By: Camille Walsh

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

  • The Alabama Policy Institute welcomed Josh Pendergrass as chief communications officer. Pendergrass was previously communications director for the Alabama Governor.
  • Cascade Policy Institute is expanding its office space by 40 percent. The new space will include a conference room capable of hosting events—increasing Cascade’s ability to expand its regular educational and outreach programs.
  • The Mackinac Center Legal Foundation is celebrating its 10th anniversary this week. The Foundation advances individual freedom and the rule of law in Michigan. It has helped secure the liberties of dozens of people—including students, workers, and entrepreneurs.
  • The Pioneer Institute announced LA metro’s program, “Operation Farm Team: Global Transportation Infrastructure Workforce Initiative,” as the winner of the 29th annual Better Government Competition. The contest focused on innovations that prepare America for the future of transportation. The main focus of the LA metro program is a new transportation academy that trains high school students to be the next generation of transportation employees.

Success Stories

  • Following the Alaska Attorney General’s opinion that the state is not complying with the Janus v. AFSCME decision, the state of Alaska filed a lawsuit on Monday against the Alaska State Employees Association. Alaska is the first state to move forward on fully implementing the Janus decision. The Alaska Policy Forum has played a big role in informing Alaska workers of their rights.  
  • Arizona’s universal licensing law went into effect on September 1, allowing residents to work in their chosen profession in Arizona if they received a license to practice in another state. The Arizona Governor also ceremonially signed a bill this week that eases requirements for people to professionally blow dry hair. The Goldwater Institute and Institute for Justice played a role in this licensing win.
  • Taxpayers in New Jersey will no longer be forced to pay for private union activities thanks to the Goldwater Institute’s legal victory in Rozenblit v. Jersey City School District. This decision helps ensure that private unions no longer benefit from public dollars.
  • The John Locke Foundation played a key role in three legislative victories in North Carolina. First, Association Health Plans will now be an option for self-employed owners and small businesses in North Carolina. Second, all state rules under review will either be repealed or subjected to the rules-adoption process again, helping to eliminate unnecessary red tape and regulations that harm economic growth. Finally, recoding North Carolina’s outdated and unfair criminal code has moved forward.
  • In a big win for taxpayers, Missouri and Kansas agreed to no longer give tax breaks to companies to do business in their state. Since 2010, the two states have wasted $335 million paying companies in the Kansas City area to simply change their employees’ commuting route. The Mackinac Center brought attention to this win in an op-ed for The Hill, and urged the idea be adopted more widely.
  • Sally Pipes, president and CEO of the Pacific Research Institute, won Intelligence Squared’s debate arguing against replacing private insurance with “Medicare for All.” In her closing argument, Pipes said: “As we have heard tonight, healthcare is tricky. It’s one of the few public policy issues that affects every one of us and often does so when we are at our most vulnerable. Perhaps tonight’s debate convinced that America’s healthcare system is in need of change. I agree with you. Private insurance is not perfect, but I hope that you will vote against the proposition because I believe that Medicare for all would leave us all much worse off.” Watch the debate here.
  • A federal judge ruled in favor of a Polly Olsen, a college student in Wisconsin who was prevented from handing out Valentine’s Day cards with bible verses. The judge ruled Northeast Wisconsin Technical College violated Olsen’s First Amendment rights, a big win for free speech. The lawsuit was filed by the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty.

Research & Initiatives

  • The Badger Institute released a new video that tells the story of how the federal government gave Milwaukee $128 million to build a streetcar that residents didn’t want or need.
  • The Beacon Center is preparing to release a City Freedom Index, a report that ranks Tennessee’s 30 most populous cities in the categories of individual liberty, private property, free enterprise, and tax burden. The index will help residents identify the best places to live within Tennessee.
  • The Empire Center released a new report that highlights how New York’s schools are missing out on a key form of revenue—advertising. If the Legislature authorized naming rights agreements for public schools, it would mitigate the heavy tax burden placed on New York residents, says Empire.
  • A circuit court judge dismissed Illinois Policy Institute CEO John Tillman’s lawsuit against the state of Illinois earlier this month, and Tillman is appealing. Tillman is suing Illinois to cancel $14.3 billion in bond debt, which he says is unconstitutional. After Comptroller Susana Mendoza framed the bond sale as a homeowner refinancing their house to earn a lower interest rate, Tillman responded: “It’s obvious to every Illinoisan that you shouldn’t take out a home equity loan to pay off your credit card bill. The Illinois Constitution wisely includes protections against this reckless behavior and they have gone ignored. This is why I am suing the state.”
  • The Institute for Justice is fighting a “crime-free housing” ordinance in Granite City, Illinois. Under the ordinance, if you rent your home and someone commits a crime in your household, your landlord is required to evict you. That’s what happened to Jessica Barron and Kenny Wylie after their house guest committed a crime, even though they had nothing to do with it.
  • Progressive groups are calling for a worldwide climate strike on September 20-27, 2019. In collaboration with the SPN Energy and Environment Working Group, Mackinac Center for Public Policy created a website to counter many of the strike’s false claims and suggest actions that would truly have an effect on carbon and the environment. If any group is interested in signing on as a partner, contact Jason Hayes, Mackinac’s Director of Environmental Policy, at hayes@mackinac.org.
  • The Mackinac Center Legal Foundation filed a lawsuit against the State Bar of Michigan, which requires any practicing attorneys to pay an annual bar association fee and maintain membership. The State Bar mandates this membership even though they spend money on political speech that a particular member may not agree with. Mackinac also filed a lawsuit against the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, which failed to produce requested documents under FOIA. Soon after the lawsuit was filed, the documents were released.
  • The Mississippi Justice Institute filed a lawsuit against the Board of Cosmetology on behalf of Dipa Bhattarai, an eyebrow threader who’s business was shut down because she didn’t have an eyebrow threading license.
  • The Nevada Policy Research Institute released the 2019 Legislative Report Card, a report that scores Nevada lawmakers on different issues such as transparency, education, and criminal justice. “This report card will allow Nevadans to assess how their elected officials acted on issues pertaining to economic freedom and is designed to provide insight into lawmakers’ votes,” said the report.
  • Save Our States, a project of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, has a new website. Save Our States is fighting recent efforts to get rid of the Electoral College.
  • As debate continues on a possible constitutional convention in Louisiana, the Pelican Institute held a forum to discuss what makes a great state constitution.
  • Time may be running out for legislators in Nebraska to act on property tax reform, so the Platte Institute worked to give policymakers options for reform. Additionally, Platte held a series of property tax reform town halls to get input from Nebraskans.

Think Tanks in the News

  • The Freedom Foundation was cited in a Seattle Times editorial, following the Washington Supreme Court ruling that faculty members from the University of Washington must disclose emails related to union organizing.
  • One way to reduce poverty in Georgia is to create more job opportunities, says the Georgia Center for Opportunity. Georgia’s two poorest counties have an unemployment rate that is much higher than the national average.
  • The Goldwater Institute’s study on Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program was cited in an article on Arizona’s poor education system. The Goldwater study explains how ESAs can benefit both taxpayers and the state’s education system overall. Several other state think tanks commented on education this week, including the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, which exposed the flaws in common arguments against school choice, and Empower Mississippi, which commented on Mississippi’s ninth charter school opening in the state.
  • The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii considered a recent affordable housing initiative that requires all new homes to be “affordable in perpetuity.” Although well-intentioned, this policy will end up hurting low-income residents who will no longer benefit when the value of their home appreciates, says Grassroot.
  • Illinois’ 2018 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) revealed the failure of Illinois’ two major income tax hikes. The solution, according to the Illinois Governor, is…another income tax hike. The Illinois Policy Institute points out why this won’t fix the state’s finances.
  • Kansas Policy Institute highlighted the problems with the recently put together tax reform council, noting how all of the governor’s appointees are in favor of tax increases. All but two of the appointees work for entities that benefit from government spending. KPI added: “This tax ‘reform’ council is reminiscent of Ronald Reagan’s quote about the most terrifying words in the English language: ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’”
  • The Pacific Research Institute considered a new report from the Office of the Inspector General at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that found Medicare paid for the same drugs twice, wasting $160 million. Taxpayers shouldn’t stand for this, says PRI.
  • The Reason Foundation considered the state of Florida’s pension system. Florida’s retirement system’s unfunded liabilities have grown 300 percent since 2000. Also in horrible shape? California’s pensions. Given the financial position of the Golden State’s pensions, the California Policy Center considered why public employee unions are focused exclusively on defined benefit pensions, instead of defined contribution plans.
  • Following a boom in oil and gas production in the Permian Basin of New Mexico, the state Legislature has an extra $907 million in so called “new money” when they convene this January. The Rio Grande Foundation expressed concerns with using this new money to create a New Mexico permanent fund, which involves the government investing in businesses or tools to generate a rate of return. The Foundation argued permanent funds limit the ability of citizens to hold elected officials accountable.
  • Economic freedom is leading people to Texas, says the Texas Public Policy Foundation. A new US Census report finds that people leaving higher tax areas to less expensive ones drives domestic migration. Of the 15 fastest-growing cities with more than 50,000 people, seven are in Texas. TPPF also criticized the Teachers Retirement System of Texas (TRS), who refused to disclose how much its new office space in downtown Austin will cost. “It’s fair to say that TRS’s refusal to divulge basic spending information is incredibly bad practice. The public has an absolute right to know when it comes to government spending,” said TPPF.
  • Washington Policy Center threw a major wrench in a State Supreme Court case involving the largest transit agency in Washington, Sound Transit. Before oral arguments were set to begin, WPC’s Mariya Frost found that Sound Transit was not actually using the vehicle depreciation schedule it had informed the court, lawmakers, and the public it was required to follow. WPC shared this finding with the attorney representing taxpayers in the case, and Sound Transit admitted they had been inaccurate in their brief defending the collection of the tax. The case should be decided before the end of the year.