Announcements
The Illinois Policy Institute noted that Chicago missed the grocery tax extension deadline, resulting in a $40 million savings for shoppers starting January 1, 2026.
A recent poll from ITR Foundation found strong bipartisan support for taxpayer protections in Iowa, with 71% of voters favoring a requirement for tax increases.
The James Madison Institute released a new poll assessing Florida voters’ opinions, offering insights into current political sentiments.
The John Locke Foundation pointed out the controversy surrounding the Trump administration’s halt of the Household Food Security report.
The Kansas Policy Institute reported that the Kansas Department of Education and State Board of Education continue to allow violations of the Every Child Can Read Act.
The Maine Policy Institute reported that a new study revealed hidden costs associated with Portland’s rent control.
Palmetto Promise Institute received a $50,000 grant from Freedom in Education to expand South Carolina’s school choice program.
Achieving a significant milestone, the Pelican Institute for Public Policy announced Louisiana’s rise to #9 in Area Development’s 2025 rankings for business.
Mary Katherine Stout, who previously worked at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, was named the Education Savings Accounts (ESA) program director in Texas.
Success Stories
Last week, St. Louis and Metro cancelled the billion-dollar MetroLink Green Line, a project Show-Me Institute research and testimony had long criticized as wasteful
Freedom through the Courts: The Latest Litigation Efforts across the Network
The Idaho Freedom Foundation’s Samuel Lair wrote a full legal argument to break down why Idaho’s parental choice tax credit is constitutional and why the Idaho Education Association’s lawsuit is doomed to fail.
The Liberty Justice Center will petition the U.S. Supreme Court after the Sixth Circuit ruled against public access to Tennessee’s Judicial Advisory Commission meetings in McCaleb v. Long.
The New Jersey Policy Institute, working with the Fairness Center, filed formal complaints with both the Internal Revenue Service and the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission regarding the New Jersey Education Association’s political spending practices.
Solutions from the States: This Week’s Policy Briefs
The Alabama Policy Institute defended SB 129, emphasizing that the legislation aims to restore balance between individual liberty and government overreach in higher education.
The American Council of Trustees and Alumni recently released a new guide for college and university trustees dealing with diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and programs at their institutions.
The Buckeye Institute highlighted positive recommendations in Ohio’s Property Tax Reform Working Group report, which outlined 20 proposals to ease burdens on taxpayers.
The Empire Center for Public Policy found that New Yorkers are facing some of the highest health premiums in the nation.
The Frontier Institute released a five-year report on healthcare reforms in Montana, highlighting several policy wins.
In light of the federal government shutdown, ITR Foundation highlighted Iowa’s significant dependency on federal funds, with $13.2 billion received in 2024.
The Pacific Research Institute issued a brief arguing that new California Medi-Cal restrictions could harm patients.
People United for Privacy Foundation published a state-by-state analysis of legislation affecting the privacy rights of nonprofit members and donors in the 2025 session.
Nebraska now ranks fourth in the nation for property taxes, according to a 2025 study from the Platte Institute.
Reason Foundation released “Public schools without boundaries 2025: Ranking every state’s open enrollment laws.”
The Show-Me Institute raised concerns regarding Missouri’s Medicaid enrollment suggesting that current trends may reflect deeper systemic issues.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty reported that a new Trump DOT rule aims to eliminate race and sex-based quotas in the DBE program.
The Washington Policy Center reported that Senate Bill 5814’s sales tax expansion on services will devastate small businesses across the state.
A report from Yankee Institute uncovered extensive overtime within the Connecticut State Police, revealing how this practice inflates pensions and adds financial burdens to the state.
Policy News from the States
Topics:
K-12 Education
Eden Prairie industrial technology teacher wins $50,000 prize
American Experiment
Charlie Kirk and the rise of radical ideology in K–12 schools
American Experiment
While other states pause ‘liberated’ ethnic studies, Minnesota goes all-in
American Experiment
Trading universal free school meals for armed officers — it’s worth a look
American Experiment
Long Beach Teachers Union Demands Higher Pay Amid $46M Deficit, $100M Projected Shortfall
California Policy Center
The Silent Decline of Hillcrest Christian School: When Private Doesn’t Mean Privileged
Empower Mississippi
Freedom Foundation Supports Congressional Probe into NEA Retirement Scheme
Freedom Foundation
CSEA strike has nothing to do with teachers and everything to do with politics
Freedom Foundation
See what your Illinois school district superintendent made in 2024
Illinois Policy Institute
Illinois superintendent pay doesn’t match performance: district consolidation could help
Illinois Policy Institute
Chicago Public Schools lose 9,000 students
Illinois Policy Institute
Chicago Teachers Union honors convicted murderer, wanted terrorist
Illinois Policy Institute
Former Superintendent Candidate Kinser Urges Parents to See Reading Scores
MacIver Institute
A lawsuit fighting ed choice could unleash tax chaos in Idaho
Mountain States Policy Center
For accountability, make state superintendent appointed
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
Alumni slam OU’s ‘double standard’ on political causes
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
Oklahoma’s next state superintendent must implement social studies, science reforms
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
Higher education has an extremist problem
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
The Double-Edged Sword Of AI In The Classroom
Pacific Research Institute
South Carolina’s Wide-Open Title I Opportunity
Palmetto Promise
U-Ark’s Randall Woods on John Quincy Adams: Statesman of the Early Republic
Pioneer Institute
The Fiscal Facts Behind School Choice with Marty Lueken
Show-Me Institute
Let’s teach our kids why America is worth fighting for
Texas Public Policy Foundation
Energy and Environment
The Iron Range holds the keys to national security
American Experiment
The Cost and the Upside of the “Big Gulp”
California Policy Center
Exploring Trump’s climate claims
John Locke Foundation
Green Means Stop
Show-Me Institute
Cool, Clear Water: For the Future of Texas
Texas Public Policy Foundation
Healthcare
Democrats defend shutdown to save a COVID subsidy they all voted to end
American Experiment
Thank Democrats for seniors’ rising health costs
John Locke Foundation
GOP Lawmakers Can Stand Up For Affordable Healthcare By Ending Trump’s Tariffs
Pacific Research Institute
Battles in Santa Fe, DC being fought over ObamaCare’s failures
Rio Grande Foundation
Stop the temper tantrum, keep needed health reforms
Washington Policy Center
Housing Affordability
Why Affordable Housing is Unaffordable
Cascade Policy Institute
Grassroot testimonies during September 2025
Grassroot Institute
Do we really want a ‘rubber stamp’ Legislature?
Grassroot Institute
Traverse City gets in the Zone
Mackinac Center
Insurers return to California, but we’re not yet out of the woods
Pacific Research Institute
De-Chartered Territory: Texas Capitol District
Texas Public Policy Foundation
Jobs and State Economies
Accounting for Growth: Physical capital per worker, 2024
American Experiment
Recasting Lawrenceville as a resilient, connected community
For Opportunity
A Patchwork of Regulations Stifles Innovation and Commerce
Goldwater Institute
Trump touts new Harvard trade schools
John Locke Foundation
Americans fear job losses, danger from AI
John Locke Foundation
Government efforts to equalize income are unjustified
John Locke Foundation
Cast your vote now for the 2025 Sawtooth Leadership Academy scholarships!
Mountain States Policy Center
Washington’s digital ad tax is unwise, discriminatory and illegal
Mountain States Policy Center
Report hails Oklahoma government for financial stability
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
Ag labor myths persist, posing challenges to reform
Pacific Research Institute
Principles of a Free Market Economy in South Carolina
Palmetto Promise
Opinion piece: In New Mexico, there’s money for everything but roads
Rio Grande Foundation
State Budgets
So much fraud
American Experiment
Delaware Policy Choices Caused the Property Tax Problem
Caesar Rodney Institute
California’s Streak of Late Financial Statements Continues
California Policy Center
Hours Away from Federal Government Shutdown, Pennsylvania Remains Vulnerable
Commonwealth Foundation
Iowa’s Quiet Conservative: Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver
ITR Foundation
Iowa’s quiet conservative: Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver
ITR Foundation
Why they want your money
Mackinac Center
Tiffany Wants to End Wisconsin’s Woke & Broke Business Climate
MacIver Insitute
Opinion piece: In New Mexico, there’s money for everything but roads
Rio Grande Foundation
Connecticut’s ‘Sinkhole State’ Problem — and Why Guardrails Matter
Yankee Institute
Workplace Freedom
Final bell for teacher decision on union membership
American Experiment
NJ 101.5: NJ teachers union leader abused $40M for failed political aspirations, lawsuit says
New Jersey Policy Institute
POLITICO: NJEA hit with lawsuit for $40M gov race spending
New Jersey Policy Institute
New Jersey Monitor: Courts Election 2025 Labor NJ teachers union misused dues to fund chief’s bid for governor, lawsuit claims
New Jersey Policy Institute
N.J. Teachers, Think Tank Challenge NJEA’s $40 Million Political Spending
New Jersey Policy Institute
Governor McMaster: Telework Does Not Work
Palmetto Promise
Other
Feeding Our Future: more witness tampering?
American Experiment
Another Minnesota Dad ‘in search of hope’
American Experiment
Immigration fraud
American Experiment
‘Modern-Day Gestapo’: White House CALLS OUT Walz’s Rhetoric
American Experiment
USA vs. Minnesota
American Experiment
First Principles Series: The Importance of Protecting our First Amendment rights
Beacon Center of Tennessee
First Principles Series: The Importance of Protecting our First Amendment Rights
Beacon Center of Tennessee
Gavin Newsom: California’s Censor
California Policy Center
Jere Nash: Reconstruction in Mississippi
Empower Mississippi
Trump Administration Safeguards Americans’ Taxpayer Dollars From Fraud and Abuse
The Foundation for Government Accountability
Built to Fail: How North Carolina’s Medicaid Expansion Accelerated a Systemic Collapse
The Foundation for Government Accountability
That’s Garbage! Goldwater Takes on Illegal Government Monopoly at Arkansas Supreme Court
Goldwater Institute
Podcast: Why Free Speech Is Losing to DEI on Campus
Goldwater Institute
Chicago speed cameras hit 3-year ticket high in July
Illinois Policy Institute
Who Called the Constitutional Convention? The Commonwealth of Virginia
Independence Institute
McGowan: Fatherhood — Tussling With the WSJ
Indiana Policy
Are Tariffs Socialist?
ITR Foundation
Will racial gerrymandering ruling open the door for a new congressional district?
John Locke Foundation
NYT coverage of Comey, Trump indictments shows double standard
John Locke Foundation
Comey indictment fails to cover key offenses
John Locke Foundation
Targeting a key pillar of the ‘NGO complex’
John Locke Foundation
Traverse City fiber network rolls out slowly and expensively
Mackinac Center
Wisconsin Senate Republicans Introduce Medical Marijuana Plan
MacIver Institute
Gov. Mills Opposes Question 2, but for the Wrong Reasons
Maine Policy Institute
Trump DOJ sides with Oklahoma in birth certificate case
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
California, Washington disprove claim that SQ 836 would ‘moderate’ politics in Oklahoma
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
SQ 836 would import California’s voting system, thwart Oklahoma conservatives
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
Has California Created A Free Speech Problem?
Pacific Research Institute
Albuquerque Mayoral Poll is actually good news
Rio Grande Foundation
MLG touts bipartisanship with Utah’s Spencer Cox but won’t share Special Session agenda w/ GOP
Rio Grande Foundation
Texas A&M Failed to Report $100 Million in Qatari Funds—By Hiding Behind a Loophole
Texas Public Policy Foundation
Charlie Kirk Changed the World—and Changed Me
Texas Public Policy Foundation
Keep it Simple
The Pelican Institute for Public Policy
Commissioned, Then Canceled: Agencies Discredit Their Own Plastic Bag Study
Washington Policy Center
Gov. Ferguson promises to make the state more responsive. Here’s how he can make that happen.
Washington Policy Center
The Network in the News
In the Redman Spokesman, the Cascade Policy Institute’s Randal O’Toole argues Oregon’s energy strategy is doomed to fail.
In USA Today, the Garden State Initiative’s Audrey Lane points out New Jersey’s affordability crisis must be the top priority for the next governor.
In The American Spectator, the Independent Institute’s Lloyd Billingsley argues California’s “safe districts” are controlled by unelected officials, not voters.
In The Gazette, Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation’s John Hendrickson profiles Iowa Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver.
In The Wilson Times, the John Locke Foundation’s Mitch Kokai highlights how a federal appeals court has ruled that media and public have a qualified First Amendment right to access judicial records, including police video, in North Carolina and neighboring states.
In his recent column, John Hood points out North Carolina’s savings reserves trail behind many other states.
In the Laconia Daily Sun, the Josiah Bartlett Center’s Andrew Cline argues New Hampshire’s housing crisis won’t ease until local zoning boards drop their “I don’t care about your economics” mindset.
The Mackinac Center’s Michael Reitz authored a column in The Detroit News, emphasizing the importance of being able to peacefully engage with those with whom we disagree.
The Telegraph ran a six-part series by the Mississippi Center for Public Policy’s Douglas Carswell, highlighting how U.S. states drive growth and innovation—covering federalism, employment, school choice, tax, and state energy policy.
In The Center Square, the Mountain States Policy Center’s Amber Gunn notes Washington’s digital ad tax is unwise, discriminatory and illegal.
In the Santa Fe New Mexican, the Rio Grande Foundation’s Paul Gessing notes that in New Mexico, there’s money for everything but roads.
In The American Spectator, State Policy Network’s Amy O. Cooke highlights why today’s electricity costs keep going up.
