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

  • A win for free speech (and Christmas traditions)! The government-owned Kalkaska Memorial Health Center in Michigan apologized to senior citizens for censoring the reading of “Charlie Brown Christmas” to preschoolers after First Liberty Institute intervened.
  • Two years ago, Libertas Institute worked with Utah lawmakers to pass a “lemonade stand law” exempting minors from having to obtain a permit or license to operate their small, infrequent business. Recently Libertas worked with a mother in Denver, Colorado, whose children’s lemonade stand had been shut down, to get a similar law passed in Colorado this year.

Research & Initiatives

  • Milwaukee’s mayor credited the city’s streetcar project for raising property values, but the Badger Institute‘s investigations contradicted that assertion. After reviewing the major real estate projects that took place in that time and interviewing the developers, the Institute found the majority of value came from recent real estate improvements, not the city’s public transportation.
  • California Policy Center is hosting training sessions for local elected officials through its California Local Elected Officials project. Last month, more than 50 elected officials in Orange County learned how to dissect a government Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, address issues like cronyism, and best practices for communicating with constituents. CPC is also getting citizens involved in calling out ineffective policy through its Prop 65 photo contest. California issued Proposition 65 to warn consumers of chemical risks. Now? It’s being invoked to warn Californians of normal daily activities, and CPC’s contest is mobilizing citizens to expose the absurdity.
  • Cascade Policy Institute testified about the impact of tobacco tax increases on cross-border sales and smuggling before the Oregon state legislature’s house committee on revenue. Legislative staff indicated the testimony, which cited the Mackinac Center for Public Policy’s research on cigarette smuggling, would inform their estimates of the tax revenues.
  • Center of the American Experiment launched a billboard blitz that encouraged drivers to “say no to a 70% gas tax increase” by emailing Minnesota Governor Walz via the website NoNewGasTaxes.com. 
  • To help North Carolina lawmakers understand the true impact Medicaid expansion would have on the state, the Civitas Institute produced a variety of resources, including a “By the numbers” infographic, ebook, public opinion polling, and documentary style video. The Institute also ran mobile billboards during the May Day Teacher strike to draw attention to teachers’ newly restored rights to leave their union.
  • The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota filed an amicus brief in support of Public Record Media’s attempt to compel state government agencies to comply with Minnesota’s Government Data Practices Act. At issue are public records surrounding the State of Minnesota’s 2017 bid to locate a second corporate Amazon headquarters in Minnesota.
  • “More college credentials do not necessarily equal more people with more jobs.” The latest video in the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal’s “Higher Education Moment” series addresses the issue of college credential inflation.
  • The Mackinac Center for Public Policy praised Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and lawmakers for enacting a new law that will protect individuals’ property and due process rights by requiring law enforcement to convict a person in a court of law prior to permanently keeping their property through civil asset forfeiture. The 2019 bills would require a criminal conviction before someone could lose their assets via civil asset forfeiture. The reforms would also speed up the process by which a person can get their assets back if they were seized by law enforcement. 
  • The Pioneer Institute signed onto a Montana lawsuit challenging restrictions that prohibit families from using public vouchers or tax credits to help pay for parochial schools in 38 states, including Massachusetts, and asking the US Supreme Court to intervene.
  • In addition to coordinated efforts by Texas Public Policy Foundation experts to meet with legislators and speak with the media about the need for property tax reform, the Foundation has launched a six-figure radio and digital campaign calling for real property tax relief for Texans.
  • In its recent policy brief, Renewables Mandate: A Drag on Ohio’s Economy, The Buckeye Institute looks at the impact Ohio’s renewable portfolio standards have on Ohio’s families and businesses. The mandates are part of the debate around a bill that would create a taxpayer-funded subsidy to prop up declining businesses—namely the Davis-Besse and Perry nuclear power plants.
  • The debate over Medicaid expansion took center stage in Wisconsin as the Finance committee discussed Governor Evers’ budget proposal. Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty issued a Budget Explainer, and Research Director Will Flanders, PhD, wrote in The Hill on the case against Medicaid expansion.

Think Tanks in the News

  • In this Arkansas Business article, the Arkansas Policy Foundation details how the state is reducing the number of state agencies from 42 to 15 in order to improve customer service and save taxpayer dollars.
  • The Bluegrass Institute discusses how overcorrecting Kentucky’s pension system could create bigger problems for the state’s budget.
  • The Buckeye Institute and Center of the American Experiment are receiving recognition for their work to inform midwestern teachers about their rights in respect to union membership and in helping them exercise their right to leave the union.
  • Fox News is highlighting the plight of California teachers such as Tommy Few, a client of the Liberty Justice Center and California Policy Center, who have to resort to litigation before their constitutional right to leave their teachers union is honored.
  • The Commonwealth Foundation applauds the Pennsylvania House for advancing a bill that would increase the educational opportunities available to families by doubling the scope of the state’s school choice program.
  • The Ethan Allen Institute flags another attempt by Vermont lawmakers to pass a primary seat belt law unnoticed and clarifies why enacting such a law will hurt residents more than it helps.
  • The Garden State Initiative appeared on PBS’s “On the Record with Michael Aron” to discuss New Jersey’s tax policies and how the state can address problems with its housing market.
  • Where is the most prosperous place in Georgia? You’ve probably never heard of it. The Georgia Public Policy Foundation uses the Distressed Communities Index to explore what factors create prosperity within a region.
  • The Independence Institute provides a primer on presidential elections, the role of the Electoral College, and the danger of a direct primary vote.
  • The Maine Heritage Policy Center offers insights on how to really establish free speech on college campuses.
  • Baltimore has many problems, and electing city officials that care for their own future more than the city’s is a primary factor. The Maryland Public Policy Institute highlights how decades of mismanagement has led to an uncompetitive economy and slowed growth.
  • The Sutherland Institute calls for more transparent pricing of healthcare options and prescriptions to empower families to make informed decisions.
  • The Texas Public Policy Foundation details how our current healthcare system is structured to reward mismanagement instead of discouraging it.
  • The Virginia Institute for Public Policy joined an alliance of organizations from across the ideological spectrum calling for changes in the way Virginians get their electricity, including breaking up the state’s monopoly utilities and letting customers choose their power providers.
  • Thanks to the rule ending the practice of dues skimming, the Washington Policy Center reports Washington will no longer be able to take $27 million a year from homecare providers’ assistance checks to give to the union.

Events & Opportunities

  • Think tanks are encouraged to apply for Atlas Network’s Liberating Enterprise to Advance Prosperity Grants. These grants range from $15,000 to $40,000 and support projects with ambitious and achievable plans to improve the public policy and regulatory environment in their communities. The next quarterly application deadline in May 15.