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

Success Stories

  • In a significant victory for property rights under state constitutions, the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law prevailed in Yoder v. City of Bowling Green. The federal court ruling invalidates Ohio municipal ordinances that prohibit more than three unrelated individuals from living together in the same home, regardless of size. Other states with strong state constitutions can replicate this outcome, which should result in both lower rents for individual tenants and higher revenue and property values for homeowners.
  • The Libertas Institute‘s data privacy bill passed the Utah Legislature unanimously; Utah now has the strongest law in the country for protecting people’s data from warrantless access. The Institute’s op-eds in Wired and the Washington Examiner explain why protecting citizens’ digital information from government invasion is just as important as protecting it from private companies.
  • Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant has signed donor privacy legislation that allows a nonprofit to defend itself in court if its confidential donor list is leaked by a rouge government agency or bureaucrat. The Mississippi Center for Public Policy reported protecting the privacy of nonprofit donors is widely popular across the state, with 81 percent of voters saying they support a law that protects the personal information of such donors.

Research & Initiatives

  • The Civitas Institute conducted a poll asking voters about their views on two hot-button issues: abortion rights and the Electoral College. The Institute presented the poll results with a WBTV investigative reporter during a lunch meeting earlier this week.
  • Empire Center doubled down on their efforts to make the two percent tax cap permanent in New York. The Center released a report and an accompanying op-ed showing that the cap is benefitting “high need” school districts the most. The Center also debunked the notion that New York school funding favors majority wealthy and white schools. Instead, the Center showed low-income and non-white schools get more. 
  • With free legal representation from the Freedom Foundation, two California public school employees have filed suit to overturn a state law, as well as provisions of their union collective bargaining agreements, requiring them to remain union members in good standing against their will. They contend the requirement violates their First Amendment rights.
  • A new report from The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal traces the politicization of American universities and the extent to which they’ve become ideology-driven over the past century. The report also finds evidence that it may be too late to reverse the politicization process.
  • As a way of addressing the alarming fact that many high school, college students, and even some politicians cannot identify the freedoms outlined in the First Amendment, the Independence Institute partnered with a local radio station to create a primer on First Amendment rights for their listeners.
  • One of the Kansas Policy Institute‘s bills to protect government employees’ rights was heard in Senate Commerce this week.  The Public Employee Right to Choose Act releases employees from union membership and the obligation to pay dues upon giving written notice. It also requires public employers to notify employees at least annually that they have this right. 
  • The Mackinac Center released its policy priorities for the 2019-20 legislative session. With a divided government—a Democratic Governor and Republican Legislature—the focus is on bipartisan reforms. Key priorities include transportation funding, reforming auto insurance, eliminating civil asset forfeiture, expanding government transparency, continuing to reform occupational licensing laws, and defending Medicaid work requirements.
  • The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation has filed a petition on behalf of Illinois homecare providers, asking the Supreme Court to review their case. The providers seek the return of more than $32 million in union fees seized by SEIU officials in a scheme the High Court already declared unconstitutional.
  • The Pelican Institute and Reason Foundation released a policy paper recommending Louisiana use public-private partnerships and tolls to improve its ailing highway system and keep overall costs to taxpayers down.
  • A study published by the Pioneer Institute and Cato Institute found that “since Common Core was implemented in 45 states and Washington, DC, students have demonstrated sharp drops in academic performance. Additionally, those students who were already performing poorly—many of them minority students—declined even further.”
  • The Rio Grande Foundation offers perspective on the recent New Mexico legislative session and outlines which bills passed this year that will negatively impact New Mexico families and the state’s economy.
  • A new poll from The Buckeye Institute found that a majority of Ohioans support a lower gas tax increase and believe policymakers should offset any increase in Ohio’s gas tax by cutting taxes and spending in other areas. 
  • In a recent ranking by the Tax Foundation, Louisiana came in last for business-friendly sales tax structures. The Pelican Institute asserts the state’s sales tax policies are discouraging job creation and limiting residents’ opportunities in the state.
  • Lawmakers in Washington are trying to subvert public employee rights affirmed by the Supreme Court. In response, the Washington Policy Center‘s Center for Worker Rights released a new animated video that gives Washington voters the necessary context and an overview of the rights set forth in Janus.
  • The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty is suing the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI), the state education agency, for their unfair, illegal treatment of private schools in Wisconsin’s choice programs. DPI allows public schools, but not private schools, in the choice program to count virtual instruction toward the hourly pupil instruction requirements.
  • The Yankee Institute and New Canaan Republican Town Committee are hosting a non-partisan event covering the proposals by the Connecticut governor and state legislature and the ways they will impact New Canaan residents.

Think Tanks in the News

  • Alaska ranks last in the nation for fourth grade reading proficiency, a key indicator of future academic success. The Alaska Policy Forum makes the case for a “Read by 9” policy, which would offer a common sense and proven approach to addressing reading problems. 
  • The Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions points out Kentucky should focus on its pressing priorities, such as the looming pension crisis, rather than pouring more money into government broadband.
  • A Portland public school made headlines last week for offering parents the chance to choose their child’s teacher for next year as part of a school fundraiser. The Cascade Policy Institute makes the case for Education Scholarship Accounts as a means of giving every parent the opportunity to choose their child’s teacher.
  • Before enacting a 70 percent increase in Minnesota’s gas tax, the Center of the American Experiment suggests lawmakers should first examine how the state spent previous funds.
  • Some Vermont lawmakers want to reinstate the Affordable Care Act’s penalty tax, a move the Ethan Allen Institute asserts “would make Vermont’s health care situation worse for thousands of innocent people.”
  • Garden State Initiative has released an analysis of New Jersey’s newest job numbers, which shows key industries in the New Jersey experienced another month of job losses.
  • New Jersey judges seemed hostile to arguments earlier this week that state statute allows Jersey City teacher union officials to be paid by taxpayers for their full-time union jobs. The Goldwater Institute was appealing the earlier decision in their lawsuit challenging an agreement that allows union officials to stay on the public payroll while conducting union business. The Goldwater Institute also reports Governor Doug Ducey has signed legislation that will allow individuals who are harmed by occupational licensing requirements in their chosen occupation to know their rights under Arizona law.
  • The Kansas Policy Institute‘s school report cards were featured in a recent Kansas TV news report.
  • The Liberty Justice Center is asking a federal appeals court to order AFSCME to refund Mark Janus the nearly $3,000 in fees he was forced to pay since 2013.
  • A recent Education Week map, based on teacher absenteeism, suggests Nevada’s public school teachers aren’t only unhappy but some of the unhappiest in the country. Nevada Policy Research Institute reports the state has the second worst case of chronic teacher absenteeism out of all 50 states.
  • “California doesn’t have to be like Texas— following Florida’s lead will work.” The Pacific Research Institute looks to other states for successful policy approaches that can address California’s economic concerns.
  • The Department of Justice notified the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals that it agrees with the trial court ruling in favor of the Texas Public Policy Foundation. The ruling found the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate is unconstitutional.
  • Standing side-by-side in the East Room of the White House last week, President Trump and Polly Olsen, Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty‘s client in a campus free speech lawsuit against Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, told the country about the fight for free speech on campus. 

Events & Opportunities

  • The R Street Institute invites nominations for their new Foundations of Conservative Policymaking Fellowship program. The program is designed for early- and mid-career professionals currently working in public policy, primarily at the state and local level. Fellows will come to Washington, DC twice a year for four-day learning sessions including seminar-style discussions, lectures by experts, and panel conversations. Candidates can self-nominate or be nominated by professional colleagues. For more details, contact Andy Smarick at asmarick@rstreet.org.