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 member 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

  • America’s Future Foundation welcomes Talent Market’s Claire Kittle Dixon and tech industry entrepreneur Brian Wilson to its board of directors.
  • American Enterprise Institute’s Morgridge Fellow in Poverty Studies, Robert Doar, has been selected to succeed Arthur Brooks as the Institute’s twelfth president. 

Success Stories

  • Great news for Wisconsin residents — a reduction of the state’s occupational licensing and renewal fees has just been approved. Research from the Badger Institute shows that fees associated with getting or maintaining a license are among several licensing-related roadblocks to work for many Wisconsinites.
  • Thanks to the efforts of Judicial Watch, the State of California and County of Los Angeles will comply with federal law and begin the process of streamlining their voter registration rolls. They will remove as many as 1.5 million inactive registered names that may be invalid. 
  • Recognizing the impact federal tax reform would have on Virginia’s tax policy, the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy hired Steve Haner as a senior fellow to spearhead its tax reform work. Since the fall, legislators have regularly consulted Haner for advice in crafting their own tax legislation. Of the 15 tax proposals filed by the pre-filing deadline, 10 included elements of the Jefferson plan … and five were exact duplicates of the plan.

Research & Initiatives

  • The 1851 Center for Constitutional Law is spearheading efforts to overturn “ticket taxes” in Ohio. The state is taxing entertainment, such as movies and concerts, and explicitly earmarking that revenue for the operations of a private corporation that funds questionable public art.
  • The Acton Institute‘s popular podcast, “Acton Line,” is in the top 20 percent of podcasts worldwide.  The podcast features a range of unique segments from interviews with scholars and other influential figures to cutting-edge journalism.
  • The Beacon Center of Tennessee featured John Rich, live from the redneck Riviera, on a recent episode of their Facebook Live series Over-caffeinated.
  • Five more groups filed briefs in The Buckeye Institute‘s case Uradnik v. IFO bringing the total to 26 groups calling on the US Supreme Court to hear the case. The most recent filing came from the Cato Institute, Freedom Foundation, Goldwater Institute, and the Pacific Legal Foundation, with the Yankee Institute joining Cato’s brief.
  • The Center of the American Experiment‘s quarterly polling found that Minnesotans express mostly conservative views on nearly all policy issues, including income tax cuts. Yet few politicians are advocating for the cuts. It raises the question: why are populations with conservative views electing so many progressives?
  • The Foundation for Government Accountability published a new report detailing how work requirements have helped thousands of able-bodied adults move from welfare to work in Arkansas, leading to increased incomes. After food stamp reforms were implemented, enrollment dropped by 70 percent, and two years later, those leaving food stamps saw their incomes more than triple.
  • Fraser Institute‘s latest Generosity Index, an annual review of private monetary giving in each state, is out. Utah takes first place, followed by Maryland, Georgia, Washington, DC, and Connecticut. See how your state ranks here.
  • The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)—a poster child for bureaucratic incompetence—has won the Independent Institute’s seventh California Golden Fleece®Award, given to California state or local agencies or government projects that swindle taxpayers or break the public trust.
  • On the Edge: America Faces the Entitlements Cliff, the Institute for Policy Innovation’s new book, shows how the US can move away from the crumbling patchwork of unsustainable government programs and address funding for healthcare, welfare, and retirement in a financially sustainable way.
  • A policy brief by the James Madison Institute and FAMM revealed that Florida could save millions of dollars a year, and be more effective at fighting crime, by getting rid of mandatory minimum drug sentences. These findings support the proposed criminal justice reforms in the Florida First Step Act.
  • Pacific Legal Foundation has filed a federal lawsuit targeting New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s attempt to racially balance New York’s specialized high schools. The mayor plans to expand the city’s Discovery program in a way that would intentionally shut out hundreds of eligible Asian-American students.
  • When it was reported that Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers would propose freezing enrollment and halting expansion of choice and charter schools in Wisconsin, Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty quickly swung into action. Breaking down each of Evers’ proposals, WILL explained why it mattered and how these proposals would hurt students and education in Wisconsin.

Think Tanks in the News

  • Prior to Florida including an “escalator clause” to its scholarship tax credit, Pennsylvania distributed more scholarships. After passing the clause, which increases available credits every year that at least 90% of the tax credits are claimed, Florida has more than doubled the number of scholarships Pennsylvania gives. The Commonwealth Foundation makes this comparison in support of a proposed bill that would move the state past incremental increases.
  • The Georgia Public Policy Foundation delves into the weeds to explain how Medicaid waivers are not “more expensive” than Medicaid expansion and will give Georgia the flexibility it needs to improve healthcare in the state.
  • The Grassroot Institute‘s new report challenges the effectiveness of Hawaii’s “build up” philosophy for affordable housing, and it’s getting media attention. A recent discussion of the report with author Randal O’Toole is available to view online.
  • Idaho Freedom Foundation‘s Freedom Index holds Idaho lawmakers responsible for the decisions they make. Some are saying the initiative has undue influence: “For some lawmakers, getting an A-rating with the Idaho Freedom Foundation is the equivalent of a Grammy award, or an Oscar.”
  • Progressive income tax discussions in Illinois may soon start and public opinions are divided. The Illinois Policy Institute has launched social media ads opposing a graduated income tax, calling it “2019’s worst policy idea for Illinois’ middle class.”
  • Arizona could become the first state to recognize occupational licenses from other states. The Institute for Justice is advocating for Arizona’s proposed “universal licensing recognition” bill that would allow people moving into the state to start working in their industry without having to go through a time-consuming, expensive re-licensing process.
  • Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy offers 5 facts about the minimum wage that all residents should know before they decide where they stand on New Hampshire’s proposed increase.
  • The recent Supreme Court victory in Timbs v. Indiana has helped, but not solved, the problem of civil asset forfeiture. The Libertas Institute highlights the reforms that still need to happen.
  • Momentum is building to stop Michigan police from seizing property without getting a conviction first. The Senate has passed a reform bill that would require a criminal conviction or the owner’s consent before police could take assets valued under $50,000. Research from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy shows that, in 2017, Michigan law enforcement seized $13 million in cash and property.
  • Lawmakers in Maine are considering easing occupational licensing restrictions to lessen the burden on residents moving in from out-of-state, a reform the Maine Heritage Policy Center supports.
  • Financial support for public schools in Mississippi is shrinking. The Mississippi Center for Public Policy questions whether curbing administrative costs rather than teaching costs is one way to address the shortfall.
  • The Clean Slate Initiative would allow Utahns with nonviolent criminal records who have served their time to more easily expunge their records. This opportunity, says the Sutherland Institute, would give individuals and their families a second chance to become productive citizens, reducing recidivism, and thus also reducing the cost to the state.
  • The Thomas Jefferson Institute argues Virginia teachers should have equal access to any legitimate employee association offering professional support, insurance and other benefits, so they can find the best deal for their money. Legislation was recently introduced that would have ended the current monopoly access held by the union.

Compelling Commentary

  • Education savings accounts give parents access to educational options they otherwise could not afford. The Beacon Center of Tennessee has released a new video sharing the story of Raul and Julie Lopez, two homeschooling parents who were able to make the sacrifices required so their six children could have the educational environments they needed to succeed. Raul and Julie note that while they were able to weather the financial strain these choices required, it is not an option for every family.
  • Empower Mississippi has launched the Broken series to highlight broken pieces of Mississippi’s criminal justice system, how they impact people, and how they can be fixed. The Foundation has told stories of nonviolent offenders who are currently incarcerated and serving years for addiction related crimes and talked with parents, ex-offenders, and members of law enforcement who agree there is a better way to treat nonviolent offenders.
  • The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal has released a new video, “A Higher Education Moment: Freedom of Assembly and Student Fees,” discussing how the equitable distribution of student fees to student groups is important in protecting students’ right to freedom of assembly.