Week in Review: July 15, 2022

Announcements

The Alaska Policy Forum announced the launch of its annual leadership academy. This program will train, inform, equip and connect experienced and emerging leaders in Alaska on the founding principles of our country, and explore how those apply to the challenges our state and nation face today.

The Badger Institute continues to develop its reporting capacity and grow its research team with the hiring of seasoned journalist Mark Lisheron as full-time managing editor and the addition of another visiting fellow who will contribute to the Institute’s Mandate for Madison.

The Benjamin Rush Institute welcomed Cristian Villegas as its new Director of Programs.

In an amicus brief filed in Ohio Power Company v. Burns, The Buckeye Institute urged the Ohio Supreme Court to uphold two long-recognized checks on the government’s power to take property by eminent domain—that the government may only take property that is necessary and that courts can exercise the power of judicial review to ensure governments honor that limitation.

The Center for Independent Thought highlighted two recent Stossel TV videos: Stealing Homes and Rent Control. Each video explains the public policy issue in layman’s terms and could be a useful resource for the Network.

The Institute for Reforming Government announced the addition of Alex Ignatowski as its Director of State Budget and Government Reform. Alex has a strong background and experience in the Executive Branch including working in former Governor Scott Walker’s Administration as a cabinet-level position at Department of Financial Institutions, policy and legislative adviser at the Departments of Health Services, and adviser to several Public Service Commission commissioners.

The Mississippi Center for Public Policy launched “Spotlight,” a new weekly newsletter focusing on the special interests that hold back Mississippi.

The Mississippi Center for Public Policy hired Michelle Brodsky as its new Investigative Researcher/Journalist.

State Policy Network’s Tony Woodlief appeared on the Future of Freedom podcast.

The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty unveiled a new project, Restoring American Education—an initiative to close a critical gap by engaging parents, school board members, and teachers with an understanding of these concerns, trends, and of the alternative resources available.

The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, on behalf of aFlorida small-business owner, Christian Bruckner, filed a federal lawsuit against the Biden Administration challenging unconstitutional race and gender quotas in the new $1.2 trillion federal infrastructure law.

The Commonwealth Foundation highlighted how the Pennsylvania Legislature increased educational opportunities for Pennsylvania children, especially those from low- and middle-income homes, by including a $125 million expansion for tax credit scholarships in the recently passed state budget agreement.

The Josiah Bartlett Center highlighted how New Hampshire made emergency healthcare licenses permanent.

The Texas Public Policy Foundation noted a very large property tax cut is coming next session.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court held that absentee ballot drop boxes, used widely in the 2020 election, have no statutory authorization and Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) guidance encouraging their use was unlawful. The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty filed the lawsuit on behalf of two Wisconsin voters in June 2021 challenging the legal status of absentee ballot drop boxes after WEC issued guidance in 2020 contrary to state law.

A final rule proposal from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP) removes proposed burdensome regulations and licensing requirements that would have blanketed short-term rentals with pools and hot tubs in red tape. The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty submitted a comment in April urging DATCP to remove the regulations from their rule proposal.

A new report from the Tax Foundation and the Badger Institute offers five comprehensive tax reform options to enhance Wisconsin’s tax competitiveness by reducing harmful taxes on labor and investment.

The Caesar Rodney Institute‘s latest report urges the Delaware Governor to sign an executive order mandating that two regulations must be removed before a new regulation can be added.