Announcements and Network Initiatives

  • The Commonwealth Foundation released new polling assessing voter sentiment around the Pennsylvania state budget battle and key policy proposals being debated in Harrisburg. 
  • The Illinois Policy Institute highlighted how Illinois lawmakers passed almost 100 bills on final day of session.
  • Kathleen Chandler, the Independence Institute’s Director of the Citizen Involvement Project, held her popular class, A Citizen’s Guide to Civic Involvement. Several class attendees have already applied and were placed on statewide boards and commissions.
  • Race & Liberty in America: The Essential Reader, edited by Independent Institute Research Fellow Jonathan Bean was reviewed in Law & Liberty.
  • Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation pointed out that controlling local government spending is essential to delivering tax relief.
  • The Mackinac Center for Public Policy, along with a broad coalition of leading business associations, taxpayer advocates and policy organizations, issued a joint letter to Michigan legislative leaders urging them to reject a proposed digital advertising tax.
  • The Mississippi Center for Public Policy’s Douglas Carswell highlighted the state’s surprising economic rise and policy leadership.
  • The Mountain States Policy Center highlights a new legal challenge to Wyoming’s recently expanded ESA program.
  • As South Carolina faces a brutal heatwave this week, the Palmetto Promise Institute noted the pressure on the state’s power grid is hitting new highs.
  • The Platte Institute considers what Nebraska can learn from the “Mississippi Miracle” in education.
  • The James Madison Institute points out st⁠a⁠t⁠e th⁠i⁠nk tanks are democracy’s secre⁠t⁠ weapon.
  • During a union-organized rally outside the Governor’s Mansion to pressure Connecticut Governor Lamont to sign S.B. 8, a digital billboard truck operated by Yankee Institute was vandalized. The vehicle, displaying messages critical of a controversial labor-backed bill that would give striking workers unemployment benefits, was struck with rocks.

Success Stories

  • Connecticut: The Yankee Institute commended Governor Ned Lamont for vetoing two detrimental bills: S.B. 8, which would have provided unemployment benefits to striking workers, and H.B. 5002, an omnibus housing bill that threatened local decision-making. 
  • Louisiana: Governor Jeff Landry signed “One Door” legislation, which integrates the state’s workforce and social services programs (Pelican Institute and Alliance for Opportunity).
  • Ohio: In Ohio, the General Assembly sent a pro-growth budget to the governor that includes a flat income tax, closes tax loopholes, reins in Medicaid, and offers smart property tax reforms (The Buckeye Institute).
  • Oklahoma: The Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs highlighted key policy wins from the 2025 legislative session, including reducing the income tax, strengthening school choice, reining in bureaucratic overreach, and restoring balance to the legal system.
  • Texas: Governor Abbott signed housing reforms that allow more housing types, ease conversions, end protest petitions, and relax lot-size rules (Goldwater Institute).
  • Wisconsin: The Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down Governor Evers’s partial veto blocking funding for literacy reforms, siding with the Legislature and clearing the way for policies championed by the Institute for Reforming Government to move forward.

Freedom through the Courts: The Latest Litigation Efforts across the Network

  • The Buckeye Institute filed its opening brief on appeal in Ream v. U.S. Department of Treasury with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Challenging the federal government’s ban on the home distilling of spirit beverages, arguing that this ban exceeds Congressional authority under Article I of the U.S. Constitution and violates the Tenth Amendment.
  • The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in Center for Arizona Policy v. Arizona, calling on the Arizona Supreme Court to recognize that Proposition 211—Arizona’s expansive donor disclosure requirement—is not only unconstitutional, but also dangerous. 
  • Attorneys from the Freedom Foundation filed a request for certiorari on behalf of Terry Klee, an employee with the California Department of Correction and Rehabilitation (CDCR), who is suing the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 51, (IUOE) as well as the California State Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation asserting Klee’s request to leave the union was illegally delayed for nearly two years.
  • The Liberty Justice Center filed an amicus brief in defense against judicial overreach in Jonathan R. v. Morrisey, arguing that the Court should affirm dismissal of a lawsuit where the plaintiffs are asking federal courts to act beyond the scope of the judicial branch’s constitutionally delegated authority.

Solutions from the States: This Week’s Policy Briefs  

  • Frontier Institute released the Free Market Healthcare Hub—which maps where verified Direct Patient Care (DPC) clinics are operating in Montana.
  • The Garden State Initiative analyzed New Jersey’s job report for May.
  • The John Locke Foundation (North Carolina) explained how cutting incentives for renewables would help consumers.
  • Out-of-pocket drug costs for seniors may rise under President Trump’s Most Favored Nation proposal if policymakers do not address the role of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), according to a brief released by Pioneer Institute.
  • The James Madison Institute explains why AI regula⁠t⁠⁠i⁠on could crush Flor⁠i⁠da’s economy.

Tracking Positive Reforms: Updates from Network Affiliates  

  • North Carolina: The Legislature passed the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, sending it to the governor (John Locke Foundation).
  • New Hampshire: Lawmakers are considering several reforms, including expanding Right-to-Try, removing zoning regulations, and allowing open enrollment.

Policy News from the States

K-12 Education

Alaska’s Schools Are Rolling In Cash, So Why Aren’t The Results Better?
Alaska Policy Forum

Education Freedom: A Lifeline for Tennessee Families
Beacon Center

California Accepts Billions In Federal Funds For Education While Defying Federal Law
California Policy Center

New Hampshire Is First in New England to Enact Universal School Choice
Cascade Policy Institute

Six Reasons Why Hold Harmless is Anything But for Kids
Commonwealth Foundation

Vallas: Illinois Returning To Soft Bigotry Of Low Expectations
Illinois Policy Institute

State House Budget Proposal Respects School Leaders
Mackinac Center

If A Child Can’t Read, The System Has Failed
OCPA

Why Missouri Needs Universal Open Enrollment
Show-Me Institute

Utah School Districts Need Better Guidance On Parent Access To Curriculum. Here’s What The State Can Do
Sutherland Institute

Energy and Environment

The Grand Water Bargain
California Policy Center

President Trump Shows Strong Support For Snake River Dams
Mountain States Policy Center

More Nuclear For New York, Not Minnesota
Center of the American Experiment

Albany’s Looming Energy Shock
Empire Center

Trump’s (Other) Nuclear Option
Mackinac Center

This Week Proves Again Wind and Solar Cannot Take the Heat
Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy

Healthcare

Walz Raises A New Health Care Tax To Lower Premiums, But Rates Skyrocket Anyway
Center of the American Experiment

Medicaid Fraud Issues Arising Nationwide
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs

With Medicaid Expansion, Oklahoma Has Higher Costs, Worse Outcomes
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs

Want Lower Health Care Costs? Start With Better Policies
Washington Policy Center

Housing Affordability

Legislators Return To Bad Ideas For Confronting Housing Costs
Mackinac Center

Jobs and State Economies

Taxpayers Getting Jobbed
Badger Institute

6 Ways State Policy Affected Your Wallet In 2025
Georgia Public Policy Foundation

Does Connecticut Have a City Problem?
Yankee Institute

State Budgets

Cursing the Rain—and Tax Cuts—Cuz Everyone Benefits
Badger Institute

Budget Resources are Limited—Even in California
California Policy Center

Capitol Watch: 2025 Legislature Leaves Town With Budget Out Of Balance
Center of the American Experiment

Illinois Pensioners Earn Nearly $25K More Retired Than Those Working To Support Them
Illinois Policy Institute

Senate And House Unveil Spending Proposals During Budget Gridlock
John Locke Foundation

Understanding The 2025 State Budget Pension Fight
Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy

Is It Time for a Local Government Balanced Budget Requirement?
Texas Public Policy Foundation

Other

Colleges Must Educate for Freedom
Cardinal Institute

Philly Teacher Union Threatening to Strike is Mostly Performative
Commonwealth Foundation

Congress Should Avoid A 600% Tax Increase On Charitable Foundations
Mountain States Policy Center

Why Transparency in Collective Bargaining Matters for Nevada Taxpayers
Nevada Policy Research Institute

The Network in the News

Robert Alt’s, president and chief executive officer of The Buckeye Institute and founder of PROFOUND CLIMBINGTM, summit of Mt. Everest was featured in The Columbus Dispatch. 

At RealClearPennsylvania, the Commonwealth Foundation’s Stephen Bloom and Megan Martin highlight Governor Shapiro’s lack of leadership on Pennsylvania’s budget.

In the New York Post, Empire Center’s Cam Macdonald highlights the New York Governor’s growing list of delays on climate initiatives that would cause New Yorkers pain.

In the New York Daily News, Empire Center’s Bill Hammond highlights how Andrew Cuomo is still gaslighting New Yorkers about how many people died in nursing homes.

At National Review, the Georgia Public Policy Foundation’s Kyle Wingfield points out Georgia’s fiscal responsibility is a lesson for Washington.

At Governing, the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii’s Mark Coleman and Jonathan Helton highlight policy lessons from the Maui fires.

The Independence Institute’s Rob Natelson shared pearls of wisdom from Justice Thomas in a piece published in Townhall. 

In The OC Register, the Independent Institute’s Kristian Fors notes governments in burn areas should eliminate single-family zoning, along with land-use controls such as height restrictions.

The John Locke Foundation’s Kelly Lester was published in Reason Magazine on the effect of deportations on our food supply. Her report was also featured on WUNC (an NPR station) on the radio, in an article on their website.

In the Washington Times , Mackinac Center for Public Policy’s Jarrett Skorup examines union involvement in the nationwide No Kings protests.

In The Hill, The James Madison Institute’s William Mattox notes education freedom is on the march.

At RealClearPolicy, the Yankee Institute’s Andy Fowler makes the case for a moratorium on state AI laws.