Announcements 

  • The Buckeye Institute filed a shiny new lawsuit against the District of Columbia Department of Health challenging the D.C. Council’s and Mayor Muriel Bowser’s unconstitutional emergency acts and orders, which D.C. used to force the closure of The Big Board, a neighborhood bar and grill located in our nation’s capital and owned by Buckeye’s client, Eric Flannery. Flannery v. D.C. Department of Health was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
  • American Experiment North Dakota announced that Fargo native Jennifer Benson will serve as Executive Director. Benson previously served on the Fargo School Board from 2014-21 and has spent her career educating and advocating for open access to medical treatments, medical freedom, government accountability, education initiatives, and supporting and defending constitutional rights.
  • The New York State Education Department (NYSED) missed a Freedom of Information Law deadline to disclose statewide English and mathematics test results for grades 3-8, forcing the Empire Center to file a lawsuit for a court to order release of the data.
  • Last week, Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty filed a federal lawsuit against the Biden Administration last week in support of Brown County Taxpayers Association (BCTA), challenging the new federal student debt forgiveness program.  As anticipated, the trial court ruled against BCTA. WILL then filed an emergency motion for an injunction with the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, arguing the President cannot spend trillions of taxpayer dollars without authorization from Congress. They denied it. WILL now petitions the Supreme Court of the United States to decide. 
  • The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty filed a federal lawsuit against the City of La Crosse on behalf of Joy Buchman, a licensed mental health professional and owner of Kinsman Redeemer Counseling Center, LLC (“Kinsman”). The lawsuit principally alleges that the City of La Crosse has no power to pick and choose which viewpoints are permissible or impermissible in counselor-patient discourse, preventing Ms. Buchman from counseling in a manner consistent with her professional and religious views. The lawsuit also argues that the statute violates free exercise protections, is unconstitutionally vague, and is preempted by state law.

Success stories

  • The Buckeye Institute won another COVID mandate case with DC.Administrative Law Judge Cory M. Chandler’s ruling in favor of Buckeye’s client Eric Flannery in DC Department of Health v. The Big Board. The DC Department of Health had unlawfully attempted to impose further fines on Mr. Flannery after his refusal to enforce D.C. government’s pandemic-era mandates.
  • In response to WILL‘s lawsuit against the Wisconsin Parole Commission (WPC), Judge Michael Kenitz (Washington County, WI) signed an alternative writ, commanding the Wisconsin Parole Commission (WPC) to immediately release public records to conservative news outlet, Wisconsin Right Now (WRN), or to show up in court to explain why the commission cannot comply. WRN sought a list of all inmates who were paroled over a period of several years through 2022. While the commission originally responded in June with records through the end of 2021, the commission did not include any records from the 2022 calendar year. The commission stated it would provide records for this year once those were compiled, but gave no timeline for when that request would ultimately be fulfilled, and never responded to repeated requests for updates. WRN has now received all the records being sought.

This Week on SPN.org

SPN’s 30th Annual Meeting Celebrates State Policy Solutions That Help Americans Thrive

K-12 education scholarship program prevails in West Virginia

The 50 governments that hold the answer to American division

Solutions from the states: This week’s policy briefs

  • A report by Americans for Fair Treatment finds the Connecticut Education Association spends the majority of dues on running the union, not members.
  • California Policy Center released an analysis on school bonds.
  • A new report from Center of the American Experiment details how state government policy responses to COVID-19, including shutting down schools, exacerbated the already-declining academic achievement of Minnesota students.
  • The Frontier Institute considers how to bring abundant energy to Montana.
  • The Independence Institute released a report that explores each of the Colorado gubernatorial nominees’ plans for eliminating Colorado’s income tax.
  • The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty released a report that explores how critical race theory is incorporated into flawed curriculum and textbooks—and offers a path for reform away from these teaching practices to one of hope.

Policy News from the States

Crime

Most Americans Say Violent Crime Is A Problem And Progressives Can’t Be Trusted To Deal With It
Center of the American Experiment

Crime in California and the Left/Right Divide
Pacific Research Institute

Education

Alaska Standardized Test Promises Continuity, Less Time Testing
Alaska Policy Forum

ACT Scores Sink, Kentucky’s Drop More Than The National Average
Bluegrass Institute

Closing the Racial Learning Gap in Schools: Spending Money Is…
Cascade Policy Institute

Minnesota ACT Scores Drop To Lowest Levels In At Least A Decade
Center of the American Experiment

Parents Oppose Radical Race and Gender Propaganda, and They Plan to Vote to Prove It
Foundation for Government Accountability

Massive School Staffing Shortages? Let’s Take a Deep Breath.
John Locke Foundation

Other States Embrace Universal ESAs as Nevada Says No
Nevada Policy Research Institute

Learning Loss From Covid Remains
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs

Rural Routes and Dirt Roads: Every Child Deserves a Quality Education
Texas Public Policy Foundation

Energy and the Environment

Costs Of Wind And Solar
Ethan Allen Institute

Criticism Mounting Against Biden Administration’s Domestic Energy Posture
Independence Institute

Hope For A Firm WOTUS Definition After Supreme Court Hearing
Washington Policy Center

Turning A Blind-Eye To Wolf Problem Is Not Management
Washington Policy Center

Healthcare

Biden Sidesteps Congress, Illegally Expands Health Insurance Subsidies
Center of the American Experiment

Honesty In Healthcare – A Little Bit Can Go A Long Ways
Frontier Institute

A Tale of Two Patients: Shoving Patients Off the Telehealth Cliff Is Bad Medicine
Goldwater Institute

Putting A Human Face On Hawaii’s Doctor Shortage
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii

Program For Paid Family And Medical Leave Should Be On Its Death Bed, Not Continually Revived By Lawmakers Using More Of Workers’ Wages
Washington Policy Center

Housing

Getting Government Out Of The Way Of New Housing
Frontier Institute

Inflation/Gas Prices

Unemployment Isn’t The Cure For Inflation
Center of the American Experiment

Pain Of Illinois Gas Taxes Felt As Another Price Spike Hits
Illinois Policy Institute

Core Inflation Reaches New Record High; Real Wages Down 3.0% Over the Year
John Locke Foundation

Biden Admits Country May Face a ‘Very Slight Recession’
John Locke Foundation

Pain at the Pump Returns – OPEC Cuts Oil Production, Prices Increase
John Locke Foundation

Jobs And State Economies

U.S. Has Added 2.5 Million New Jobs Since March, But Only 1.2 Million More Americans Are Employed
Center of the American Experiment

Mississippi’s Regulations Lead To Fewer Jobs, More Poverty
Empower Mississippi

Trickle-Down Economics Is A Myth
Mississippi Center for Public Policy

State Budgets and Spending

Permanent Tax Relief Is ‘Very Important’ To Alabamians
Alabama Policy Institute

Another ‘Record’ Surplus In 2022 Proves That Alabama Can Afford Historic Tax Relief
Alabama Policy Institute

New Year, New Tax Rate: Goldwater’s Flat Tax Reform to Take Effect Jan. 1 in AZ
Goldwater Institute

The Rest Of The Tax Cut Story
Palmetto Promise Institute

Taking Steps Toward Tax Reform
Pelican Institute

How Did Tax Hikes Work Out For Connecticut?
Pioneer Institute

State Ballot Initiatives

Walk Away from Measure 113
Cascade Policy Institute

Top 3 Myths Told By Amendment 1 Proponents
Illinois Policy Institute

A Conservative Looks (Down) The New Mexico Ballot
Rio Grande Foundation

Student Loan Cancellation

Massive New Federal Program Could Cost Taxpayers More than $1 Trillion, Violating Constitutional Separation of Powers
Freedom Foundation of Minnesota

Giving Students More Money Won’t Solve Rising Cost Of Tuition
Mackinac Center

Workplace Freedom

Union Turns Blind Eye To “Pervasive” Sexual Harassment
Americans for Fair Treatment

Does Your Union Answer The Phone?
Americans for Fair Treatment

California’s Government Unions Continue Steady Decline
California Policy Center

Minnesota Misses The Mark With State Labor Laws
Center of the American Experiment

Other

There’s A Red Wave Rising
Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation

How Will the 2022 Midterm Elections Impact North Carolina and Washington DC?
John Locke Foundation

Think Tanks in the News

Another ‘Record’ Surplus in 2022 Proves that Alabama Can Afford Historic Tax Relief
Alabama Policy Institute in Alabama Today

Alaska’s Ranked-Choice Voting Was a Fiasco. Nevada Should Take Note.
Alaska Policy Forum in the American Spectator

Two Looming Tests of Government-Union Power
Beacon Center and Illinois Policy Institute in National Review

Ohio Pig Farmers Didn’t Get a Vote on California’s Proposition 12
The Buckeye Institute in The Wall Street Journal

Computer Science Teachers Need Better Pay To Avert Crisis
The Buckeye Institute at Crain’s Cleveland Business

With Money for Mudslinging, Democrats Mop Up California
California Policy Center in The Epoch Times

Can’t Afford California? Thank an Environmentalist
California Policy Center in The Epoch Times

Public-Sector Unions Struggle to Maintain Influence, Membership
Commonwealth Foundation at Newsweek

What Shapiro And Mastriano Share In Common
Commonwealth Foundation in The Philadelphia Inquirer

Connecting “Energy Inflation” with “Climate Extremism”
Commonwealth Foundation at RealClearEnergy

How Winners are Losing in American Elections
Foundation for Government Accountability at RealClearPolicy

Should Union-Backed Fraud Be Legal?
Freedom Foundation at National Review

Race-baiting, CRT Still High on Teachers Unions’ To-do List
Freedom Foundation at RealClearPolicy

Weingarten Takes Her Embarrassing Act on the Road
Freedom Foundation at RedState

Future Leaders Should Embrace Good Governance
Frontier Institute in Lee Newspapers

We Must Rein In Violent Crime To Help Those Who Need Economic Opportunity
Georgia Center for Opportunity in the Chicago-Sun Times

Expanding Healthcare Access In Georgia Isn’t Complicated
Georgia Public Policy Foundation in the Dalton Daily Citizen

Embrace A Vote Harvesting System
Independence Institute in The Gazette

Once Again, Gov. Kim Reynolds Proves that Conservative Budgeting Pays Off
Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation at RealClearPolicy

Michigan Mom Fought For Her Special Needs Son. The School Board Reported Her To The Feds.
Mackinac Center featured at USA Today

Canada Single-Payer Healthcare Is Unsafe, Grossly Inefficient
Pacific Research Institute in Newsmax

The 50 Governments That Hold the Answer to American Division
State Policy Network at Governing

Biden’s War On American Energy Will Take Its Toll On Democrats In November
Texas Public Policy Foundation at Fox News Online

Defending School Choice
Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty in Empower Wisconsin

Lawsuit: Biden’s Taxpayer-Funded Student Loan Bailout Is ‘Not How Lawmaking Works In America’
Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty cited at The Federalist

Events and Opportunities

Please see SPN’s Network Calendar for a full list of events.