
John Locke Foundation
State Board of Elections proposes rules to remove non-citizens from voter rolls
John Locke Foundation
Head of ‘bipartisan’ AGs group is clearly anti-Trump
John Locke Foundation
Hamas replenishes military arsenal amid demands to disarm
John Locke Foundation
Clear majority of Americans fear nuclear war
John Locke Foundation
Removing illegals from census could limit Democrats’ power
John Locke Foundation
Mamdani hires multiple anti-Israel activists
John Locke Foundation
Expand the special prosecutor law for election law violations
John Locke Foundation
Assessing the United States’ unique sphere of influence
John Locke Foundation
Trump lacks FDR’s willingness to work through Congress
John Locke Foundation
Boosting the argument for viewpoint diversity in universities
John Locke Foundation
The bare necessities of emergency rule making
Mountain States Policy Center
The Gordon Chang Report–Arctic: The Next Cold War
Pacific Research Institute
Watch: The Public Safety Climate in the City of St Louis
Show-Me Institute
Border on the brink as cartel drones force US to act after years of paralysis
Texas Public Policy Foundation
National Marriage Week: A Time for Reflection
Texas Public Policy Foundation
When Political Rhetoric Goes Too Far
Texas Public Policy Foundation
The Network in the News
At RealClearMarkets, the Beacon Center’s Patrick Gleason highlights the unsung economic boost brought about by full expensing.
At RealClear, the Commonwealth Foundation’s Nathan Benefield considers how to address rising healthcare costs.
In The Washington Times, the Free State Foundation’s Randolph May considers why we should celebrate Lincoln’s birthday.
In the New York Post, the Independent Institute’s Lloyd Billingsley notes Californians should consider a lawsuit for reparations—on behalf of victims of DEI.
In his column for The Detroit News, the Mackinac Center’s Mike Reitz highlighted Mackinac’s recent event with four former governors and their thoughts on civility.
At Fox News Online, The James Madison Institute’s Dr. Bob McClure highlights how blue state America is heading for financial disaster.
