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

  • Charles Mitchell, CEO of the Commonwealth Foundation, was named the recipient of The Heritage Foundation Distinguished Alumni Award. Prior winners include Senator Tom Cotton, Susan B. Anthony List CEO Marjorie Dannenfelser, and Judge Neomi Rao.
  • Freedom Foundation’s Maxford Nelsen has been appointed by the President to fill a seat on the Federal Service Impasses Panel, an independent entity within the Federal Labor Relations Authority. Members serve on a part-time basis and resolve impasses in contract negotiations between federal agencies and labor unions representing federal employees. Nelsen is Freedom Foundation’s labor policy director, and will retain this full-time position, as is standard practice for panel members.
  • The John Locke Foundation’s Kari Travis has been promoted to Assistant Managing Editor of Carolina Journal, the journalism division of JLF. 
  • Kansas Policy Institute announced James Franko was promoted to President, and Dave Trabert was promoted to Chief Executive Officer. KPI continues to grow and has added five new full-time staff members in the last year.
  • Nebraska’s Karen Hough and Dawn Hatcher are the winners of the Platte Institute’s 2019 Connie Brown Freedom Award. The award is presented annually to Nebraskans who take action to remove barriers to opportunity. Hough and Hatcher became advocates for a bill to end state occupational licensing for horse massage practitioners in 2018.

Success Stories

  • The 1851 Center for Constitutional Law successfully enjoined a state statute forbidding “serving in the election campaign organization of a candidate for the purpose of reporting information.” This clears the way for citizen-journalists to “go undercover” and unearth corruption, hidden intentions, hypocrisy, and other dishonesty that could not otherwise be exposed, says the 1851 Center.
  • A union in Washington agreed to pay $3.25 million to settle a federal lawsuit alleging that it collected dues from workers without consent. For ten years, SEIU 775 automatically deducted dues from workers who provide home-based care to elderly clients eligible for Medicaid. The Freedom Foundation, who represents some of the workers, called the settlement good news, but pointed out the money is just a fraction of the dues owed.
  • Thanks to Right to Try, Americans suffering from brain cancer have new hope—an anti-cancer vaccine known as Gliovac (ERC1671) will be made available to patients suffering from the disease. The Goldwater Institute developed the Right to Try policy, where terminally ill patients are able to access experimental drugs that haven’t yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Research & Initiatives

  • The Beacon Center is preparing to focus on policies advanced by local governments across the state. Nashville’s debt problem is an example of why local politics and local government matter so much—and is one of the reasons why Beacon has decided to take on local issues.
  • The Commonwealth Foundation is fighting the Pennsylvania Governor’s recent attack on charter schools. Commonwealth has focused on two “call to action” mail campaigns in Philadelphia and placed billboards on main streets next to charter schools. The organization is also strategizing on the best steps toward blocking the Governor’s 11 executive orders against charter schools.
  • The Goldwater Institute filed a lawsuit against the city of Phoenix on behalf of two employees who claim the city is forcing them to pay for their coworkers to engage in union activities. The lawsuit involves “release time”—the practice that allows union members to take paid time off work for union-related activities.
  • As the century-old protectionist Jones Act continues to contribute to Hawaii’s high cost of living, the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii is working to update the law. The Jones Act requires that goods carried between American ports do so on American made ships, with American owners, with a predominately American crew. Grassroot Institute is working alongside an ally in Congress to educate elected leaders and the public on why an update to the law is important for Hawaii’s future.
  • Who are the highest-paid Kansas state employees? According to new data compiled by the Kansas Policy Institute, professors, chancellors, and directors from public universities are among the top earners.
  • The Legatum Institute, a London-based think-tank, just released the United States Prosperity Index—a powerful tool for state policymakers. The Index assesses the extent of changing prosperity across the fifty states and DC, covering both economic and social wellbeing, and identifies the strengths and weaknesses of each state to help inform policy initiatives.
  • The Buckeye Institute is continuing to fight to remove barriers to work for Ohio residents. Buckeye is reviewing the state’s list of occupational licenses to identify which can be eliminated, which should have reduced training hours, and which should be maintained for health and safety.
  • In their newest amicus brief in Guedes v. AFT, The Buckeye Institute and the Due Process Institute argue that unelected government bureaucrats cannot create new crimes without the approval of Congress. The Constitution clearly reserves that power for Congress.
  • The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty stepped up pressure on the Wisconsin Governor after his office has failed to show any meaningful progress on government transparency. It has been one month since the governor pledged to “better present accurate information about public records to the public.” The promise came in response to a WILL report, released in September, that revealed the administration deliberately shuttered an open government website and has failed to re-issue Walker-era executive orders that instituted best practices for government transparency.

Think Tanks in the News

  • After a judge temporarily halted the Alaska Governor’s recent administrative order to comply with Janus v. AFSCME, the Alaska Policy Forum responded, noting that it’s just an injunction, and it doesn’t mean that the state won’t move forward. The Goldwater Institute also considered the judge’s decision to grant a temporary restraining order to prevent the Governor’s order from taking effect. Goldwater urged higher courts, and if necessary the US Supreme Court, to vacate the restraining order and rule in favor of the state and the workers the Governor’s order protects.
  • Arkansas released its annual evaluation of state schools, ranking them from grades A-F. While some people criticized using a grading system to measure performance, the Arkansas Policy Foundation applauded the use of letter grades.
  • Beacon Center pointed out how taxpayer money is wasted on a new show, Bluff City Law, which receives state money to film on location in Memphis. Beacon observed: “Film incentives are nearly always a bad investment for taxpayers, and it is well past time that the state of Tennessee eliminates its failing film incentive program.”
  • California is considering a proposal that would require ethnic studies to be taught in high schools. The California Policy Center commented on this new legislation, arguing “It is indoctrination rather than education.”
  • The Freedom Foundation was cited in a Washington Examiner article on Elizabeth Warren’s recent proposal to skim Medicaid dues from home healthcare workers.
  • As union contract negotiations break down in Illinois, the state is preparing for a possible teacher strike as soon as next week. Illinois has frequent strike days—Chicago is second only to Philadelphia in total strike days compared to other cities. One reason for this, said the Illinois Policy Institute, is Illinois’ lenient laws regarding teacher strikes. IPI also considered the state’s lack of preparedness for the next recession. While many states have made conservative changes to their budgets, Illinois hasn’t—and might be in the worst position of any state in the nation.
  • In the Denver Post, the Independence Institute criticized the Colorado Governor’s decision to pressure news outlets to take down an article that disagreed with him.
  • So many people are leaving Kansas it’s causing a U-Haul shortage, according to the Kansas Policy Institute. Kansas residents are fleeing to states with faster economies and lower tax burdens.
  • The Detroit News featured Mark Janus in a piece, showing readers how he’s spending his time after the historic US Supreme Court decision that bears his name. The piece mentioned Janus’ attendance at Mackinac Center’s dinner and pointed out Mackinac’s work to help government workers around the country.
  • In Maryland, is it schools vs. racetracks? In an op-ed for The Washington Post, the Maryland Public Policy Institute considered a recent plan to rebuild the Pimlico Race Course for $375 million. Money for the project will be raised by funneling money from taxes on casinos. MPPI points out that the bulk of Maryland’s casino taxes are earmarked for the state’s Education Trust Fund.
  • Pacific Research Institute CEO and president Sally Pipes considered how businesses are unaware or misinformed about what Medicare for All would entail. Pipes noted that this lack of awareness about the details is problematic.
  • The Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs highlighted an epidemic in the state—61 percent of third grade students tested below grade level in English on state tests. OCPA argues the problem lies in the way Oklahoma students are taught to read—using “whole language” learning instead of phonics-based learning. Until the state addresses this instruction failure, Oklahoma will not fix its literacy problem, says OCPA.
  • After a new survey found that Virginia House Democratic candidates overwhelmingly oppose the state’s right-to-work law, the Thomas Jefferson Institute considered what would happen if that law was repealed. “Their [Virginia worker’s] choice on joining the union or not, a free choice they should control, would go away. The job and the union membership become one,” said the Institute.
  • Washington Policy Center considered a proposal in Spokane that would open government union contract negotiations to the public. The people have a right to know how public spending decisions are made on their behalf, says WPC. WPC and Freedom Foundation were quoted in another article on the proposal, in The Spokesman-Review. Voters in Spokane will also consider a proposition that would stop city officials from imposing a local income tax. WPC highlighted how no income tax would keep Spokane competitive.