Announcements
The Alabama Policy Institute highlighted Alabama opting into the Federal Education Freedom Tax Credit program.
Cascade Policy Institute announced an opening for a part-time Development Assistant to enhance its operational effectiveness and support its mission.
The Idaho Freedom Foundation teamed up with the Goldwater Institute and called for an investigation into public universities’ defiance of theFreedom from Indoctrination Act due to improper DEI-related coursework exemptions.
ITR Foundation noted rising property taxes have become the central issue for the 2026 legislative session.
Concerns about economic implications from Kansas Policy Institute highlighted that the Kansas City Chiefs deal exemplifies the negative consequences of subsidies.
The MacIver Institute highlighted concerns over Wisconsin’s decision to consolidate its IRIS Medicaid contract.
The Mackinac Center methodology for tracking national union opt-outs was validated by academic researchers—confirming that it is the most robust measurement for opt-outs.
The Mountain States Policy Center noted Idaho’s participation in the nation’s first federal education choice tax credit scholarship program.
New Jersey Policy Institute congratulated Dr. Lily Laux on her appointment as New Jersey’s next Commissioner of Education.
The Rhode Island Center for Freedom & Prosperity announced that Dr. Stephen “Doc” Skoly has stepped down as Chairman to pursue a congressional seat.
The Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy congratulated Governor Abigail Spanberger on her inauguration, calling for collaboration and principled debate.
Success Stories
North Carolina: The establishment of Burbrella Microschools faced initial challenges due to zoning laws, but John Locke Foundation helped pave the way for serving neurodivergent and underserved learners, creating crucial educational access.
Wisconsin: The Wisconsin State Senate passed the “Equality Amendment,” which will appear on the November 2026 ballot(Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty).
Wisconsin: The Wisconsin Senate passed Joint Resolution 116, which aims to curb executive overreach by preventing tax increases.
Washington: Utility companies are no longer banned from showing the cost increases for clients due to the Climate Commitment Act tax, giving a win for tax transparency and government accountability(Washington Policy Center).
Freedom through the Courts: The Latest Litigation Efforts across the Network
The Buckeye Institute appealed DuPuis v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Buckeye’s union wage theft case against AFSCME and Toledo Public Schools, arguing that the lower court erred in declaring that the contractual dispute was the exclusive jurisdiction of the State Employment Relations Board.
The Freedom Foundation authored an amicus brief to support The Buckeye Institute’s appeal, urging the Ohio Supreme Court to hear their case regarding wage theft.
The Goldwater Institute filed a friend of the court brief in federal court, requesting the judge to ensure transparency in the Maricopa County Sheriff’s case.
The Liberty Justice Center has submitted an amicus curiae for Calvary Chapel San Jose v. California, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to make it clear that no county, state, or law can impose excessive fines on our Constitutional right to freedom of religion.
Solutions from the States: This Week’s Policy Briefs
The Cardinal Institute addressed healthcare policy complexities in West Virginia—providing resources to clarify ongoing debates over healthcare regulations affecting costs and availability.
Defending Education submitted a public comment addressing the proposed rule on nondiscrimination based on disability.
The Idaho Freedom Foundation noted that delaying federal tax conformity could hinder tax cuts benefiting Idahoans.
The Independence Institute noted that Colorado’s state government has expanded beyond reasonable limits despite TABOR, highlighting significant growth in budget composition.
ITR Foundation highlighted comprehensive property tax reform proposals introduced in Iowa, aiming to slow growth and reform structural issues.
The MacIver Institute announced it partnered with the Center of the American Experiment to analyze why GDP per capita in Wisconsin grew slower than the rest of the country.
The Maine Policy Institute released a report about alternatives to New England’s energy policies—evaluating economic and reliability impacts to address the region’s energy crisis.
The Mountain States Policy Center emphasized the need for Washington to seriously consider nuclear power to meet the rising demand on the electric grid.
The Show-Me Institute pointed out that Missouri’s Sunshine Law, enacted in 1973, requires more than good intentions to ensure public transparency in government processes.
Tracking Positive Reforms: Updates from Network Affiliates
The Badger Institute noted that the Wisconsin Assembly passed a bill preventing data centers from passing utility costs to ratepayers.
Jobs in the Network
Communications Director — Opportunity Arkansas (Remote)
Vertical Video Specialist — Reason Foundation (Washington, D.C. or Virtual Office)
Individual Giving Officer — Washington Policy Center (Seattle, Washington)
Policy News from the States
Topics:
K-12 Education
When teachers’ unions turn schools into political stages
American Experiment
The massive Minnesota fraud the media is missing
American Experiment
Anti-ICE Chaos STORMS Minnesota Church
American Experiment
Five Minnesota Public Schools defying expectations in third grade reading
American Experiment
Teachers’ union directs millions to social justice and political causes
American Experiment
The Wisconsin Higher-Ed Reform Model
Badger Institute
Portland Ends School Choice Policy for Jefferson High School
Cascade Policy Institute
Idaho Freedom Foundation Calls for Investigation into University Defiance of Landmark DEI Ban
Idaho Freedom Foundation
Chicago Public Schools students thrive through academic rigor
Illinois Policy Institute
Donors can help Illinois students, but will Pritzker let them?
Illinois Policy Institute
Florida Politics: Unused K-12 Scholarship Funds Are a Feature, Not a Bug
James Madison Institute
Ending discrimination against homeschool graduates
John Locke Foundation
Parental choice surge in Idaho: Trends and projections on state’s new tax credit program
Mountain States Policy Center
Six things to watch: Friday’s Idaho Supreme Court hearing on parental choice tax credit
Mountain States Policy Center
Whistleblower: OU dental school prioritizing high-tuition foreign…
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
Newsom’s Proposed Ed Budget: Big Spending, Little Results
Pacific Research Institute
How education foundations spend public funds
Texas Public Policy Foundation
Energy and Environment
Carbon-free wood
American Experiment
Why Fossil Fuel Use Must Increase: The Numerical Reality
California Policy Center
Offshore wind: known and speculative national security risks
John Locke Foundation
Virginia governor’s political honeymoon is over quick
John Locke Foundation
A New Chapter for New Jersey
New Jersey Policy Institute
A “Free” Heat Pump Conversion for Oil and Propane Customers, Paid for by Virginia Ratepayers
Thomas Jefferson Institute
Proposed Commission Would Expand Beyond Electricity to Oversee All Forms of Energy in Virginia
Thomas Jefferson Institute
Healthcare
Cured of Cancer—and Now Advocating for Others’ Right to Try
Goldwater Institute
House Bill 491 — Emergency mental health first aid (0)
Idaho Freedom Foundation
Federal auditors seek $1B from California for illegal benefits
John Locke Foundation
How might WHO change to win back American support?
John Locke Foundation
Is health care a right?
Mountain States Policy Center
Alexis Wilkins Interview Of Sally Pipes
Pacific Research Institute
New Issue Brief: Biopharma Drug Makers Are Not the Most Profitable Players in Health Care
Pacific Research Institute
Enhanced Obamacare subsidies are gone. They deserve to stay that way
Pacific Research Institute
Housing Affordability
New property tax assessed valuation limit legislation saves money, eliminates prior concerns
Kansas Policy Institute
Trump and Newsom are odd bedfellows on housing policy
Pacific Research Institute
Live By the Sword, Die By the Sword
Show-Me Institute
Jobs and State Economies
Adjusted for cost of living, wages in North Dakota pass those in Minnesota
American Experiment
Why has Minnesota’s per capita income growth lagged that of the United States since 2014?
American Experiment
Newsom Has His Own Massive State Fraud Problem
California Policy Center
Governor Tate Reeves: Momentum and Good Policy
Empower Mississippi
7 things to know about the Chicago Bears stadium debate
ITR Foundation
Possible Tariff War Over Trump’s Greenland Ambitions Would Hurt North Carolina Farmers
John Locke Foundation
Want to boost Michigan? Stop punishing R&D
Mackinac Center
Hern launches policy institute to expand opportunities for future…
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
Newsom’s ‘Sunny California Tale’ Masks Nightmare of Thousands Leaving the State
Pacific Research Institute
Liberty Action Agenda
Texas Public Policy Foundation
Who is leaving Washington and why the politicians need to care
Washington Policy Center
State Budgets
Fraud never sleeps
American Experiment
Governor Evers’ property tax relief plan fails to constrain property tax growth
Badger Institute
The Empire Center Reacts to Governor Hochul’s Budget Address
Empire Center
Trim special funds before hitting pause on historic income tax cuts
Grassroot Institute
Alternatives to ‘pausing’ Hawaii’s income tax cuts
Grassroot Institute
Federal Tax Conformity for Tax Cuts Should Happen Now
Idaho Freedom Foundation
Hidden, Off-Budget, and Continuous Funding: Changes Coming to the Idaho Spending Index
Idaho Freedom Foundation
Waste watch: Illinois grants $4M to private theaters
Illinois Policy Institute
Illinois state lawmakers boost their own pay
Illinois Policy Institute
Colorado lawmakers in denial over self-inflicted budget wound – Independence Institute
Independence Institute
Reserves are a Cushion, Not a Strategy
ITR Foundation
Affordability Is a Real Problem, But Price Controls Aren’t the Solution
ITR Foundation
Trump accused of playing with fire with Fed moves
John Locke Foundation
Give credit where due on the roads deal
Mackinac Center
Minnesota’s fraud crisis should prompt Oklahoma lawmakers to act
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
Statement in Response to Transportation for Massachusetts Report and MassBudget and Policy Center
Pioneer Institute
Policy Pathway for Principled Tax Reform
Platte Institute
2026 Missouri State of the State | Roundtable
Show-Me Institute
Other
Habeas Corpus floods the zone
American Experiment
Competing “pressers” exposes dangerous lack of coordination between local and federal law enforcement leaders in Operation Metro Surge
American Experiment
Calling a shovel a shovel
American Experiment
USA v. Miranda
American Experiment
Blood in the streets (w/ raw video)
American Experiment
Cascade Policy Institute is Hiring – Development Assistant
Cascade Policy Institute
Welfare Fraud Threatens Top-Tier Democratic Presidential Nominees Ahead Of 2028
Foundation for Government Accountability
House Bill 493 — Commercial sexual activity, penalty (-1)
Idaho Freedom Foundation
House Bill 490 — Reckless driving (-1)
Idaho Freedom Foundation
The case for defunding public radio – Independence Institute
Independence Institute
Overturning the Twentieth Century? – Independence Institute
Independence Institute
Was Elbridge Gerry the “Federal Farmer”? – Independence Institute
Independence Institute
The Independence Institute’s Rob Natelson Garners 40th Supreme Court Citation – Independence Institute
Independence Institute
SCOTUS justices ‘scold’ Hawaii in Second Amendment case
John Locke Foundation
Radical islamists, far left unite to fight America
John Locke Foundation
Taxpayer-funded group seeks donations to bail out anti-ICE protesters
John Locke Foundation
M.L.K.’s campaign of ideas
Mackinac Center
A church service interrupted, and a warning about America’s future
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
Accused criminal’s reelection highlights Oklahoma election-date…
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
Sexual Assault at California’s Colleges and Universities: A Policy and Public Safety Issue
Pacific Research Institute
Federal letter puts striking-worker law under a bright light
Washington Policy Center
SB 6134 would better protect workers, employers and taxpayers
Washington Policy Center
The Network in the News
In a Letter to the Editor for The Wall Street Journal, the Beacon Center’s Patrick Gleason points out a disagreement over how best to phase down the income tax is a great argument for state legislators to be having.
In the Yellowhammer News, the Alabama Policy Institute’s Stephanie Smith notes Alabama lawmakers can curb Big Tech’s grip on kids by passing HB161.
In The West Virginia Record, the Cardinal Institute’s Jessica Dobrinsky and Jessi Troyan examine the unintended costs of regulating Pharmacy Benefit Managers.
In the Daily Local News, the Commonwealth Foundation’s Kevin Kane points out Governor Josh Shapiro is making Pennsylvania’s spending problems worse.
In the Billings Gazette, Frontier Institute’s Kendall Cotton points out collectivism is a cold killer.
In The Hill, the Georgia Center for Opportunity’s Josh Crawford argues that the recent national decline in violent crime shows that focusing on direct law enforcement and accountability—not on so-called “root causes” like poverty or inequality—is what’s driving crime down.
In the Hawaii Reporter, the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii’s Keli’I Akina notes that instead of pausing historic tax cuts, Hawaii lawmakers should reallocate current state funding.
At National Review, Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation’s John Hendrickson considers how Iowa can defend property rights through property tax reform.
At RealClearMarkets, the Pacific Research Institute’s Wayne Winegarden notes competition begets better banking data than regulation.
In The Hill, the Foundation for Government Accountability’s Tarvis N. Taylor argues the MAHA movement could sway the midterms.
