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

  • Eric Fruits has joined Cascade Policy Institute as vice president of research. Fruits is president and chief economist at Economics International Corp. and is an adjunct professor of economics at Portland State University.
  • Congratulations to the Competitive Enterprise Institute which is celebrating its 35th Anniversary this month!
  • The National Review Institute is proud to announce the 2019 Whittaker Chambers Award will go to Mark Janus, the plaintiff in Janus v. AFSCME.
  • Michael Harden has joined the State Policy Network team as senior director of development. Michael shares his perspective and experience working in the freedom movement in this interview.
  • Texas Public Policy Foundation has launched a new initiative focused on solutions at the local level. States Trust addresses the nation’s toughest challenges by offering state-based solutions and restoring the principle of federalism so that states are empowered to be the innovators of effective public policy.

Success Stories

  • Sutherland Institute and the state of Utah are celebrating a reform that will ease barriers for ex-offenders looking to rebuild their lives after fulfilling their sentences. Encouraging this reform, Sutherland Institute provided testimony and data showing the benefits it would have for both ex-offenders and taxpayers.
  • It took six months and a court order, but Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has finally turned over documents that will help the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty determine if DPI has been illegally implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act.

Research & Initiatives

  • The 1889 Institute is challenging another one of Oklahoma’s occupational licensing requirements–this time for music therapists.
  • Alabama Policy Institute breaks down the “good, bad, and ugly” of the state’s new gas tax increase. It’s an example worth checking out if your organization is looking for approachable ways to summarize the outcomes of legislation being considered or passed.
  • Which headline is from The Onion? The Beacon Center of Tennessee uses real news headlines to highlight how out of control occupational licensing has become. In Tennessee, there is a bill that would create an art therapist license, complete with a new art therapy “committee.” This year will also witness a proposal to prohibit certain types of online auctions unless an individuals takes off an estimated 756 calendar days to get the “auctioneer” license.
  • California’s Proposition 65 was created to warn consumers of chemical risks. Now? It’s being invoked to warn Californians of normal daily activities, and California Policy Center is getting citizens in involved in exposing the absurdity through its Prop 65 photo contest.
  • Cardinal Institute, in partnership with the Knee Center for the Study of Occupational Regulations, finds that 39% of occupations in West Virginia have high licensing barriers to entry compared to neighboring states.
  • Raise your hand if you’ve ever heard “Education choice programs will take money away from public schools.” How do you respond? Center for the American Experiment shares their take on this common objection. Along with education, the Center is tackling energy issues with “Doubling Down on Failure: How a 50 Percent by 2030 Renewable Energy Standard Would Cost Minnesota $80.2 Billion,” a groundbreaking paper that addresses proposed “green” legislation in Minnesota. The paper covers what it would cost, how it will impact the state’s economy, and what effect it will have on global temperatures.
  • Civitas Institute released an e-book covering the dangers associated with Medicaid expansion and offering alternatives for policymakers to consider.
  • The Freedom Foundation has filed a lawsuit on behalf of five California teachers who want to leave their union. The Foundation also reports Washington House Representatives voted along party lines, with Democrats passing a bill that puts union interests above public employees’ constitutional rights. The Foundation’s analysis outlines the ways this bill will impact workers’ rights, including making it easier for unions to deduct dues and harder for public employees to cancel such deductions. The legislation will also eliminate unions’ legal liability for illegally collecting dues or fees from public employees.
  • The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota has been working with a large, bipartisan coalition to educate parents and policymakers about the need to tighten Minnesota’s immunization regulations and to educate parents about the safety and efficacy of vaccines.
  • Georgia Center for Opportunity reports that Georgia is well positioned to pursue welfare reforms that encourage meaningful work while preserving the safety net for those who need it. So far, GCO has presented research and input to Georgia’s Rural Economic Development Committee, as well as to policymakers in Washington, DC.
  • For further evidence that a progressive income tax would harm Illinois, Illinois Policy Institute analyzed the results Connecticut has seen from its switch to a progressive tax system. Here are the four lessons they learned and are sharing with Illinoisans.  
  • Is suspending drivers licenses for non-driving offenses a fitting punishment? The James Madison Institute partnered with the Reason Foundation to analyze the current laws governing the suspension of drivers licenses in Florida and look at the consequences similar laws are having on the economy in other states.
  • Is North Carolina’s ABC system more socialist than ‘Medicare For All’? The John Locke Foundation‘s recent report looks at the state’s system of distribution and sales of alcoholic beverages.
  • The Liberty Justice Center has launched two lawsuits in Pennsylvania challenging the union and state tactics to prevent government workers from exercising their First Amendment rights to leave the union and stop paying dues and fees.
  • To help keep Wisconsin’s public policy debate focused on the facts during the state’s biennial budget process and beyond, the MacIver Institute recently produced a series of five scorecards to measure Wisconsin’s progress. The series, titled “Our Wisconsin,” covers dozens of metrics measuring the state of the economy, welfare, healthcare, education, and the state budget.
  • The Mackinac Center created a comprehensive description of Michigan’s criminal justice system to inform the conversation about how the state can improve.
  • South Carolina could become the next to end civil asset forfeiture. Palmetto Promise Institute shares several data points and rankings to highlight law enforcement’s unfair approach to confiscating property.  
  • To show why Louisiana needs Pelican Institute’s Jobs & Opportunity Agenda, the Institute takes a look at the real story of Louisiana’s economy, including how it stacks up against fellow states.
  • Texas Public Policy Foundation kicked off Texas’ current legislation with its three-day Annual Policy Orientation featuring 24 panels on topics within the Foundation’s policy areas. They also launched TxLegeHub, a website to help keep staffers informed on the issues. 
  • Wyoming Liberty Group reports on what did and didn’t make it through the 2019 Wyoming legislative session, particularly the attempts to add Wyoming to the list of states expanding Medicaid coverage to able-bodied adults.

Think Tanks in the News

  • Since the poor and middle class would bear the brunt of Alabama’s gas tax increase, the Alabama Policy Institute is advocating for tax cuts elsewhere to ease the financial impact it will have on families.
  • The Buckeye Institute testified this week before the Ohio House Health Committee on how policymakers can use the proven free-market principle of competition to reduce the cost of healthcare in Ohio.
  • The Cascade Policy Institute makes the case for why Education Savings Accounts “aren’t a five-year plan or PowerPoint.” Instead, says the Institute, they are a “ticket to the future” for students trying to shape their destiny.
  • The Center of the American Experiment declares there’s no excuse for Minnesota lawmakers soaking taxpayers.
  • Education Scholarship Accounts are popular with Mississippi parents, but not with legislators. Empower Mississippi notes that despite public support, legislators have not allowed the program to expand and could potentially let the program die next year.
  • Washington schools don’t need another property tax hike; they need to reform how the current funds are being spent. School funding has increased 60% in less than a decade. The Freedom Foundation outlines where those funds have gone.
  • Could campaign disclosure laws be a threat to democracy? Absolutely. The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota explains.
  • Mandated aesthetics: Bryan County, GA, requires at least four roof planes visible from the front property line for new housing construction. Many other Georgia counties also have expensive design regulations in place. The Georgia Public Policy Foundation details how affordable housing options in Georgia are being eliminated through excessive design mandates.
  • A tenant association has joined the Idaho Freedom Foundation‘s lawsuit against the City of Boise over its use of urban renewal funds.
  • Kansas is considering more transparency with its tax incentives, a move the Kansas Policy Institute applauds as a means of enabling public “scrutiny, reform, and hopefully a more effective use of taxpayer dollars.”
  • The Libertas Institute appeared on local news to discuss Utah’s first-of-its kind electronic privacy bill.
  • The MacIver Institute estimates a move to a single-payer healthcare system would cost Wisconsin taxpayers an additional $30 billion in the first year alone.
  • A new education scholarship program has been proposed in DC. The Mackinac Center for Public Policy outlines the positive effect the Education Freedom Scholarship will have on parents and students and the obstacles from teachers and unions it is likely to face.
  • Maine’s state government is planning to spend more on education, but as the Maine Heritage Policy Center notes, property owners shouldn’t expect to see a lower tax bill. And those state funds won’t be going to public charter schools if some lawmakers get their way. The Center reports bills have been introduced to permanently cap Maine’s charter schools at 10 and prevent the state’s two virtual charter schools from expanding.
  • Mississippi has the third highest incarceration rate, a problem, the
    Mississippi Center for Public Policy reports, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are working on together to address.
  • The Nevada Policy Research Institute crunches the numbers to prove the prevailing wage is a rip off for Nevada taxpayers.
  • The Pioneer Institute makes the case for why Massachusetts’ legislature needs to be held to the public records law.
  • The Texas Public Policy Foundation encourages lawmakers to make securing Texas teachers’ retirement a priority and to embrace laws that encourage entrepreneurship among millennials rather than marginalizing them.
  • Richmond is proposing a cigarette tax that the Thomas Jefferson Institute warns could hurt small businesses.
  • Washington’s carbon tax bill has been resurrected in a more expensive form. The Washington Policy Center breaks down how the new bill will add taxes to fossil fuels used for vehicles, home heating, and home electricity.
  • A day after the Wisconsin Department of Justice responded to Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty’s lawsuit in a way that dodged critical questions on wedding barns and alcohol permitting, a spokeswoman for the Evers Administration told WisPolitics that, “We are not deviating from the Department of Revenue’s long standing practice on this issue.” Under that long-standing practice, wedding barns are not required to obtain alcohol licenses. The governor’s statement is a step in the right direction.

Resources for Think Tanks

Events & Opportunities

  • Atlas Network invites American think tanks to apply for its 2019 Templeton Freedom Award. This award recognizes the most exceptional and innovative contributions to the understanding of free enterprise. It also recognizes the public policies that encourage prosperity, innovation, and human fulfillment via free competition. Applications must be received by April 1.
  • The Caesar Rodney Institute is partnering with the ACLU Delaware to provide an educational seminar for legislators on upcoming sentencing reform legislation
  • The James Madison Institute is holding their 2019 Annual Dinner on April 3 in celebration of the organization’s 32nd anniversary. The dinner features keynote speaker Shannon Bream from Fox News Channel and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.